Andrei Popovici / Hallmark Institute of Photography
Welcome to the new Greenfield Center School website. I hope you are able to get what you are looking for by exploring. (Though, honestly, if you are new to the school there is nothing like coming for a visit!) In the coming months certain pages of the site will be expanded.
Twenty-eight years ago the Center School was born out of a dream for something different. Its founders set out to create a school that would reflect children's interests, teach challenging academics and model progressive values. The students at this new school would have a say in what got taught and teach one another. Children would be encouraged to be independent and resourceful. Above all, they would be taken seriously.
Almost three decades later, the Center School's latest generation still lives the dream of its founders. Most days, at least one child can be spotted marching into school with an enormous project made for Lit or Theme dwarfing her as she proudly maneuvers it to her classroom. Students purposefully roam the halls with clipboards in hand, recording observations of their environment or surveying their learning community. There are lively debates on real issues resounding from the lunch tables. Teachers spill over into each other's classrooms to share ideas, make supportive comments, or invite another class to come visit.
While we are undeniably a warm and caring community, our program isn't for the faint of heart. Rigorous academic projects, deep critical thinking, rugged outdoor pursuits, a commitment to creativity and curiosity, and an expectation of openness to new ideas are the mainstays of a Center School education. The Center School invites all of us to investigate how we learn best and at the same time how we might make our world a better place. For years, the Center School community has succeeded in fostering in its students a balance of social consciousness and self awareness.
In keeping with the school's mission to provide challenging, up to the minute curricula, this year the Center School has added Spanish classes to grades 2-5 (grades 6-8 have an established Spanish program), an after school Chinese program, as well as a three day per week yoga class for the Primes, a new music curriculum for grades K-5, and new art and science programs to the Uppers program.
Please feel free to come visit. We'd love to show you what we're up to...
