Head Of School Welcome

Everything we do – from our engaging, active curriculum and our inspiring faculty to our state-of-the-art physical plant – is intentionally geared towards children and their long-term development. — Head of School Aaron Cooper
Imagine your child’s future. What are your hopes and dreams for them? Perhaps you hope they will have the ability to pursue a certain profession or contribute to positive change in the world. Maybe you hope they will be able to choose whatever path inspires them or simply that they will be happy. Likely, you wish all of this for your child. At New Canaan Country School, we have designed a program and a learning environment that enables your child to achieve those dreams, as well as the ones they shape for themselves during these transformative years of growth.
 
We are excited that you are here to learn more about our school. Since its founding in 1916, Country School educators have been passionately committed to the years of childhood and to “respecting childhood as an integral part of life.” Just as the most important component of a building is its foundation, so too are childhood experiences essential to an individual’s future. That is why we choose to focus solely on the arc of childhood, starting with children one step out of toddlerhood in our Beginners program and ending with full-fledged adolescence of our ninth-grade graduates. We are PreK-9 by design.
 
We know that a school dedicated specifically to the elementary and middle school years can provide experiences in unique and impactful ways. Everything we do – from our engaging, active curriculum and our inspiring faculty to our state-of-the-art physical plant – is intentionally geared towards children and their long-term development. Students learn by doing at every stage. Our faculty set high expectations coupled with high levels of support so that our students feel encouraged to reach new heights regularly. Such personal best moments make a difference; our students graduate self-aware and confident, with significant leadership experience. The vast majority of them matriculate to their top-choice high school and to top-notch colleges, where they continue to grow and thrive.
 
It is just such an intentional commitment to honor childhood that inspired me to join the Country School community in the summer of 2018 and for my wife Kara and me to enroll our daughters here. When I think of the future of all our students, I know that the most important components of their success will be their ability to think, to work with others, to be inspired to pursue new avenues, and to positively impact those with whom they work. These aims – intellectual acumen, a focus on character, an environment where every student is known and valued, a community rich in various backgrounds and perspectives, and a disposition towards leadership – are hallmarks of a Country School education as they have been for over 100 years.
 
Please come visit us on campus to witness for yourself the myriad ways that we intentionally create a community of learners with rock-solid foundations – and the joy such experiences invoke in our students. I look forward to seeing you on campus soon.
 
My very best,
 
Aaron Cooper
Head of School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.