Lower School | K–4

FCS emphasizes hands-on learning based on current understandings of how students best acquire information. Broad units such as the Chesapeake Bay, Underground Railroad, Colonial America, Immigration, and the Constitution offer opportunities for exploration of the literature, art, science, history, and music relating to them. Students develop a holistic understanding of the topics they are learning. Frequent field trips connect classroom lessons to the rich cultural offerings in the D.C.-metro area. 

In grades 1-4, students are in multi-age classrooms to meet social as well as academic needs. Just as academic readiness varies among individuals, social needs vary from year to year. In most cases, students stay with the same teacher for two years. Children benefit from the continuity and the experience of being both the younger and older child among peers, both a mentee and mentor. Children in kindergarten and grades 5 through 8 are taught in single-grade groupings, as befits their academic and developmental needs.