Welcome to CEDS

“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”
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The Church of the Epiphany Day School welcomes children and families of all races, identities, experiences, ideas, beliefs, socioeconomic backgrounds, family structures, creeds, colors, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations and gender expressions. Showing respect for all creatures and beings is our highest priority. We strive to develop respect and appreciation of everyone and everything, and we strive to make everyone feel like an essential part of what makes us a beautiful whole. As a school, we approach the world with kindness, compassion and an inclusive heart, and instill these values in our students.

We strive to provide all members of our community – children, their families, caregivers, faculty, and staff – with a sense of belonging. We honor the values, characteristics, and intersecting identities of our community members and we commit ourselves to the daily work of providing an inclusive and equitable community. We believe a diverse, inclusive, and equitable school community is essential for preparing young students to participate in today’s complex world. We intentionally provide children with opportunities to explore similarities and variation, and we are responsive to the questions that emerge. We recognize that even the youngest children can and should engage in conversations about identity with the aim of awakening curiosity, developing positive self-awareness, and widening perspectives. We believe in building a foundation for children to recognize inequity and take appropriate steps to affect positive change in their communities.

At the Church of the Epiphany Day School we feel that our job goes far beyond facilitating the development of an intellectual skill set. Much effort is put forth to establish a strong social and emotional skill set as well. Our curriculum emphasizes building a strong sense of independence and confidence so that our children will enter the world eager to absorb knowledge and live fruitful & passionate lives. We work hard to generate compassionate, empathic members of society who think of others as well as themselves. Early on we strive to build a sense of community and belonging among the children. As their school experience progresses, their personal relationship to the world around them slowly expands outward. They are guided through developing a sense of community and belonging among their peers, their school community, their families and their neighborhood. Over time, they transition from pondering, “How do I be a kind and responsible member of my classroom?” to “How do I be a kind and responsible member of my world?”

Early Childhood is a time when children develop an empowering sense of independence. This budding sense of self is something we strive to nurture and grow over the course of a child’s stay at CEDS. With great independence comes great responsibility. CEDS emphasizes taking responsibility for one’s self, one’s classmates, one’s school and one’s community. Having to negotiate one’s own needs with those of their peers requires patience, the ability to share, and self-control. At CEDS children learn to respect, listen, and encourage one another. Through a combination of small and large group work, they are motivated to problem solve together, to develop an interest in one another’s work, and to find clever ways of negotiating and collaborating their ideas. CEDS children are constantly being encouraged to ask thoughtful questions, think outside the box, and find multiple ways to solve a problem.

We are of the mind that children are incredibly capable and recognize that all of them learn in different ways. We never underestimate their capabilities and always respect individual learning styles. To support this variation, our teachers use student-driven themes and find creative ways to teach information through a variety of disciplines so that each child has the opportunity to learn through a means that is inspiring to them.

It is our goal to provide the children with skills that will push them beyond traditional learning and promote dynamic thinking that results in children who don’t want to just know that something happens; they want to know how it happens, why it happens and when they can apply it and experience it for themselves. Our children are encouraged to develop curiosity, to hypothesize, to think reflectively, and to find multiple ways of solving a problem. They learn to formulate questions when they encounter new information and enjoy the process of exploration over the product.

We view our school as an extension of each child’s home. As such, we strive to create a laid-back atmosphere where children and adults alike feel welcomed and well taken care of. We place great emphasis on working together with parents, staff, caregivers and community members to support each member of our school community. Our goal is to serve as more than just a nursery school, and to provide a hub for young families to connect and to find support in one another. CEDS families are always there for each other and develop a reciprocal support network. It is not uncommon to find a parent or caregiver watching one another’s children, supporting each other during times of need or even stepping into the classroom when a teacher is out. We pride ourselves on the sense of community and support that is built among our families and attempt to expand that bond beyond the walls of our school. ​

Each year the Church of The Epiphany Day School undertakes a number of community service projects. We believe that it is important for young children to learn social responsibility early and can do so by being empowered to take action. An attempt is made to collaborate with organizations that deal with issues which can be easily translated to the children in an age-appropriate way, and which the children can actively participate in. We place great emphasis on working together with parents, caregivers and community members to provide our students with unique, meaningful, character-building experiences.