One of the primary goals of Lower School is to awaken in every child the joy of learning, which motivates young students to explore, discover new horizons and build the confidence they will need to succeed in their school career and beyond. In addition, the spiritual well-being of every child at The Dunham School is deeply important to us.

Our Lower School offers children in pre-kindergarten through grade five a developmentally appropriate program that provides a variety of learning experiences suitable for the children’s ages and interests. Every child has been created uniquely by God; therefore, each child’s developmental process will be different. It is this awareness that compels teachers to pay attention to the needs of the individual child and provide a loving, nurturing environment in which he/she may grow at his/her own pace.

Class sizes are kept small so that teachers have the necessary time to interact and get to know students as individuals and to develop their instructional program to meet the needs of each student. We appreciate the fact that children have diverse learning styles, and our goal is to scaffold students and provide them with the tools and opportunities to be successful in reaching their goals.

Our curriculum encourages problem-solving and risk-taking, as well as creativity, and we encourage students to explore many different ways of finding the answers to their questions. It is an active process, and many times a hands-on process, as students develop their own hypotheses, analyze data, and draw logical conclusions about their world.

As students develop an understanding about their world, they also develop their understanding of God, through daily prayer and Bible Study, as well as Chapel programs. Service opportunities are also provided for students at every grade level.

In addition to the core subjects, enrichment classes in music, art, computer, physical education and foreign language provide numerous opportunities for our youngest students to develop their personal interests and talents.