Welcome to Lower School

In the Lower School, we believe that the relationship between school and home is the keystone of a successful experience for every child who enters our doors. Partnering with families is essential to understanding the whole child, supporting student growth, and helping each student reach their potential. We hope to walk hand in hand with families while sowing the seeds to develop independent lifelong learners. Along the journey, we will cheer successes, honor mistakes, and handle bumps in the road together.

Developing Character

As an International Baccalaureate (IB) school in the Primary Years Programme (PYP), unlocking strong character through the Learner Profile attributes is a primary focus of the Lower School. Our faculty know each child and respect the students’ individual differences. In our community, academic, social, and emotional development are equally important. We seek to understand the whole child; teachers encourage their students to strive at all times to conduct themselves with kindness and respect, being mindful that they exist not just as individuals but as members of this community of exuberant learners. With our shared hallways, older students model standards and expectations for our youngest students and support one another through interactions across grade levels and divisions.

Meet our Team

Unlock Academic Excellence

Working in tandem with our social-emotional curriculum, our academic program challenges and engages our students. From preschoolers just beginning to navigate the landscape of formal schooling to fifth-grade students preparing for Middle School, children at these stages of development are joyous.

Full of energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity, Kew-Forest’s Lower School students inspire their peers and their teachers to learn and think in interesting and varied ways. In addition to the core subjects that prepare children to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, our students explore different Special Subjects, led by a talented and dedicated faculty. These endeavors nurture well-rounded individuals who are prepared for their next challenge, both within the walls of Kew-Forest and as part of the larger community.

We are proud of what we unlock here in this warm, unique, and diverse community; come spend time with us and we think you’ll understand why.