Specialist Programs

We believe in the many benefits of early language learning. Learning another language is linked to greater academic achievement, cognitive development, and positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures. Research shows that the earlier children start language learning, the better, ideally between ages 3-9. Our Spanish program provides frequent and engaging opportunities for young learners to acquire language skills. In Preprimary and Primary, Spanish instruction pushes into the classroom, while starting in Kindergarten, students have classes in the Spanish classroom. From grades 1-3, students have Spanish four days a week. With two full-time Spanish teachers, we ensure that competence in more than one language enables students to communicate across cultures, act with greater cultural awareness, and participate more fully in the global community.

Physical Education is a vital part of a child’s day at Concord Hill School. Each grade participates in a 30-minute PE class multiple times a week. The program is designed to develop competency in various motor skills and movement patterns through exposure to a wide variety of games and sports. We believe it is important for children to recognize the value of physical activity from an early age, and we aim for our curriculum to foster a lifelong interest in, enjoyment of, and participation in regular physical activity. Across all grade levels, PE at Concord Hill emphasizes good sportsmanship. Our developmentally appropriate program builds on skills year by year.

The music program at Concord Hill School emphasizes musical exploration and creativity. Students meet twice weekly to sing, dance, listen, and create. In Preprimary and Primary, we use the Music Together program, which engages children through interactive activities that develop rhythmic and melodic skills.

From Kindergarten onward, students explore music through the Orff Schulwerk pedagogy, focusing on pentatonic scales, folk music, and dance, and play pitched and unpitched percussion instruments from Concord Hill’s vast collection of Orff instruments. They also study diverse composers, broadening their musical appreciation.

The curriculum builds year by year, culminating in recorder lessons and note-reading proficiency by Third Grade. Periodical performances showcase students' musical growth and build confidence in public speaking and stage presence. Our Friday Community Meetings are filled with lively community singing, celebrating our shared love of music.

Art classes at Concord Hill provide an ideal opportunity for children to explore personal expression and meaning through the visual arts. As students experiment with materials, they develop their problem-solving abilities, make connections to various areas of learning, gain self-confidence in their creativity, and learn to trust their own decisions. In early childhood art education, the major emphasis is on process rather than product.

Children are at various stages of developing their fine motor skills and their ability to "see" art and the world around them. We expose students to a variety of art materials, processes, and projects to learn about basic elements of art and design: line, shape, color, form, texture, and space. Our art experiences and projects are inspired by many sources including our school-wide collaborative projects, classroom curriculum, artist studies, children's literature, and the children's interests as they evolve.

In our STEM program, young children practice observing, questioning, and describing the world around them, discovering how science relates to their everyday lives. All students have STEM classes twice weekly in our Maker and Media Lab, where they explore Earth, Physical, and Life Sciences, as well as engineering. Starting in Kindergarten, we use Smithsonian Science in the Classroom and Engineering is Elementary from the Museum of Science, Boston curriculums, to provide hands-on, engaging learning experiences that foster curiosity and critical thinking.