• Welcome
• Why Caedmon?
• Application Process
• Application Request Form
• Tuition
• Financial Aid
• Deadlines and Notifications
• Grade Six Placement
• Family Perspectives

Why Caedmon?

A Cherokee proverb wisely states, "Children are our hearts on the outside of our body." The school thanks you for entrusting us with your hearts each day. As a school, our highest priority is to adhere to the highest academic standard and to make each child and family feel safe, nurtured, confident, successful, and happy.

Here are just some of the benefits of our school.

During the admissions process, a family in New York City has many exciting options of schools to consider. Since all schools have distinct missions and cultures, each family’s goal is to identify the program with the values and philosophies that are most in line with its own. As a school, our highest priority is to make each child and family feel safe, nurtured, confident, successful, and happy.

The grade structure of our school is one distinguishing factor - we are an elementary school where children spend their formative childhood years and graduate after the fifth grade. As a school within a fast-paced, sophisticated city, Caedmon students have the luxury of growing up in an educational environment where they are surrounded by other children – the oldest students, our “seniors”, are in the fifth grade. In this setting faculty and staff focus entirely on the childhood phases of development, and children remain less influenced by the middle and high school students.

The Caedmon School is…

…a community that is extraordinarily committed to our mission and its four tenets - Montessori, Academic Excellence, Diversity, and Community.

…one of the few programs in New York City whose focus is on the entire span of childhood. Our program educates children ages 2.8 years through the fifth grade.

…an environment where children learn and grow in a supportive and nurturing setting with high academic expectations and standards. We believe that by exclusively focusing on the nursery through elementary years, we are able to provide students with an environment specifically designed for their unique personalities, social and emotional needs, and learning requirements.

…unique in the way it holds onto and continues to capture the innocence of childhood. Students maintain a level of sophistication and knowledge that is age-appropriate. They stay grounded and are not distracted by the influences of older children. With emphasis on a higher order of learning, our children are well prepared and master the necessary tools to succeed when they graduate and attend middle school. Caedmon graduates are confident and poised leaders, mentors, public speakers, as well as compassionate and respectful citizens.

…a community of extraordinarily dedicated, passionate, and professional administrators, faculty, and staff. The Head of School and Assistant Head of School meet weekly with teachers at all grade levels to discuss every student in the school. This allows for ongoing monitoring of the student's progress.

…a program where families are able to reassess their child’s academic, social and extracurricular needs and select a secondary school that is the right fit for the next stage of their child’s development. Sixth grade is a major point of entry (second only to Kindergarten) for most independent schools in New York City. To prepare families for the admissions process, the Head of School meets regularly with each family, beginning in the spring of the fourth grade, to provide guidance and support throughout the entire application and selection process. Our graduates are accepted into a broad range of selective secondary schools.

It is interesting to note that the majority of students who attend Kindergarten in a school that continues through the 12th grade do not often graduate from that school. Typically, only a very small percentage of a high school graduating class actually began in Kindergarten at that school. Children change and have different academic and social needs as they mature. A school that is a perfect fit for nursery or Kindergarten may not be right for them in middle school.

Curriculum

Caedmon students are exposed to a range of stimulating and challenging subject areas. In addition to language arts, mathematics, and social studies, the curriculum offers specialist classes in music (including group violin lessons for Kindergarten through third grade), art, science, physical education and yoga, computers (for Elementary students only), library, Spanish, and Latin (for third through fifth grades). The school’s program emphasizes social development and community building, both among the students and their families. We strive to provide each child with a warm, safe, and joyful environment in which to learn. Therefore, our faculty and staff are trained in Responsive Classroom, a program designed to create positive communities within the classroom and throughout the school.

Facilities

Every classroom is spacious and has several large windows and high ceilings, which provides children with a bright, cheerful learning environment. Our four-story building facilities include: an art studio with an outdoor patio, lunchroom, state of the art science lab, music room, library, gymnasium, newly renovated, private outdoor playground, meeting space for our family association, nursery for children of faculty and staff, SMART Boards in all Elementary classrooms, and two laptop carts housing Macintosh computers. Our licensed nursery contributes to the school’s nearly 100% faculty and staff retention rate. Caedmon has developed a partnership with the nearby Asphalt Green, a major athletic facility with playing fields and gymnasiums, in order to fully develop our children’s athletic abilities.