Student Success

Our dedicated and experienced staff is committed to providing an educational experience that meets each student's needs through a variety of instructional strategies and approaches.

The school’s Student Success Team is comprised of ten faculty and staff members who are dedicated to each child's most effective approach to learning. The Student Success Team addresses challenges and encourages opportunities for growth, meeting regularly to ensure that every child has a full range of academic and social-emotional support.

The Chestnut Hill School knows that every child is a unique person and learner, and that academic excellence requires the thoughtful development of social-emotional capacities.

Female teacher sitting on floor working with students

Academic and Social Supports

Social-Emotional Learning

The Chestnut Hill School takes seriously that a child’s social and emotional health is central to the effective and joyful learning for which we are known. Accordingly, the SEL curriculum is organized in such a way as to enhance opportunities for positive interaction among children, and thoughtful, reflective growth for every community member.

The Open Circle curriculum provides a common vocabulary and common experiences across the grades. Developed at Wellesley College, the Open Circle curriculum fosters community by promoting a broad range of social and cultural competencies: lessons center on social interaction, problem-solving, self-awareness, and communication skills. The program begins in Beginners and continues through Grade 5.

Academic Support

The School provides a challenging academic program as well as a structured, multi-dimensional support system for students encountering challenges, as all students eventually will. The Director of Student Learning works to provide continuity for students by coordinating services, facilitating communication, maintaining confidential records, interpreting test results, recommending support plans, and monitoring plan compliance.

Literacy and Math Specialists

In collaboration with the Director of Learning Support and classroom teachers, CHS utilizes full-time literacy and math specialists who help facilitate student learning and growth through skill-based individual and small group instruction. Although the school does not provide auxiliary services such as therapeutic counseling, speech/language therapy, or occupational therapy, the Director of Student Learning and members of the Student Success Team work with families to find appropriate service providers.

School Counseling

The focus of our program is to support the emotional and social needs of CHS students in order for each student to be able to achieve their full capacity for learning. The school counselor helps support the social-emotional needs and growth of students, teachers, staff and families within the school community. This includes utilizing a tiered social-emotional learning approach to supporting students, along with prevention and intervention strategies that foster social and emotional competencies.

Student Health and Wellness

The teachers and support staff are amazing. They are incredibly effective in helping each student learn and thrive in the classroom. They are tremendously skilled at creating learning experiences that support each child's strengths while identifying areas that need support when they struggle.

Rebecca
Parent '27