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Upper School

Upper School students walk down hallway together
The RCDS Upper School Program prepares students in 5th–8th Grade  for success in secondary school and beyond. 

The program is established to meet the social emotional and academic needs of each child by developing lifelong skills that emphasize problem solving, communication and organization. 
Welcome to the Upper School, where we create an engaging, challenging, and rewarding world for our fifth through eighth graders. In these grades young people become more curious and better equipped to handle sophisticated academic work. We develop a foundation for this scholarship. We foster communication skills, encouraging analysis and critical thinking, and cultivate logical and creative approaches to problem solving. We achieve these goals by addressing the needs of each student, so that every child is both challenged and nurtured.


Over these four years, a child's worldview will change in remarkable ways, and by eighth grade, that child will have become a young adult. Our culture fosters the dignity of every individual and focuses on the inherent worth of each stage in a young person's development. Being a sixth grader is much more than preparation for being a seventh grader; being a sixth grader is a rich and valuable experience in its own right.

At RCDS, we are not only preparing our children for success in secondary school and college. We are also helping our children to accomplish in the moment, and we are starting them on a thoughtful, independent journey that extends beyond their school experience.

Upper School student leads discussion in class
Bill Lamb Headshot

“We are helping our children to accomplish in the moment, and we are starting them on a thoughtful, independent journey that extends beyond their school experience."Bill Lamb
Head of Upper School

What do we learn?

Skills

Curiosity

Collaboration

Reading

Problem Solving

Empathy

Organization

Presentation

Self Advocacy

Creativity

Listening

Writing

Critical Thinking

Public Speaking

Time Management

Resilience