Multi-Dimensional Learning  

From their first days on campus, Village School students learn and practice Chadwick’s Core Values of honesty, respect, fairness, responsibility and compassion both in and outside the classroom. As a result, they grow in ways that stretch far beyond academics. 

Village Beyond the Classroom

Planting Seeds of Service 

The spirit of community service is ingrained in Village School life, where impressionable young minds learn the importance of giving back. Heart of the Village is a Chadwick Service Learning program offering Village Students opportunities to engage in meaningful leadership, mentoring, and service projects. Wherever possible, these student-led projects are aligned with their curriculum. Service projects can change from year to year but always focus on empowering students to do their part in making our community and the world a better place.

Village students make donations during the holidays, hold candy drives and letter-writing campaigns for families in the armed services, adopt endangered animals and habitats for Earth Day, create book drives to promote literacy and sponsor a bake sale to raise money for Heart of the Village, where they work in family groups to complete these and other service-based projects. 

Exploring The Outdoors

Outdoor Education is a cornerstone of the Chadwick experience. Beginning in kindergarten, our young students are introduced to the wonder and importance of nature. Each year, they’re exposed to more adventurous experiential learning, building priceless practical and personal skills along the way. Every Village student uses the Chadwick Canyon as an outdoor classroom and learns about gardening throughout the science curriculum.

In the third grade, students take their first off-campus excursion to El Capitan north of Santa Barbara (photo above). They learn how to be away from home, many for the first time, and have opportunities to connect with local California nature. The skills they build in the Lower School — grit, resilience and taking responsible risk — serve as the foundation for more extensive backpacking adventures in the Middle and Upper Schools.