About Us

Our History 

The Rumson Country Day School was founded in 1926 by a group of families in the Rumson area.  This new school, called the Rumson School, was located on the site of the former St. Georges-on-the-Hill church; the building and 2 ½ acres of land were donated by Edward Dean Adams, a neighbor and grandfather of one of the charter students.

The school doors opened on November 1, 1926, with twenty-three pupils, a Headmaster, five teachers, and three staff members.  An educator named B. Lord Buckley, founder of several independent schools in the New York metropolitan area, served as organizer and advisor.

Although our program has been updated and refined through the years, Buckley’s basic philosophy of a traditional, academically-rigorous liberal arts program continues today.  Our school, which was incorporated as The Rumson Country Day School in 1942, teaches English grammar and literature, mathematics, science, social studies, languages (French and Latin, with Spanish added in the 1960’s), visual arts, music, physical education, and interscholastic sports.  Students in grades N-5 are divided among heterogeneous homerooms.  In grades 6-8, classes are departmentalized and honors sections are offered in English, math, and modern language.

Our school has grown in both size and enrollment over the years.  Today’s campus includes fourteen acres of buildings and playing fields; enrollment currently stands at 450 students in Nursery through the Eighth Grade.  These children are transported to school by car and bus from more than 35 communities.

RCDS is a not-for-profit corporation, directed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees.  It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, ERB, CASE, and CRIS, and is accredited by the Middle States Association of Independent Schools.  In 1999, RCDS was recognized as a “Blue Ribbon School of Excellence” by the U.S. Department of Education.

Our Mission

• to provide students from all communities with a challenging academic experience in a supportive environment;

• to nourish academic excellence, individual and social responsibility, civic awareness, and leadership skills;

• to inspire our graduates to become life-long learners, able to thrive, contribute, and excel in a demanding secondary school environment and in tomorrow's society.