At Children’s Day School,
what you learn and who you become are equally important.
Children's Day School is a Preschool to Grade 8 school and welcoming community in San Francisco. We have a farm and garden among urban streets. We advocate for responsibility to others as well as individual achievement. We are an independent school with down-to-earth values, always asking how we can do this better. We strive for balance so students become both academically successful and grounded. Our graduates leave CDS confident, with the humility to listen and the resolve to speak up for what they see as right.


List of 3 items.

  • Learning is Active

    Students best develop a love of learning and an ability to think and understand through active participation in personally and socially meaningful work. Ranging from Preschool and Kindergarten to Lower School and Middle School, the CDS curriculum is grounded in the world around students, from global issues to challenges in our city and neighborhood.
  • Differences Lift Us

    Our community is woven together with families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, nationalities, cultures, races, faiths, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We believe our differences lift us as people and learners.
  • Community Matters

    CDS is a warm community where people look out for each other, families find partners to help bring up their children, and everyone can feel safe, seen, and known. We are open to connecting with others, which leads to a sense of belonging and trust. Students learn to take this spirit of openness out into the world.

List of 4 items.

  • 30%

    of students pay sliding scale tuition
  • 450

    Total enrollment
  • 52%

    of faculty are people of color
  • 1:8

    Teacher:student ratio in preschool

Interested in visiting CDS?

See for yourself. Only by visiting CDS will you really be able to sense the school's energy and enthusiasm.

Children's Day School

Children's Day School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.  Learn More