The best gift you can give your child is an education that is joyful, fun, and exciting, ensuring future success and happiness. When you walk into BCDS, you will notice the difference! There is pervasive warmth that you will feel. Children are actively engaged in small, intimate groups and classes. Excitement is in the air. There is a sense of calm encouragement with lively discussions, intense observation of science experiments, learning games filled with laughter, and children's smiles beaming with success . The best gift you can give your child is early education that is joyful, fun, and exciting, ensuring future success and happiness.

Beacon Country Day School, (BCDS), founded in 1954, is an accredited, private, non-profit independent school that offers an enriched and accelerated educational experience for families seeking educational excellence. North Central Association, www.ncacasi.org , and the Accreditation Commission of Colorado for Private Schools, (ACCPS), accredit BCDS. Beacon also has an endorsement in education for gifted students from ACCPS. Our program provides a total learning experience for your child, which builds a foundation of knowledge and confidence.

Beacon was selected as a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. The United States Department of Education states " . . . recipients will be national models of excellence that others can learn from . . . your school is one of those excellent schools."   As a Blue Ribbon School, Beacon is a NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE.

Every child is an individual with a variety of abilities, skills, and unique learning style. We are dedicated to the development of the "total child." Our warm, supportive, nurturing, and positive environment creates the opportunity for the development of self-esteem, academic achievement, creativity, responsibility, interpersonal skills, character, and an awareness and understanding of the world and the people around us. Children have many opportunities to make choices to encourage growth in responsibility, learning, and thinking.

The joy of learning requires the effort of a faculty who function as a team, striving to maximize each individual child's abilities.   Our caring, experienced teachers recognize the value of utilizing each child's interests to promote life long learning.   Successful learning experiences encourage and increase motivation, self-confidence, maturity, and sense of well-being that are so important to the development of a well-rounded, successful adult.  

Small learning groups allow each teacher to meet individual needs while encouraging each student to recognize his own worth.   Self-esteem, academic achievement, creativity, and the joy of learning flourish in classrooms where the average class size is 15-18. The teacher/ student ratio is 1: 8.   Research shows children in small classes receive much more personal attention which fosters greater achievement .

A total environment has been planned and provides state of the art facilities with classrooms for small learning groups, a gym, library, science lab, music room, and playgrounds designed for physical and recreational activities. We are located in a beautiful country setting where we encourage the children to observe wild life and explore nature.

Many small animals live on our campus in a natural habitat: protected wetlands and a small pond are used for science throughout the year. Children love the animals, and gain real understanding of ecology and nature. Our hills are great for sledding, and walks around the grounds to discover secrets of ecology and nature.

Programming is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm. We invite you to use the extended day at no additional cost. Beacon Country Day School welcomes applicants regardless of their race, creed, color or national origin.  

Our Program Includes:

Junior Kindergarten

Junior Kindergarten is joyful and fun-filled! This first, pre-kindergarten experience, determines a child's attitude towards learning. Children learn how to learn. The program is low pressure, warm, nurturing and presents content on a continuum using music, puppets, games, and play. Skills are developed in language, cognitive processes, reading and math readiness, gross and fine motor skills, music, arts and crafts, peer-group relations, socialization, communication skills, science, social studies, and French.

Kindergarten

Children enjoy success and are motivated to learn in this full day program.   Daily activities facilitate academic skills in reading, phonics, mathematics, writing, communication skills, music, arts and crafts, science, social studies, and French. Continued gross and fine motor development, and recreation skills are emphasized.

Grades 1 – 5

Academic skills are taught in an eclectic manner that allows each child to make optimal progress, while being valued as an individual, with personal goals. A wide variety of texts and programs are used in language, reading, writing, spelling, science, arts and crafts, social studies, music and physical education, and French. Strong foundations are established as students move toward middle school.

Middle school: Grades 6 - 8

A rigorous liberal arts curriculum, which fosters personal growth, responsibility, and independent thinking, is provided. Students learn to study, develop time management skills, perfect research skills, and discover and experience their own abilities and interests. Opportunities for a variety of learning, community service, educational excellence, a joy of learning, and pride of achievement help prepare students for high school. Students collaborate in goal setting for personal and academic growth.  

Language arts include expository writing, English grammar, critical reading, literature and analysis, spelling and vocabulary. Students read a variety of genres, and study both classic and current works. The writing process, which includes planning, outlining, drafting, editing, and sharing is facilitated throughout the curriculum. Accelerated math offers pre-algebra 1 and 2, and high school algebra and geometry. Students study earth science, life science and physics. Social studies include ancient western civilization, United States history, and modern European and western civilization.

Drama, physical education, art, French, and higher level thinking skills are included.

The middle school takes a weeklong trip each year to study science or social studies, and may go to Keystone Science Camp, Crow Canyon to study ancient Native American archeology and culture, or Estes Park to learn about habitats. These great experiences are combined with education, team building, and fun.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Preparation

The curriculum offers instruction for students interested in an IB high school program.  This is an excellent, innovative liberal arts program, which lays the foundations for skills required for an IB high school program. All students in middle school benefit from this preparation.

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Student Council and Community Service

Every child, first through eighth grade, participates in Student Council each year for a period of two months. Each of the four Councils researches and selects a school, community, or global project and must complete it within the two month period. Each Council is designed to facilitate leadership, communication, research, character, responsibility, altruism, compassion, and learning both, how to get things done and how to make a difference. The list of contributions is extensive, and we are extraordinarily proud of our Student Council's achievements. Our approach to Student Council was presented at a National Association for Gifted Children Conference, and now serves as an innovative model across the nation.

Extracurricular Activities and Enrichment

To facilitate the development of the "total child," extracurricular classes are offered: piano lessons, chess club, dance, art, Mad Science, sports enrichment, and golf.

Parent Association and Activities

Parents are an integral part of our school community, enriching and enhancing the life of the school in many ways. They act as volunteers on field trips, enrichment activities, and staff our library. The Ways and Means Committee raises funds annually for the school's wish list. Grocery store coupons are sold.   An elegant, annual Beacon Ball is held, which is anticipated and greatly enjoyed by parents and faculty. The annual Fall Festival is a family event full of fun activities so families can get to know each other. Parents publish a quarterly school newsletter. The Committee of Care and Concern contacts new families, and provides help and support to Beacon families and faculty who may experience crises.

Summer Enrichment Program

School age children experience fun, exciting recreational activities, and academic enrichment in science, social studies, art, crafts, games, sports activities, music, drama, and computer science in order to maintain academic skills over the summer months. Continuous programming and summer enrichment fun are offered in Junior Kindergarten.

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Mission Statement:
Educational Excellence for the "total child"

Beacon Country Day School offers an enriched educational experience that promotes educational excellence. We respect the value of each individual, and develop the "total child" by providing a warm, nurturing, positive, and supportive school environment and culture, in which students are challenged, build strong academic foundations, knowledge, and confidence through a total learning experience. BCDS provides opportunities to develop self-esteem, creativity, and the joy of learning which will maximize each child's potential, encourage life long learning, strive for personal excellence, and achieve educational excellence.

Our Goals:

1. We believe in providing each child the enriched and accelerated learning needed to reach a high level of academic excellence. This includes the development of independence, creativity, and motivation to learn and achieve within a well-structured, but low-pressure environment. Our curriculum provides each child with knowledge and opportunities to practice decision-making.

2. We believe in establishing positive, effective communication and interpersonal relationship skills. This can be facilitated in a carefully planned learning environment which is based on respect for each child as an individual, and a philosophy which practices positive support, individualization of each child's program and faculty who are genuinely committed to the development of each child as a whole person.

3. We help each student establish a good self-concept, awareness and understanding of the world and of people, compassion, and a sense of pleasure and delight in learning, and in participating in the life present in our ever-changing world. It is our philosophy that children will be successful, and appreciate the natural and aesthetic qualities of the world in which we live.

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Faculty & Administration

We are proud of our exceptional faculty. Our teachers are licensed and experienced, caring, supportive, and dedicated. They foster joyful learning, which is so essential to our learning environment. The faculty is committed to the development of the "total child" and exhibit an unusually high degree of professionalism and creativity. Many of them have advanced degrees, and many, varied areas of expertise.

Excellence is demanded of our teachers in order to promote excellence in the children. Because each teacher creates the emotional climate in the classroom and strives to provide motivation for learning, children's needs are met with success. Carefully crafted lessons and experiences provide the best possible education for each child. The children, faculty, and parents work together as a team to provide a most unique learning experience and to ensure the development of the total child.

Administration:

Dr. Cynthia Wallace has been our principal for the past 25 years.  Dr. Wallace began her educational journey as a speech pathologist, earning a B.A. and an M.A. She has an extensive knowledge of   language and learning and ensures both are utilized to facilitate all academic areas.  In addition to a   Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in School Administration, she also completed course sequences in early childhood education, gifted education, and psychology. Finally, she decided to get her JD from Denver University. Combining her own educational accomplishments with educating many children, she genuinely understands the needs of bright and gifted students, and is committed to optimizing each child's success.  Dr. Wallace believes in the program that is implemented in our school and has documented its success. Contact Dr. Wallace

Enhancing the administration is Dr. Tracy Rogers who has been at Beacon for the past 25 years. Dr. Tracy, as the children call her, also has an incredible background when it comes to education. She earned a Masters Degree in School Administration and a Doctorate in Curriculum Development. After working at Beacon as a fourth grade teacher, she determined her assets would be best utilized as a mentor and developer of the curriculum. She truly enjoys her work and knows what a difference a good solid education can make. Contact Dr. Tracy

Both Dr. Wallace and Dr. Rogers are invited to speak for numerous Gifted Education Conferences. Both have had works published in educational journals, and are recognized as leaders and advocates of an all-encompassing educational program.   Together their vision for the school, impacts our community and other learning communities as well.

 

A place children love, a place children learn.   .   .

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