Our Programs

In one of our most popular and cherished ACDS traditions, all fifth through eighth grade students serve as mentors for a “Little Buddy” in pre-kindergarten through second grade.

The Big Buddies Program is an integral part of our social-emotional teaching, fostering the close, caring, and kind relationships that abound at our school, affording role models to the younger children, and providing eagerly anticipated leadership opportunities to children entering the upper Elementary and Middle School grades.

The Makerspace is a place to build what you can imagine. Student-centered and student-driven, students learn how to use a variety of tools from the manual to the high-tech to create what they can see in their heads.

Beginning in first grade, students can come and work on any project of their choosing. All students come as part of their class to learn to use a tool, create a project related to a content area and learn what is at their disposal in the space.

STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, offers a perfect intersection for project-based learning, collaboration, strengthening communication, creativity, and problem-solving in a multidisciplinary way.

We know that children today will emerge into a world that is global, interdependent, connected and highly technological. STEM at ACDS helps prepare our students to thrive in this future by building their teamwork, creativity, and curiosity today.

The technology program at Almaden Country Day School features a wireless campus including a 1:1 laptop initiative (individual laptops for every student in grades 3-8), computer probeware in our science lab, iPads in learning activity centers across the grade levels, a Makerspace that hosts five 3D printers and a 40 Watt laser cutter, and more.

ACDS is among the few independent schools in California that received the Samsung “Hope for Education” award, recognizing innovation in instructional technology.

Enjoying a French breakfast, celebrating Mexican Independence Day, building a castle or researching famous French, Chinese, and Spanish biographies -- these are just some of the ways students learn about new languages and cultures in ACDS World Languages courses. Our students delight in broadening their world views and developing their language skills in culturally relevant and engaging ways.

ACDS offers classes in French, Spanish, and Mandarin, beginning with French in second grade and adding Spanish and Mandarin electives in middle school.

Competitive Speech and Debate at Almaden Country Day School is a fun and exciting way for students in grades 6-8 to develop their public speaking and debate skills under the guidance of nationally-renowned Coach Chris Wardner. Students take an elective class in the first trimester to prepare for competition. 

The ACDS Speech team participates in both middle and high school invitational tournaments including the State and National championship tournaments. In 2021, ACDS was named a School of Excellence, an honor only the top 20 teams in the country can receive. 

Let’s face it, everyone’s physical education journey is unique and different.  At ACDS we teach students to become physically literate.  What does that mean?  We strive to give students the competence and confidence to pick up skills in a wide variety of activities to play for fun in and outside of school.  In elementary school, our goal is not to be Olympians or play at an elite level.  Our goal is to have our students be active participants in life and to find something they really enjoy for decades to come so that they can lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

The performing arts experience at ACDS establishes a comfort with public performance that is later reinforced and refined when our students deliver oral presentations in classes, and in Middle School when they take elective courses to satisfy our speech and debate graduation requirement. Our performing arts program develops proficiency and confidence in public speaking, which we believe is a critical skill set for ACDS students to obtain.

Brightly colored self-portraits, intricately drawn animals and shiny sculptures decorate the art classroom at Almaden Country Day School, where students get to discover their own creative gifts every day.

Our goal in the visual arts program at Almaden Country Day School is to help children explore their distinct creative talents, gain art knowledge (theory and history), build confidence, and apply their expressive skills in all aspects of their lives.

Students from Kindergarten through 5th grade visit the library regularly, and our Middle School students also experience the library through an eclectic mix of elective classes. Our library is open every day for lunch recess for our 1st through 8th grade students.

ACDS provides students and teachers support from a full-time librarian who delivers a comprehensive and unique library curriculum adhering to the AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Standards for the 21st century learner.