The Savannah Country Day School (SCDS, Country Day) is an independent college
preparatory school founded in 1955 in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...
, United States. The co-educational school serves students from
pre-kindergarten through to
twelfth grade
Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...
, and has 1,028 students enrolled.
History
Savannah Country Day School originates from the founding of the Pape School by Nina Anderson Pape in 1905. Savannah Country Day School itself was founded in 1955 by a group of parents (including
Cornelia Groves), with the school taking over the assets and faculty of Pape School, including the facilities east of Forsyth Park, and the school's curriculum. In 1960, the school moved to its current Windsor Park location, south of Savannah. A book titled ''Service Through Knowledge and Character'' details the school's history. The first headmaster was Robert W. Trusdell and first upper school principal was Thomas Triol, whose wife Helen taught chemistry and physics.
In the 1970s, the school decided to not affiliate with the
Episcopal Church when the Bishop made it clear that the school would have to enroll substantially higher number of
African-Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
.
In 1983, Dr. Paul M. Pressly became the school's headmaster. A
Rhodes scholar who earned degrees from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, Dr. Pressly helped develop a long-range plan for the school.
In 1991, a visiting committee from the
U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
named Country Day a National School of Excellence, one of only ten independent schools in the nation to receive that award. The school was honored by the
Blue Ribbon Schools Program in December 1992.
In 2013, Kef L. Wilson became the school's new headmaster. He is the eighth headmaster since the school's inception in 1905.
Academics
Savannah Country Day School has been named "Best Private School" by ''Savannah Magazine'' and has been honored as the "Best Private School" by ''Connect Savannah''.
The curriculum is divided between lower school (
junior-kindergarten to
fifth grade
Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations, and some other regions call it Year 5. In the United States, the fifth grade is the fifth and last year of elementary school in most schools. In other schools, it ...
), middle school (
sixth grade
Sixth grade (or grade six in some regions) is the sixth year of schooling. Students are typically 11–12 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs. Different terms and numbers are used in other parts of the world. It is commonly the firs ...
to
eighth grade), and upper school (
ninth grade to
twelfth grade
Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...
). The average class size is sixteen students with a student:teacher ratio of 10:1.
[
A "Little School" exists for children between the ages of six weeks and three years. The school also offers summer programs for children in the form of ]day camp
Day camps also known as summer camps in some areas, are geared for those who are of school ages 3-7. They offer activities in a social setting, usually in the community and the children return home in the evenings. Day camps can be booked by the ...
experiences. Activities include academics, art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
s, athletics, and outdoor experiences.
Admissions
The school has an acceptance rate of 50%.[
]
Campus
Savannah Country Day School's campus is located on a wooded 65-acre campus on Savannah's south side in the Windsor Forest neighborhood. In 2005, the school completed construction on the Nina Anderson Pape Middle School building. In 2008, the school officially opened a new LEED Silver-certified lower school.
Fine arts
In 2011, the Savannah Country Day School chorus was one of 14 choirs selected to perform Handel's "Messiah" live at Lincoln Center in New York. The show was reviewed by ''The New York Times'', which described it as a "full-throttle" experience.
Environmental stewardship
In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
recognized Country Day as a Green Ribbon School
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...
in honor of its commitment to environmental stewardship. In 2011, the school was given the nation's first Green Flag award by the National Wildlife Federation.
In 2008, the school dedicated the first Silver LEED-certified lower school in Chatham County. The 52,500-square-foot lower school building includes the following environmental features:
* Non-toxic paint and carpet
* A roof system to catch and store rain in an underground cistern, then used to water the gardens
* Energy saving windows
* Carpets, paints and cabinets with reduced volatile organic compounds
* Surrounding landscaping and gardens with plants and shrubbery requiring minimal water
* An 800-gallon aquacenter
* A butterfly garden equipped with cameras to show the different stages of butterflies
* Countertops made from recycled material
* Low-water urinals and water heads
Since the school's first vegetable garden was planted in the 1970s, the school has expanded to include a Butterfly Garden, Herb Garden, Fruit Garden, Brown Thumb Garden, Monet Garden, Organic Spot, Shakespeare Garden and Pangaea Garden. Throughout the school year, third-grade students plant, tend, harvest and eat fruits and vegetables grown on campus in the SCDS cafeteria. Students also donate vegetables from the garden to a local food bank.["Savannah Country Day Students Lend a Hand to Second Harvest," WSAV-TV, February 3, 2012, http://www.wsav.com/story/21211440/savannah-country-day-students-lend-a-hand-to-second-harvest]
References
External links
*
Nina Anderson Pape
historical marker
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1955
Preparatory schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
Schools in Savannah, Georgia
Private high schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
Private middle schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
Private elementary schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
1955 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Segregation academies in Georgia