Founded in 1961 by community leaders and faculty from Wesleyan University and Choate Rosemary Hall, IDS offers children age 3 to grade 8 a well-rounded, experiential education. Committed to the creativity of children and of teachers, the school is intentionally small to focus on the individual student and to enable flexibility in the classroom to teach to students’ interests. IDS graduates are not only creative but confident in their ability to learn and succeed whether in a classroom, on a stage, or a playing field.
While many schools aspire for “well-rounded students,” IDS infuses meaning into the term through a program that integrates social growth, creative exploration, and academic learning to an extraordinary degree. IDS offers an unusually broad range of activities in which students may excel, from environmental studies to musical theatre. The common thread running through these diverse programs is the way in which they provide opportunities for students to learn to work together, to know and contribute their individual strengths for a common purpose.