King Lower School engages students as active, joyful learners in a thoughtfully designed program that challenges young students to reach their personal best while nurturing a love of learning and collaboration. Students are equipped with a crucial, solid foundation for future academic and personal success.
"We believe that curiosity is a natural ability that children bring to their learning – we encourage students to ask questions, make discoveries, think critically, analyze and solve problems, be good listeners, and have fun being involved in the dynamic process of learning. We value every child and build strong, safe classroom communities where exploration and discovery leads to mastery."
Amy Vorenberg, Head of Lower School
We invite you to learn more about one of Stamford's top-rated private elementary schools, explore the benefits of our program, browse our rigorous curriculum, and check out the Lower School in Action Stories. We look forward to welcoming you on campus!
Commitment to Academic Excellence
You will experience an enriching and interesting academic curriculum. Our experiential and interactive program nurtures a love of learning and working with others. We want you to ask questions, make discoveries, think critically, analyze and solve problems, and have fun being involved in the dynamic process of learning. We value every child and build strong, safe classroom communities where exploration and discovery leads to mastery. LEARN MORE.
STEM
You will immerse yourself in the study and hands-on experience of science, technology, engineering, and math. You learn about environmental stewardship by working in the Lower School garden and tinkering in the Makerspace. You will use iCreate to develop short films. You'll build and program robots. Imagine in PreK, you’ll read “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” and then plan and create a bridge that is high enough for the troll to fit under and strong enough to hold all three goats! The Singapore Math Program will teach you solid skills in numeracy, pattern recognition, and geometric relationships. LEARN MORE.
Reading and Writing
You will fall in love with reading by developing skills to connect, comprehend, and respond to your reading. Your writing will blossom as you transform letters into words, sentences, and then complex paragraphs. Your thinking and speaking skills will also evolve as you learn to interpret and share information in more complex ways. LEARN MORE.
Enriching Opportunities
You will have so many opportunities to discover and pursue areas of interest and strength, including: Leadership Council, Math Olympiad, Engineering Club, Lego Robotics, King Children’s Choir, King Children’s Orchestra, after-school art, Service Learning Club and Zumba. You will also enjoy grade level activities, events, and trips, including: Invention Convention, State Fair, Science Fair, Poetry Tea, Grade 5 Musical, LS Variety Show, Grandparents’/Special Friends’ Day, Kindergarten Flapjack Breakfast, Moving Up Ceremony, Connecticut Science Museum visit, and Philadelphia visit.
Exceptional Faculty
You will develop very close relationships with highly knowledgeable and dedicated teachers who are passionate about the work of teaching and learning. They will champion your strengths and talents and challenge you while setting personal goals. MEET OUR FACULTY.
King's Approach to Teaching and Learning
King's approach to teaching and learning helps students advance, develop and mature. Teachers know you as an individual and have an intentionally collaborative approach, meeting weekly to discuss students’ progress. Teachers and parents develop productive partnerships assisting students in reaching their personal best. LEARN MORE.A safe, nurturing, multicultural community fosters the King Virtues -- Integrity, Kindness, Perseverance, and Respect -- enabling you to develop a strong sense of yourself and appreciate the broad range of similarities and differences among people. You will regularly join class meetings where you’ll get to know your classmates well, you’ll encourage and support one another, and have fun learning and playing together. You’ll be a member of the larger Lower School community that meets regularly to sing, share, and support one another. Our Lower School is a place where we are comfortable taking risks, collaborating, and problem-solving. Students participate each month in service projects in class as part of the King Cares Service Program. LEARN MORE.
Elementary School children possess a natural curiosity and come to school eager to learn and engage with friends and teachers. While exploring their sense of self, children begin to understand their place in the world. They are developing a sense of responsibility and take pride in their accomplishments. Creative expression in various forms is quite evident throughout the preschool and elementary school years, the years of greatest physical, mental, and emotional growth and change.
Another strength of the program is the emphasis placed, both explicitly and implicitly, on fostering the social, emotional, and physical growth of each student. A safe, nurturing climate permeates the Lower School. The dedicated faculty places emphasis on helping children achieve their individual goals within a physically and emotionally safe environment. This work is intentional and supported by a range of resources, including Responsive Classroom materials.
The program design supports the curricular goals established by the King community. Communication, intellectual processing, character development, and personal growth are key skills needed “to pursue lives of ongoing inquiry, learning, accomplishment, personal fulfillment, and social responsibility.” The groundwork for these important concepts is established in the Lower School.
The Counseling Department facilitates the social and emotional development of all of our students through the development, implementation, and coordination of the social skill, life skill, emotional development, and prevention programming for the Lower School. The Counseling Department provides individual and small group counseling and support for students. It provides support and guidance for teachers and administrators in working with individuals or small groups of students. It provides support and guidance for parents, as well as referrals to community resources.
King is excited to host its fifth annual El Sistema Residency April 6-8 when talented musicians from our Middle and Upper Schools collaborate in intensive music workshops with visiting students of various El Sistema USA programs, including Stamford's own Project Music. The overarching focus of the residency is to inspire a connection between communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds, using the music ensemble as the vehicle through which to inspire deeper communication.
The student became the teacher on Wednesday night as three US students guided guests through the new Innovation Lab and provided instruction on the equipment. The event served as the grand opening of the Lab and included a ribbon cutting ceremony and donor appreciation reception for a group of faculty, students, and donors.
Students learned about water in the region, including rivers, the Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean, and how people use water in the Stamford area. They surveyed their families on how they use water at home and interviewed the kitchen staff and other faculty members on how they use water at King. The next step in the unit was their field trip to the Stamford Water Treatment Facility earlier this week.
In celebration of King's inclusive and diverse global community, flags have been installed in all three divisions that represent the countries native to King's students, parents, faculty, and staff. Following a community survey conducted in the fall, the School identified 65 different countries represented in the King family and the flags of origin were installed, over winter break, in the Upper School lobby, as well as the Middle and Lower Schools.
King students have many different opportunities to pursue their passions as they grow as learners and people. The Class of 2019 has achieved success in the classroom, on the athletic fields, on the stage, and now they are preparing to pursue lives of ongoing inquiry in college. Congratulations to the 39 seniors who have been accepted and have already committed to attend their first choice college or university.
The King Cares program continues to participate in an array of wonderful service work throughout the greater community. During the month of December, several Upper School advisories collaborated to support King's partner organizations. For instance, students collected items for Pacific House, a men's shelter in Stamford, others conducted a children's coat drive to support a shelter in Danbury. Another group prepared a meal with Flik to serve at Inspirica, an organization working to break the cycle of homelessness.
How does King School define a kind and inclusive community? Every day our staffulty, students, and parents make a choice to intentionally show consideration and compassion for others. King is committed to our Virtues of integrity, kindness, perseverance, and respect. One important way we show our commitment to cultivating a kind, inclusive community is by supporting staffulty at the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) and students at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC).
Continuing our tradition of participation in these vital conferences, a group of five Upper School students and six staffulty from multiple divisions and disciplines traveled together to Nashville, Tennessee earlier this month for a unique and memorable experience.
Grade 5 students had been learning about the New England and Middle Colonies and were ready to enjoy an immersive experience at Philipsburg Manor in late November. This field trip provided students with a hands-on understanding of all they had studied in class and a new appreciation for the history of our country.
Anaiya Shah placed three LEGO female figurines on the desk in front of her and began to tell their story. In the end, it was really her own story that she was telling.
In October, Grade 2 students and their parents celebrated the "publication" of their small moment stories, inspired by the work of authors Jack Ezra Keats and Nina Laden, with an Author's Toast and Book Signing. Parents had a chance to read their child's story as well as the work of other students.