Brookwood School

Brookwood is an extraordinary school, full of dedicated, passionate teachers and confident, happy students. This is our fifth year at Brookwood, with a current 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My husband and I chose Brookwood for our children because we wanted a school where they would be challenged academically, but in a nurturing environment with a focus on developing critical thinkers and life-long learners. We wanted to ensure that our kids continued to foster their love of learning and build their confidence. Brookwood has exceeded all our expectations. It's a school that places as much importance on academics/athletics and the arts as it does on community building and learning how to be a positive, contributing member of society and a good friend. My children feel valued and truly understood by their teachers. Their teachers really know them and nurture their strengths, while gently pushing them outside of their comfort zones and opening them up to endless possibilities. My son came into Brookwood with a strong passion for sports and an equally strong disdain for math. Four years later and his sporty nature has been nurtured, but he now plays the piano and tried out for the math team last year! My daughter, who is only in second grade, has already had the opportunity to stand in front of her entire school at School Meeting and sing her favorite Mary Poppins song. My children are learning about the world around them, and they are learning how to become their best selves, and we are eternally grateful for this experience.

When my wife and I moved back to the North Shore we chose to return to an area with great school options. In selecting a school for our children, we wanted a school that offered challenging academics and learning experiences throughout the elementary and middle school years. We wanted a school that had small class sizes, close teacher interaction, and provided our children with a broad and full curriculum, covering the essentials in math, reading, and writing but also did not compromise in important subject such as technology, science, social studies, art, music, and foreign language. We also wanted a school that offered a range of supplemental programs beyond the classroom, including music and theater options, as well as competitive athletics in the middle school. On the North Shore, we found lots to choose from in both the public school system and with other private schools. We decided Brookwood was the best choice for our children due to the strong academic program and the school's approach to focusing on the development of the individual student and character. Brookwood provides a solid foundation for students who go on to choose their own paths for high school, whether at private boarding school, independent day school, or local public school. Regardless of the path graduates choose, students gain a solid academic experience and base of knowledge they can take anywhere.

It's true when I tell you that children skip down the halls of Brookwood. I have three young children, two in the Lower school and one who will hopefully start soon and I'm always amazed at how curious, energized, intelligent, and kind the children at this school are. My daughter and son love their community at Brookwood and are excited to return day in and day out. "Mom, vacation is too long. I miss school." ... and sometimes, "Mom, the weekend is too long. I miss school."Each child is valued for what they bring to the classroom; teachers meet children where they are at academically and propel them forward without the children realizing it. My son's class had a student interested in Owls, which turned into a full forced cross-curriculum study. Children dissected owl pellets in science, painted owls in art, used owl research in math, read about owls, etc. and then met one evening in early spring to go for a flashlight led owl walk in the dark on our campus. Teachers are creative and go above and beyond to teach children in interesting, wholistic ways. There is strength and layers for the purpose-built education, structured on building the whole child. Social emotional development is curated while children learn to participate in the greater Brookwood community. From the buddy systems, where younger students are paired with older students, mindfulness practice sprinkled throughout the school, executive functioning strategy skills, to supporting and cheering on fellow student performers/presenters at the school wide weekly meeting, children are taught how to have a strong sense of self, while learning in a rigorous and rich environment. My kids love their older buddies and as young students feel empowered to high-five older students and make connections beyond (and below) their grade-level. While the teachers and administrators may be the special sauce, the campus is certainly the underlying pasta. With acres of beautiful spaces, the children explore the pond, streams, boulders/rocks, woods, marsh, and regularly walk or drive down the street to the beach. The natural world which children are immersed in seems to only deepen their understanding of the powerful academic work they are doing. Coming from the business world, I didn't know how to explore and compare independent schools but once I got onto the campus at Brookwood, met the faculty and staff and got a whiff of the energy, creativity, and exceptional innovative academic strides being taken, I knew it was the right community for our family. I recommend scheduling a tour because that was an influential start to our independent school journey.

Brookwood School fosters a welcoming and enriching environment for all members of its community - students, families, and faculty alike. Brookwood has felt like a home away from home for me for nearly my entire life. As a Brookwood alum who attended the school from Pre K to eighth grade, and now in my current role as a Kindergarten teacher at Brookwood, I have had the privilege of experiencing Brookwood as a student and as a faculty member. As an alum, I couldn't imagine having spent ten years of my childhood at any other school. At Brookwood, teachers and peers helped me grow into my best self. I entered Brookwood as a shy Pre-Kindergartner and flourished into a writer, artist, athlete, musician, and most importantly, overall confident person who felt equipped to live a successful, happy, and healthy life. My early years of tremendous growth was a testament to the Brookwood community's continuous love and support. The teachers I had at Brookwood were a main reason that I felt drawn to enter the education profession; I am passionate about instilling in children the same sense of belonging, purpose, and lifelong love of learning that my teachers instilled in me. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to be a teacher at the school I grew up at, and I am so thankful that Brookwood has remained the same at its core for all these years. Brookwood truly does put children first, serving them in the best possible way.

"Mom, I really think it would be fun to try the song `Sweet Child O` Mine.`"This was my second grader`s conclusion as to which song she should sing at school meeting-a weekly community gathering of the entire school where announcements are made, special news is delivered, and children of all ages are encouraged to share something that`s special to them. My once shy daughter has blossomed into a wonderful, kind, and confident girl with the courage to get on stage in front of the entire community and belt out a song of her choosing-the third week of second grade.This is the direct result of the deeply woven community at the core of Brookwood, a progressive independent school for Pre-k through 8th graders that not only knows how to focus on children as individuals, but how to connect them to a larger community as well. There were lots of good choices among schools in the area, and we chose Brookwood from all of the available independent and public school options because we sought a deeply connected curriculum that is based in a community. As such, we felt Brookwood was the place that would help our children become the best people they could be. We considered academics, athletics, music, and art when making our decision, of course, but above all we sought a place that would help our children find themselves within the nurturing environment of authentic connection. And that`s exactly what our children have made; connections with peers both older and younger, connections to bigger ideas, connections to their own sense of self, and connections to the larger community outside of Brookwood. We are tough critics, and we couldn`t be happier with our choice. More importantly, our kids couldn`t be happier either.

My husband and I have been thrilled with the quality of education at Brookwood. The teachers are smart, authentic, and know how to connect with each kid to inspire a love of learning. That connection means that my children not only excel academically but also that they are curious about knowing more about the world around them. Students are as likely to be a star on the soccer team as they are participating in the amazing plays (really they are incredible) and know how to solve a math problem seven different ways. Brookwood`s commitment to balancing both the academic rigor with a child centered approach is the true differentiator from other independent schools that I have seen.

We've had 2 children with very different personalities and learning styles progress through Brookwood Both girls have thrived, having been met with a personalized approach from consistently excellent, wholly invested educators.We were attracted to Brookwood by conversations with past parents and adult former students. They consistently beamed about the warm environment, gentle approach to individual excellence and foundation for general success provided by Brookwood. I'm happy to say the child-centered, progressive culture of the school we heard of is very real having been perpetuated by long-tenured educators.The program is progressive, integrating subjects to provide contextual learning that sticks with our girls. Broad exposure to arts, music, world culture and various sports has given our girls every opportunity to explore their interests, allowing them to find their own paths.We have no doubts that Brookwood is an investment in our children's future that will provide exponential benefits. We are certain that each of our very different children will more than succeed in secondary school with the foundation they've received.