Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Tel.: 617-738-2700
URL: Beaver Country Day School
School Description:
Beaver Country Day School is a private, college preparatory school for students in grades six through twelve and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Originally founded on a focus on the progressive education model of the American philosopher John Dewey, the school moved to its present location on Chestnut Hill in the 1920s. The school enrolls about 450 students each year, with classes averaging about 15 students per class and one hundred percent graduates going on to a four-year college or university. The school prides itself on its diversity, as about 25% of both students and faculty are of color and its students collectively speak over 20 languages besides English at home. Notable alumni of Beaver Country Day School include actress Eliza Dushku, Temple Grandin, Pulitzer Prize winner Lucinda Franks, and Glee writer/producer Brad Falchuk.
Campus Setting:
Beaver Country Day is located on a 17-acre campus in the village of Chestnut Hill in Brookline. It is only three miles west of the city of Boston and is easily accessible through public transportation via the Chestnut Hill stop on the “D” Green Line (to Riverside). The campus includes a library, an athletic field, an art gallery, a performing arts center, and a gymnasium.
Academics:
The academics at Beaver Country Day School strive to go beyond mere mastery of academic content and problem solving; Beaver also prepares students for future professional success and growth by giving them advanced thinking skills by approaching academics from many different perspectives and approaches. The school focuses extensively on honing writing, communication, and critical thinking skills from this foundation, which they call Kaleidoscopic Thinking. Beaver also has a program for the upper school, created by collaboration with MIT and Harvard, called “NuVu”. “NuVu” is built on the MIT studio model of innovation learning and its primary goal is to challenge students and push their creative and analytical limits. Finally, the school also emphasizes community service and social change, following the footsteps of John Dewey, with its Hiatt Center for Civic Engagement.
Clubs and Activities:
Beaver Country Day School believes that extracurricular involvement is absolutely essential for academic, personal, and social achievement. Beaver has an athletic program available to students in all grades seeking to improve their athletic skills and achieve personal growth, both individually and collectively. The school also recognizes the importance of the arts and the cultivation of creativity and self-expression; all middle school students are required to take an art course every trimester and upper school students must take at least two art classes before graduating. Arts at Beaver Country Day include music, theater, and visual arts. Many of the popular clubs and activities of Beaver students include student council, Mock Trial, robotics, the Entrepreneurs’ Club, and the online student-run newspaper, The Beaver Reader.
