About – Silver Spring Day School

Thank you for your interest in our school. Silver Spring Day School (SSDS) is a parent participatory preschool with roughly 140 children in classes designed for two-year-old to pre-kindergarten students. For close to fifty years, SSDS has remained steadfast in its belief that children learn best when they are actively engaged in their learning. Our program is designed to nurture and encourage children in all aspects of their development. Our play-based philosophy allows for just the right balance of challenge and fun. SSDS allows each child the opportunity to explore the world around them, build meaningful friendships, and make discoveries about themselves. This fosters a strong sense of independence and social awareness. Our goal is to guide and engage children into becoming well-balanced, productive, life-long learners.

SSDS bases its developmentally appropriate program on Jean Piaget’s theories of child development. We believe that young children are active learners. They need to manipulate and explore the world and then share their discoveries with friends and caring adults. At SSDS we provide numerous opportunities for these kinds of real-life experiences, offering challenge and fun in an atmosphere that allows children to learn at their own pace. Therefore, we prepare our class plans flexibly, to allow for individual differences among children. We strive to have children realize their individual potential and feel successful. Children at Silver Spring Day School develop positive images of themselves and build strong relationships with peers and adults.

We encourage you to explore our website and make plans to visit with us in person. We welcome the opportunity to show you around and answer any questions you have about us!

Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Silver Spring Day School

Approach

Silver Spring Day School is a community of preschoolers, families, and early childhood educators who work to develop the whole child through a curriculum based in exploration and play. Together, we foster an environment where children, families, and educators share in the journey of life-long learning.

Our community shares the following priorities

For our children to

Gain confidence, independence, and take initiative
Develop resilience and self-control
Build positive relationships and social responsibility

For our families to

Share their talents with the school community
Participate actively in the classroom
Understand different facets of our children as they interact with others
Acquire new strategies to support our children’s development

For our staff to

Support SSDS in maintaining standards of excellence in teaching
Model developmentally appropriate practices
Exchange ideas and improve peer assistance in a collegial environment
Participate in ongoing professional development

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

Silver Spring Day School (SSDS) honors and celebrates the uniqueness of each individual and values each person’s beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where every individual can thrive. SSDS is a school that actively embraces anti-racist and anti-bias practices. We will constantly seek diversity and inclusion among our Board of Directors, staff, and families by continued education, communication, data analysis, and open and honest conversations with the community. The Board of Directors of SSDS is committed to action to achieve these ideals and objectives. Some of our commitments include:

Fostering a culture that is diverse and inclusive among the Board of Directors, staff, and families through intentional recruitment and retention practices
Encouraging and welcoming all SSDS families to share their personal cultural traditions, crafts, language and histories with SSDS
Providing anti-racism and anti-bias training and other diversity and inclusion professional development opportunities to the staff and Board of Directors
Providing resources to families and children that promote diversity and inclusion
Exploring new strategies for outreach and engagement to improve diversity among the families served by SSDS, including tuition assistance and other resources to support families
Having open community conversations about the importance of anti-racism
Having an open-door policy for parents or families who want to discuss diversity and inclusion at SSDS
Providing various communication and engagement opportunities to report and get feedback from our community on our actions and commitments to address diversity and inclusion
Creating a curriculum and program offerings that thoughtfully and meaningfully incorporate consistent themes of diversity and inclusion

We can only be the community we aspire to be by working together, so we welcome your questions or recommendations. Please do not hesitate to contact our Board President at boardpresident@silverspringdayschool.org.

SSDS is a school evolving to meet the needs of the community

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In the Classroom

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Hello from Silver Spring Day School

We like to think of it as our “urban retreat.” The campus is nestled in the middle of a convenient, prime location in Silver Spring. You’ll find our students creating a hustle and bustle of activity in multiple classrooms. The hallways are lined with masterpieces created by little hands… through the double doors, you’ll hear the sounds of little voices in music class… and just outside, you’ll find parents lingering, creating the community feel that makes SSDS so special.

At the heart of the school is our nature-based playground. SSDS is leading the way in the state of Maryland, as schools begin to create natural spaces where there was once plastic, metal and asphalt. The centerpiece of the playground is the life-sized magical dragon, carved on-site from an old oak tree by one of the nation’s most famous carvers, Jim Calder. It’s a delight to watch the kids climb on, jump off, and even rest on the dragon’s massive wood body. Come check us out and see for yourself!