“I love that The Village School preserves childhood through play,” says Avani Cheriathandum, a parent of two students at the school. “In an area so focused on achievement, it’s refreshing to find a school that recognizes the unique and critical role of play in a child’s development.”
At The Village School, we believe that play is not just a break from learning, but an essential part of it. While many schools have been cutting back on playtime in favor of more academic instruction and structured activities, we’ve taken a different approach. All of our learners (in PreK-8) enjoy an average of 2 hours of daily playtime – and the results speak for themselves.
Research has shown that the decrease in playtime over recent decades may be developmentally inappropriate for young children. Play is crucial for developing self-regulatory skills like attention, executive functioning, and behavioral regulation, which are foundational for academic success. Counterintuitively, increasing academic time at the expense of playtime may ultimately hinder children’s academic performance. At The Village School, we prioritize play because we understand its vital role in fostering the self-regulatory skills that are essential for learning.
Our approach has yielded impressive results. Our graduating learners test at a 10th-grade level, while our 5th graders test at a 6th-grade level in math and an 8th-grade level in English Language Arts.
Join us in preserving the magic of childhood while building a strong foundation for lifelong learning. We are accepting applications for the 2026-27 school year. Spots are limited.