Madison Country Day School
Address
5606 River Road

Waunakee
,
Wisconsin
53597

United States
Coordinates43°9′46.98″N 89°23′22.56″W / 43.1630500°N 89.3896000°W / 43.1630500; -89.3896000
Information
School typePrivate, Country Day
MottoEvery child possesses an extraordinary capacity to learn.
Established1997
Head of schoolMark A. Brooks
GradesPreK - 12
Enrollment438 (2020)
Fight songOnward MCDS
AthleticsYes
MascotPrairie Hawk
Websitewww.madisoncountryday.org

Madison Country Day School is a nonsectarian, private day school in Dane County, Wisconsin for grades PreK through 12. The school has an enrollment of about 450 students. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS),[1] and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).[2] It is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School that offers the IB Diploma Program to high school students.[3] Madison Country Day School is informally known as "MCDS".

History

The school began classes on September 2, 1997.[4] The school was originally planned for a 46-acre (19 ha) site in the Town of Westport donated by PDQ convenience store founder Sam Jacobsen,[5] with buildings to be designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects.[6] However, when a conditional use permit was denied by the Dane County Zoning and Natural Resources Committee,[7] the school rented quarters in a former schoolhouse in the town of Martinsville.[8] Twenty-two students enrolled in 1997 for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and Grades 1–3. Additional grades were added one at a time. The school later moved to 76 acres (310,000 m2) of land near Waunakee. A $3 million renovation project in 2001 converted sleeping rooms of the former Yahara Center into classrooms.[9] An upper school was formed when the ninth grade was added in 2003.[10] The first senior class graduated in the spring of 2007.[11] In 2015, a fundraiser began called Spreading Our Wings. The goal was to raise 6.8 million dollars in order to expand the school. The fundraiser was named after the school mascot, the fictional Prairie Hawk.

Curriculum

MCDS is an International Baccalaureate World School and accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

MCDS enrolls students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The school has three divisions: The lower school covers pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. The middle school contains fifth through eighth, and the high school ninth through twelfth grade.

References

  1. ↑ "Madison Country Day School". Independent Schools Association of the Central States. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ "School Directory: Madison Country Day School". National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Madison Country Day School". International Baccalaureate. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  4. ↑ Phil McDade. "Private school strives to build a team". The Wisconsin State Journal, September 3, 1997.
  5. ↑ Phil McDade. "Town of Westport Site for School Awaits Vote: Private Academy Set on Farm Land". Wisconsin State Journal, March 25, 1997.
  6. ↑ Phil McDade. "Ideas for Private School in Westport on the Books: Initial Draft Presented to Town's Plan Commission". Wisconsin State Journal, February 11, 1997.
  7. ↑ Phil McDade. "Madison Country Day School Blocked: County Zoning Committee Votes to Keep Rural Character of Westport Site". Wisconsin State Journal, June 4, 1997.
  8. ↑ Jason Shepard. "Lessons in the Making: Country Day Pushes Quality: Forced to Find New Site, School Makes Pitch to Parents", The Capital Times, August 7, 1997.
  9. ↑ Marv Balousek. "Country Day Renovation Near End: Project, Which is Planned to End Next Month, Will Create 17 Classrooms from 64 Sleeping Rooms". Wisconsin State Journal, August 5, 2001.
  10. ↑ Doug Erickson. "New High School For Dane County: Madison Country Day School Grows". Wisconsin State Journal, September 28, 2003.
  11. ↑ Anita Clark. "Diploma Days". Wisconsin State Journal, May 25, 2007.
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