Home
CHS
Grow Today, Transform Tomorrow
At The Chestnut Hill School, we believe childhood optimism and enduring curiosity can transform the world. Here, students from age 3 through Grade 6 find meaning and joy in a diverse community that encourages all to question, to take risks, and to think critically as they grow into intellectually skilled, empathetic, self-empowered young learners.
JOYFUL
Joyful Today, Fulfilled Tomorrow
When children see learning as meaningful, purposeful, and joyful, they naturally develop the skills and confidence to achieve educational success. CHS students excel because they are happy, supported, and known.
CURIOUS
Curious Today, Innovative Tomorrow
By encouraging children to ask interesting questions, and to do the research to find the answers, children learn to embrace creativity and flexible thinking. Our thoughtful, balanced curriculum creates students who believe in themselves as learners and problem solvers.
KIND
Kind Today, Conscious Tomorrow
Children who are taught to care about the rights and feelings of others, while expressing their own thoughts and beliefs, become responsible, contributing members of the world.
Our Program
From excitable early learners to confident students, The Chestnut Hill School offers everything your child needs to thrive and grow from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 6.
Early Childhood
Beginners - Kindergarten
Our Early Childhood program, which begins at age 3, helps our youngest learners develop a sense of identity, gain literacy and numeracy skills, and practice inquiry and creativity through hands-on learning in STEAM class.
Lower School
1st Grade - 3rd Grade
Lower School students develop into sophisticated learners, organized and clear writers, and complex problem solvers through a program that encourages them to follow their passions and contribute to our socially conscious community.
Upper School
4th Grade - 6th Grade
In Upper School, students prepare to engage with the world around them as curious citizens and informed scholars, building on their foundation of leadership and academic skills to enhance inquiry, activism, research, self-reflection, and agency.
Think Big, and Grow Slow
What would the world be like if we let childhood last a little longer? If we allowed children to think big, and grow slow? If we encouraged individuality while building empathy? At The Chestnut Hill School, we do just that.
Skilled Learners
Our academic approach builds perseverance, spurs creativity, and encourages leadership, developing within students a strong sense of self and belonging that prepares them to excel in their educational journeys.
Empathetic Classmates
As children of all cultures and affinities sit side-by-side, deciphering math equations, designing robots, and playing instruments, they cultivate genuine relationships that honor and celebrate the identities and perspectives of others.
Self-empowered Thinkers
At CHS, true learning and confidence come with opportunities to try, to participate, to contribute, and to lead. Teachers empower students to develop their individual voices and take an active role in our community.
Our Story
CHS Today, the World Tomorrow
Hear from various members of the community about what makes their CHS experience stand out.
Alice
Parent '25 '28 '30
We moved our three kids -- ages 3, 5, and 8 -- from our local public school to CHS. We have found CHS to really provide the best of all worlds -- the strong sense of community and concern for social justice as well as small classes and close attention to each child. Our kids are really known as individuals by the teachers and staff at CHS, who communicate frequently with us about both their strengths and weaknesses. And most importantly, all three of our kids love going to school every single day.
Kaden
Class of 2022
My favorite thing about CHS is the community and learning to be a mentor. CHS has given me many opportunities to do this with the Learning Partners program. When I started in Beginners, and we got introduced to our learning partners who were in 4th grade, I knew I wanted mine to be my learning partner for the next three years, and luckily he was! He was a nice, amazing, and funny learning partner and I was sad to see him graduate. Now, with me as a 6th grader having one of my learning partners for the past three years and another for one year, I am aware of how fun it is to have a special bond with younger people in the school and to be a mentor to them.
Victoria
Board Member; Parent '22 '25
The teachers at The Chestnut Hill School are experts in early and middle childhood. They know and love kids, and they create classroom environments so joyful and thoughtful that kids don't realize how much they are learning. The school has offered a perfect balance between progressive and traditional approaches, and our children have thrived there.
Lauren
CHS Faculty; Parent '19 '21 '23
There is a strong foundational curriculum at CHS that prepares our students to be successful as students and thinkers after CHS. At the same time, the curriculum is ever-evolving - in both proactive and reactive ways. The room for creativity and to be responsive to the students' interests and changes in society keeps the curriculum fresh and impactful.
The genuine nurturing of the whole child is really special -- CHS students see themselves as writers, mathematicians, poets, scientists, musicians, athletes, and so much more. They are exposed to new possibilities every day. They are known and they are celebrated for who they are.
Virginia
Associate Head of Teaching & Learning; Parent '21 '23
At CHS, learning and joy abound in every nook and cranny of our school. Our teachers are extremely talented and compassionate people who are able to instill a love of learning and spark curiosity in our students. As a small school, every child is seen and known. It is a safe place for students to take risks in their learning, to persevere with rigorous academics, and to discover themselves. As a former teacher and parent of alums, I know firsthand that our students truly feel that CHS is a home away from home. It is a school that prepares our students to succeed in their next schools as scholars, leaders, and friends; it is a place that they continue to return back to as high school senior interns, as summer camp counselors, and sometimes even as classroom teachers.
Connect
The Inside Line
See what's happening inside the halls of CHS.