Type Private Head of school Marijke Kehrhahn Phone +1 860-347-7235 Founded 1960 | Opened 1961 Enrollment 152 Number of students 152 | |
Grades Pre-school through Grade 8 Website The Independent Day School Address 115 Laurel Brook Rd, Middlefield, CT 06455, USA | ||
The Independent Day School is a private school located in Middlefield, Connecticut offering instruction to students from pre-school through the eighth grade.
Contents
Foundation
The school was initially the idea of a group of parents in the Middlefield area, who first discussed the concept in the spring of 1959. A meeting to discuss the plans for the school was also held at Wesleyan University on March 15, 1960, where the intentions were to take on about forty students between kindergarten and grade seven. John Martin was selected to be the architect of the original building in which the school was housed. The Independent Day School officially opened in September 1961 with a student body composed of 93 children ranging from kindergarten to grade eight. The enrollment increased to 123 the following year.
History
In 1963 the school started its first expansion, adding an assembly room, science laboratory, a new kindergarten unit, and a language-teaching room. During the 1960s the kindergarten program wasn't always offered, but eventually became a stable part of the curriculum offered by the school. Founders of the school as well as board members of the school include those with ties to other private schools in the region, such as Choate Rosemary Hall and Wesleyan.
By 1969 the school had an enrollment of 194 students. A new science lab and art room were opened at the start of that school year, in the third expansion within the school's history. The teachers during this time were largely hired according to the strictness of their educational standards. During the early 1970s the school then moved to a more open classroom model, providing a greater informality to students and utilizing cross-grade groupings. In 1973 the school increased its focus on the extracurricular studies offered to its students, including drama, a new sports program, music, and art, each of which was not offered before. The new focus also included the institution of a small museum.
Head of school
The first headmaster of The Independent Day School was David Newcomb, hired before the school opened in 1961. Past headmasters of the school have also included Roger W. Nelson (1965-73), Alan Blackmer (1973-79), Norman S. Jason (1979-85), Walter Ebmeyer (1985-95), Robert R. Coombs, Jr. (1995-2001), and Robert Fricker (2001-07). The term headmaster was eventually changed to "head of school", and the current head of school is Dr, Kerhan, who became the second female head of the school in its history after taking over from Jessi Christiansen (2013-2016). The head of school has traditionally lived in an 18th century residence called the Talcott House before it was sold by the institution.