Imagine a school where academic excellence, diversity and character development form a community of creative, lifelong learners. Imagine children from four to fourteen years of age leading daily morning assemblies, collaborating in family groups and confidently seizing leadership opportunities in a school environment that emphasizes character development and integrity on equal footing with academic excellence.

Imagine a school filled with dedicated, caring faculty who challenge all of their students with high academic standards using a project-based, “minds-on” approach to teaching for understanding while providing developmentally appropriate support for a wide range of learners to achieve success. Imagine a curriculum that is designed to prepare our children for success in the 21st-century world in which they will be living and competing by using innovative, developmentally appropriate best practices in instruction and assessment.

Imagine a school where kindergarten through eighth grade children feel safe, inspired, challenged and loved within their school community so that they can embrace a strong sense of possibility and develop resilience and confidence from authentic experiences. Imagine a school where parents collaborate with their school to create a village of families helping one another raise healthy, hopeful and joyful children.

Imagine a school where children not only learn about diversity, but they experience it every day, a school where individuals feel valued for their differences, value the differences in others and celebrate all that we share.

From its inception, WNS has embraced the magic of the kindergarten through eighth grade model, a powerful approach to educating the hearts and minds of children. Our youngest students flourish within the safety net of their older schoolmates, who serve as role models and inspirational leaders to the younger ones. Our middle school students thrive with academic confidence, social-emotional resilience and the space in their lives to allow their playfulness and creativity to flow.



WNS graduates are said to possess a level of poise, self-awareness and self-confidence that is rare among teenagers and which contributes to their success in high school and beyond.

It may seem like magic, but WNS is the product of a good design and the efforts of wonderful adults inspiring children to reach, stretch, probe, challenge and celebrate. We invite you to witness for yourself the magic that happens at Westside Neighborhood School.

Bradley Zacuto
Head of School, Westside Neighborhood School