Independent and Private Schools
Connecticut Parent Magazine strives to provide the best education options for parents, as well as cover the issues that are affecting our children in the classroom. Articles cover topics across the spectrum, including educational philosophies, how to improve study habits and dealing with a learning disability. One of our most valuable features is our monthly focus on Independent Schools in Connecticut. This culminates with our annual Education Resource Guide, which showcases independent elementary and secondary schools.
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Below is a selection of outstanding independent & magnet schools throughout Connecticut, divided by region.
By County
Fairfield County
Easton Country Day School
660 Morehouse Road, Easton, CT 06612
www.EastonCountryDay.org
203-268-5530
ECDS, grades PreK-12, offers rigorous academics shaped to the individual, in an environment that encourages accomplishment, responsibility and kindness. Our high school allows students to proceed at their own pace, and participate in creating their own curriculum.
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Fraser Woods Montessori School
173 S. Main St. (Rte. 25), Newtown, CT 06470
www.fraserwoods.com
203-426-3390
15 months-8th grade. Mixed age classrooms. Challenging, individualized curriculum cultivates respect, responsibility, values, confidence and lifelong love of learning. FT/PT, before/after school, summer program. Founded in 1968 as Newtown Montessori School.
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King School
1450 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, CT 06905
www.kingschoolct.org
203-322-3496
Students in grades PreK through 12 engage in an expansive curriculum focused on student-driven inquiry and experiential learning. Visit Campus to learn how we open minds and encourage lifelong curiosity.
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The Long Ridge School
478 Erskine Road, Stamford, CT 06903
www.longridgeschool.org
203-322-7693
The Long Ridge School provides a joyful learning experience for 2-year-olds through Grade 5. Classes in theme-based studies focus on literature, math, art, nature and science, including classes in music, technology, physical education and Spanish.
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The Montessori School
Lisa Potter, Head of School
34 Whipple Road
(203) 834-0440
An accredited Montessori school (14 mos.-8th grade) fostering respect, independence and social responsibility. A large campus with small classes and highly trained teachers, offering an experiential, individualized and academically rigorous approach within a creative, diverse and nurturing culture.
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Ridgefield Academy
223 West Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877
(203) 894-1800 x112
www.ridgefieldacademy.org
Preschool - Grade 8. A program centered around joyful learning in an intentionally connected community. Teachers nurture and inspire self-confidence while your child discovers themselves and the world. The interconnected curriculum allows students to be thinkers, dreamers, artists, athletes, scientists, writers, and historians all within the course of a school day. Students emerge from the academic journey at RA as confident, self-assured graduates prepared for success in high school and beyond.
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St Joseph High School
2320 Huntington Turnpike, Trumbull, CT 06611
www.sjcadets.org
203-378-9378
St Joseph High School is an independent, Catholic college preparatory community that educates and motivates young men and women to live purposeful lives as ethical leaders committed to the common good of all.
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Whitby School
969 Lake Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06831
www.whitbyschool.org
203-302-3900
Montessori (18 mos - Kindergarten) International Baccalaureate (Grade 1 -8). Whitby inspires a passion for learning and empowers each child to take responsibility as an open-minded, principled citizen in a global community.
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Winston Preparatory School
57 West Rocks Road, Norwalk, CT 06851
www.winstonprep.edu
203-229-0465
An innovative day school for students in the 4th through 12th grades with learning differences such as dyslexia, nonverbal learning disabilities and executive functioning difficulties. To attend an Open House, visit www.winstonprep.edu/apply-now.
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Wooster School
91 Miry Brook Road, Danbury, CT 06810
www.woosterschool.org
203-830-3916
Wooster School: we are making thinking visible and minding what matters. Wooster School is a 4th through 12th grade, co-educational college preparatory, independent day school, on a 127-acre campus, serving students from Fairfield and Westchester counties.
Greater Hartford
Ben Bronz Academy
11 Wampanoag Drive, West Hartford, CT 06117
www.benbronzacademy.org
860-236-5807
For bright dyslexic or learning disabled children, grades 2-12. Students become competent problem-solvers, effective communicators and independent learners. Our goal is to return students to public and private schools in their own communities quickly.
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Farmington Valley Academy Montessori
150 Fisher Drive, Avon, CT 06001
www.fvamontessori.org
860-677-2403
Educating children 15 months through 8th grade. 21st century Montessori education that prepares each child to work to their full potential, while simultaneously preserving in each student self confidence, independence and a lifelong love of learning.
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Talcott Mountain Academy
324 Montevideo Drive, Avon, CT 06001
www.talcottacademy.org
860-677-0035
CT's premier independent school for gifted & talented in grades K-8. Talcott Mountain is a unique learning community with a robust, fully-integrated curriculum that fosters students' intellectual and creative talents. We empower students to invent their future.
Greater New Haven
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Cold Spring School
263 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06513
www.coldspringschool.org
203-787-1584
Educating creative, self-confident thinkers in grades preschool-6. Cold Spring’s innovative learning environment is responsive to children's natural love-of-learning, their need to achieve strong academic skills and become part of a socially committed community. With an emphasis on inquiry, deep thinking, and problem solving, we believe that children learn best through active, experiential learning. We also understand the crucial role social-emotional-learning plays at this age. Equity and inclusion are essential to Cold Spring’s educational philosophy; our community is incredibly diverse. We are committed to fostering a more interwoven and equitable world through openness, reflection, and justice. Cold Spring fosters a lifelong love-of-learning from the very start.
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CT Experiential (CELC) Middle School
28 School Street, Branford, CT 06405
203-433-4658
Middles School Specialists, small class sizes, personalized instruction, robust academics. Selected fourth grade students through eighth grade. Contact maddm@CTExperiential.org or call 203.433.4658 for more information. Visit CTExperiential.org.
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Hamden Hall Country Day School
1108 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
www.hamdenhall.org
203-752-2610
A PreSchool through Grade 12 day school that fosters the individual growth of every student. The Hamden Hall Experience starts with academic excellence as enhanced by our dynamic learning environment and nurtured by our esteemed faculty.
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St. Thomas's Day School
830 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511
www.stthomasday.org
203-776-2123
A K-6 independent day school that combines academic excellence with a strong sense of community. St. Thomas's motivates students of diverse faiths and backgrounds to become independent thinkers who appreciate, serve and understand others.