Lower School

The Lower School Program at Park City Day School inspires students to become dynamic citizens and future leaders by integrating academic achievement, creativity, positive group interaction, and social responsibility. Supporting a challenging core curriculum of academic content and skills, the PCDS Lower School develops the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional growth of the whole child. Students are engaged in authentic learning, decision-making, and problem solving activities, in order to develop higher level thinking skills. Additionally, our program inculcates high ethical standards based our core values of integrity, teamwork, respect, responsibility and compassion: hallmarks of sound personal development, fundamental to achievement, and essential to leading healthy, fulfilling lives.

Academic Courses

Students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade experience an academic program that exercises critical thinking skills and ensures content mastery in a developmentally appropriate setting. Students in all the Lower School grades receive instruction in the following areas:
  • Language Arts
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Science
  • Foreign Language
  • Physical Education
  • Visual & Performing Arts

Technology & Learning

In addition to learning computer terminology, use and care, Lower School students explore topical, interactive websites to enrich specific subject content, practice learning skills, and produce technology-based projects.

In fifth grade, computers become an essential component of the learning process as students apply the previously learned skills to academic subject areas in order to demonstrate comprehension.

LS Quick Facts

All LS students:
  • Participate in Visual Arts & Performing Arts classes.
  • Receive over 6 hours of weekly instruction in Math and Language Arts.
  • Participate in seasonal Outdoor Education activities.
  • Investigate science through our Greenhouse Program or Inquiry Science Program.
In addition, All fourth and fifth grade students receive musical instruction in strings.

Annual achievement testing utilizes the CTP4 assessment program.
In 2011:
  • Grade 3 students scored at or above the 85th percentile in Writing
  • Grade 4 students scored at or above the 90th percentile in Mathematics
  • Grade 5 students scored at or above the 85th percentile in Verbal Reasoning