Jennifer & Jason O'Neill

Jennifer & Jason have one son and two daughters who attended The Country Day School. They were surprised at how well their children’s teachers got to know them and how to challenge them to be their very best. Their children were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and developed critical thinking skills that they still use in their lives. They believe CDS was an investment in all three children that will be an investment for life. 

Choosing CDS for their children
When choosing Country Day, it was really about the facility, the community, the teachers, and the fact that it is co-ed. Our children were a big part of the selection as well, and they felt that they were treated as adults and that they were held accountable. They were looking for an opportunity where they could realize their greatest potential for the future. And when you ask our children about that, they wanted to make sure that they were incredibly well prepared for university. They were getting very good marks in the public system, but they were concerned that they may not be learning as much as they were able to learn.

Education with Balance
I think that the fact that the school is well balanced and also offers so many different sports as well as academics and drama allowed our son to meet many people, not just in class, but also out on the sports fields or in different classes or different programs that were being offered by the school.

Teachers
I think the teachers at the school are absolutely first class, and they treat each student as an individual and their own person. That made it a lot easier for our children to adapt because I'd say one of the biggest strengths of Country Day is how much the teachers care. They care about challenging their students to be the best that they can be. That may be in academics, or building their character, or pursuing whatever it is they are into.

I know our kids would say that the teachers made the biggest difference in their time in high school. The teachers are invested, they care, they want to make sure the students are learning. And as much as friends and being social are important, the teachers have a great understanding of your child, how they learn best, and what help they may need. Teachers are attuned with the student's personality and needs. But they don't jump in and take over. The teachers know our kids really, really well and know when to push and when to challenge.

Leadership Skills
The school is very well set up to help the students prepare for the best opportunity for them in the future. When you look at all three of our children, they're all leaders in their own way. And they've learned those leadership skills through their time in the community of Country Day. Country Day offers the potential for your children to develop their greatest character and leadership ability, while also instilling resilience and preparing them for the future. 

Recognition
The school gives many opportunities to highlight and celebrate achievement. If your child is doing something that is exceptional or they've worked really hard, there are many opportunities throughout the academic year to recognize those successes and hard work in front of their peers and the faculty as well. I think that sense of accomplishment and achievement is something that they then strive for. It's interesting to watch how success then breeds more success based on their own achievements.

Sense of Community
The other bigger piece that we appreciated was the sense of community from the parents and the teachers and the faculty. Everyone really cares about one thing: the success and the growth of the character and the education of these young adults. I think the thing that surprised me was the first parent-teacher interview. I thought, ‘This school really knows my kid and they're paying attention,’ because that was an opportunity for him to look back and look in the mirror and see how he was behaving and decide how to move forward.

Academics
Some of the courses that they took were unique to the school, and a lot of them really challenged them from a critical thinking standpoint. It wasn't just a straight line. They had to really consider lots of different ways of thinking about whatever the issue or the subject was. And I think that's translated into them being better prepared for life and also for their courses in university.

The school gave our daughters the opportunity to shine and to step up and try new things and do their best work. And they did that. It's showing now since they've graduated and those habits and the way they've been taught to consider things will carry them through the rest of their career.

Coaching & Athletics
Our son had an incredible learning experience about stepping out of his comfort zone, trying things differently, and had tremendous success in doing that. One of his teachers challenged him to step out of his comfort zone and get into track and field. At first blush, that wasn't something he was interested in. But the teacher saw the potential and coached our son. I would say he learned a lot more about character and himself than he did about track through that teacher.