Admission FAQ

Country Day students are all working at and above their academic grade level. They exhibit a love for learning, an active imagination, and are good citizens at school and in their broader communities. A student’s composite application should include report cards that exhibit strong academic achievement, teacher recommendations that speak to good character, a willingness to work, the ability to focus and contribute, and entrance screen scores that are compatible with the skill level of currently enrolled students. Country Day seeks students who understand the gift of an independent education and choose it over other options. We can’t help but notice a bit of sparkle, “that certain something” extra, be it an interest and accomplishment in music or a fine art, community involvement, a straight-forward look in the eye, or a passion for something outside of school. Put simply, we are looking for good kids who enjoy learning and who function well in a college preparatory setting.

While parents do not take part in the delivery of classroom instruction, there are many ways in which they can be involved at school. In the Lower School, each class has a pair of room parents who help the teacher coordinate field trips, plan seasonal celebrations, oversee the year-end class party, and gather volunteers for the carpool line. All parents are welcomed members of a very active Parents’ Association (PA) that meets regularly. The PA organizes many fun-filled family events throughout the school year, all of which are dependent on parent involvement. Some of the activities include: a New Parents’ Welcome in the late summer, the Fall Family Festival, a winter Holiday Gift-making Workshop for children, help with periodic parent education evenings, a used-textbook sale for Middle and High School students, and a winter ski trip for parents and their children. Parents often chaperone field trips and Middle School dances. Volunteers are welcomed by the Development Office in staging the annual Auction and Grandparents’/Grand Friends’ Day. Parents are a wonderful resource, and the school appreciates their involvement, whether it is as a library volunteer, a carpool line helper, or a drama production assistant. There’s always room for a few extra hands. For parents who are unable to give of their time, we always appreciate monetary contributions provided by our generous families. (Make a Gift)

We require that pre-kindergarten applicants be four years old and kindergarten applicants be five years old, by September 1 of the year they would begin. We hold firmly to these practices based on many years of formal evaluations, published research, and anecdotal observation that suggests that most students need to be surrounded by age-appropriate peers in order to make strong, healthy progress academically, socially, and developmentally during the length of their scholastic careers. Additionally, it has been noted that young students who have been placed ahead of their chronological peer group often experience unexpected challenges, academic or otherwise, later in their development. When considering the important decision of when to begin a child in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, we ask parents to think beyond their son’s or daughter’s readiness for their earliest school years and also reflect on their child’s development at all ages including early adolescence, the teen years, and college preparedness.

At Sacramento Country Day School, the developmentally based program serving our youngest students recognizes that pre-kindergartners, kindergartners, first and even second graders are coming to academic skills at different rates and in different ways. Our program, school-wide, is one that challenges and interests even the brightest learners, and at the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten levels children are presented with activities and material that allow them a full range of difficulty and experience.

The teachers at Sacramento Country Day School are unequivocally some of the finest educators in the region. Five teachers hold doctorate degrees and 30 teachers hold master’s degrees. All members of the faculty are career educators who have chosen their fields because of their distinct dedication to children.
Is tuition assistance routinely available?

As a private, independent, tuition-driven school, our tuition assistance fund is limited, however, we do attempt to reach as many qualified students as possible through partial tuition assistance.

The admission process at Sacramento Country Day School is “need blind,” meaning that we evaluate all candidates for admission to school independent of tuition aid requirements. We are interested in identifying individuals qualified to meet the high expectations we have for our students regardless of economic concerns. After a student has been accepted to school, parents or guardians may file a separate tuition assistance application to be processed in early spring.

When SCDS begins assisting a family financially, we hope to do so for the length of a student’s tenure here. Because of this, tuition assistance offered in the Lower School is limited.

Yes and No. Sacramento Country Day School is a private, non-profit, independent school. While we are not a part of a chain of schools, we are linked collegially with some by a uniformly rigorous accreditation and membership in highly regarded professional associations. Discerning families ask about a school’s accreditation, as it tends to define aspects of academic rigor and expectation. Members of the National Association of Independent Schools share general philosophies unique to independent schools, and are distinguished by their high-level programs. Members of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools undergo a rigorous school-wide self-study and site visitation, earning a maximum six-year accreditation. Sacramento Country Day School currently enjoys a six-year accreditation through CAIS and WASC.