Our Mission

Charles River School is an independent school offering students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade a strong academic program in an environment that celebrates learning and values each member of its community.

At Charles River School, we:

	Challenge children with an engaging academic, arts, and athletic program that stimulates intellectual curiosity, supports risk-taking and fosters exploration and discovery;
	Honor children as individuals, and nurture their development, self-worth and achievement;
	Cultivate a community that approaches education as a shared endeavor among parents, students and teachers;
	Respect ourselves and others, and prepare children to be active participants in our diverse world.

Our History

In 1911, parents founded Charles River School on the banks of the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts. Here, they sought to establish a school that would offer a strong academic program, advance moral learning, provide leadership in educational innovation, instill in students a love of learning, and ensure parents' active involvement in the education of their children.

Since then, we have developed and expanded. In 1917, the school moved to Dover, Massachusetts. Behind the school's original Victorian house lies a 16-acre campus with four academic buildings and a sports center. The facilities include large, bright classrooms, a library, technology center, state-of-the-art language laboratory, assembly hall, music rooms, photography darkroom, art studio, indoor gross motor space and climbing wall, and tennis/basketball courts. An outdoor amphitheatre, new playground, and two athletic fields complete the campus.

But our commitment remains the same: We continue to pioneer in elementary education that attends to the whole child and works in partnership with families. We offer an academically challenging program that teaches crucial skills in an intellectually and culturally rich learning environment. Classes are small, learning is personalized, teachers are accessible, and parents are involved in the education of their children.