About The Independent Day School
The Independent Day School is a co-educational private pre-school, elementary and middle school. The school is located on rolling hills in the countryside of Middlefield. Since its founding in 1961, families of diverse racial, religious and social backgrounds have come from 30 surrounding communities, including Cheshire, Cromwell, Durham, Glastonbury, Guilford, Haddam, Middlefield, Middletown, Portland, and Wallingford, to experience a challenging curriculum in a warm, supportive environment.
When it comes to the education of our children there is no such thing as good enough. Prospective parents who visit IDS often arrive with a list of concerns about their children’s prior educational experiences that have caused both exasperation and frustration. Tales of boredom, teaching to the test and unwanted anonymity abound, and unfortunately, education becomes something to be endured, rather than an enriching journey to be embraced, celebrated and enjoyed.
As a result, visiting parents often ask us to describe how IDS is different and to be quite honest; we sometimes don’t know where to begin. We could start by speaking of our beautiful 33-acre campus and winding nature trails, challenging academics, and supportive learning environment. Or…we could go into great detail about our bold, inquisitive students, our Centers of Excellence, and our superb secondary school placement. However, despite all of these options, we generally start with something much more basic: the smiles. Independent Day School students absolutely love coming to school, and the evidence stretches from ear-to-ear and extends throughout every grade.