Ridgefield Academy

We highly recommend this school. Ridgefield academy is wonderful for our two children (in the lower school). They love attending school each day, and their natural enthusiasm to learn is protected and cultivated at RA. The teachers provide individualized instruction and also create a warm supportive environment, enabling our children to stretch and take risks. We are thrilled at the social/emotional and academic progress our children are making there.

I have two school age children that graduated from the Landmark Preschool, and are both in Ridgefield Academy in the Lower School. Our third child will start Landmark Preschool in the academic year 2023-2024.The distinction between Landmark Preschool/Ridgefield Academy and other schools (public and independent) is that Landmark Preschool/Ridgefield Academy teach the whole person. I'm sure many schools (public and private) can teach subjects very well, but I did not find the depth of education that this school offers elsewhere. I did not find another school that teaches self-awareness and emotional intelligence in a way that is palatable for these young children. For me and my family, this is the reason why we started the preschool, and the reason why we remain. I would highly recommend looking into this school to see the difference small class sizes make, and the independent programs created for the entire individual.

My daughter started kindergarten this fall and we could not be happier. She is interested in learning and comes home exploring new skills each week. We are impressed by the depth of activities that complement work in basic skills of reading and math.

In my view, what makes this school stand out is it’s enthusiastic teachers who go above and beyond their role to engage, support and challenge your kid in his journey of learning. And it doesn’t end with the teachers, the entire staff is fully charged with complete dedication to the students, parents and school. Our experience with school is that things CAN be different, and if there is a will there is a way to get it done. Our one boy lost interest in school because of lack of challenge, he is now striving and back to his endless curiosity and energy. My other boy needed more individualized ‘close up’ to keep him afloat. We are now seeing his true potential coming into life. Education is our outmost priority, we feel that we have made the right choice.

Six years ago, we moved from NYC to CT primarily because of the good public schools. Our girls were young and we wanted to put them in a preschool where they would feel loved and supported. We toured many programs in the area and Landmark was far and away the best in our opinion. When it came time for kindergarten, it was a natural transition into RA. We looked at two other independent schools in the area but they seemed like academic pressure cookers and we worried the children wouldn’t get as much love and support as at RA. For us, RA gives the perfect balance between challenging the students academically and supporting them in a loving community. Some things we really love are the focus on public speaking, dedicated tech and science, foreign language since preschool, and the ability to adapt to childrens’ particular needs.