Applying to the Lower School: Pre3 - Grade 5

REGISTER FOR A CAMPUS TOUR TODAY!

Welcome to Dwight-Englewood School’s Lower School. 

Each time I walk through the doors of Drapkin Hall, I am reminded of what makes this place so special. I see children who are curious, joyful, and eager to learn. I hear laughter spilling from classrooms and thoughtful questions that reveal how deeply our students think about the world around them. I notice the way they greet one another, how they collaborate, and how they feel known and valued for who they are.

I see a diverse community brought together by shared purpose, a love of learning, and a belief in the power of connection. Each day is an adventure in discovery, risk taking, and community building, as teachers nurture a growth mindset that values process as much as product.

I know that our approach to teaching is grounded in a strong educational philosophy and informed by neuroscience. Children learn through connection, reflection and authentic engagement while our faculty help them build focus, resilience and confidence as learners. I see students who strive for excellence over perfection, learning that real growth comes from curiosity, perseverance, and reflection. They take deep dives into meaningful topics, articulate their ideas with clarity, and develop a growing sense of agency and independence. Through play and exploration, they learn collaboration, inclusion, empathy, and the joy that comes from shared discovery.

And what I know most deeply is this: I see a school that nurtures, inspires, and builds connection. Here, children are surrounded by teachers who know them well, a community that celebrates them, and opportunities that encourage them to grow with confidence and curiosity. Each day, they develop the skills, values, and courage they will need to meet the challenges of a changing world and make it better.

Best,
Jennifer W. Celiberti 
Director of Lower School Admissions

 

During that year, I relished the chance to learn. I took time to process - to sit with and reflect on new learnings. For me, that experience prompted a perennial question of how we might build good fires - both for ourselves and our children - by paying attention to the spaces we intentionally create between the logs. This can admittedly feel counterintuitive to our culture of doing. As a society, we’ve normalized the idea that more is better - more homework, more advanced classes, more clubs/activities, and more projects at work. But what if the opposite were true? What if we did less and focused on quality instead?

 

According to some researchers, it is said that by the age of somewhere around 8 to 10, that children today will have multiple times the amount of input in their lives than children of generations ago. The ubiquity of technology, increase in structured activities, and corresponding decrease in unstructured time has led to a shift toward what some researchers refer to as “modern childhood.”