Our Advantage & Overview
Duke School is an independent Preschool (three-year-olds) through Eighth grade project-based school.
At Duke School, learning begins with curiosity. For 80 years, we've inspired students to ask questions, pursue understanding, and find joy in discovery.
As the region's leading progressive, project-based school, we develop independent thinkers and generous collaborators — students who engage deeply with ideas and with one another. Because children here are known and connected, they take on hard work with confidence.
Our graduates leave with academic mastery, a clear sense of themselves, and the purpose to put both to use.
Our Program
Duke School's curriculum balances direct instruction with applied investigation.
- Systematic Instruction: Teachers deliver explicit instruction in the skills and strategies children need, including reading, writing, and mathematics.
- Integrated Project Work: Students conduct in-depth investigations of substantial topics, applying those skills and strategies to solve real-world problems.
Skills are taught directly, then put to work. Students don't just learn a strategy; they learn when to reach for it.
We hold competency benchmarks at every grade level in every curricular area. Teachers know precisely where each child stands against them, because assessment here is continuous, both formal and informal, woven through daily work rather than saved for the end of a unit. That means goals are set for the child in front of them, and a student who is ready to move faster does.
What is Project Work?
A project is an in-depth investigation, worthy of student time, attention, and energy." As defined by Drs. Lilian Katz and Sylvia Chard