Laurel School

The Laurel School

1436 Long Pond Road (Rte 137), Brewster, MA 02631

(508) 896-4934

	A Creative Path to Academic Achievement
	History and Background
	In the fall of 1982, Constance Michnay and three young children came together each school day in donated basement space to discover the joy of learning. Ms. Michnay's educational philosophy was that children learn best when they are treated with love and respect and when academic content is presented in a variety of ways including artistic expression. Also, Ms. Michnay taught children to respect themselves, each other, and our fragile Cape Cod environment and her vision continues to serve as the core of The Laurel School's academic program.
In 1994, the William Dobson family generously donated the land and the current building. In a beautiful rural setting, the school is located on a two-and-a-half acre campus. With four playgrounds, a Japanese Meditation Garden, two greenhouses, a friendship garden, peaceful paths in a wooded setting, open field space and a swimming pool area with changing and shower rooms.

Mission and Vision

For our students and school community, we:
o Foster self-esteem and confidence and promote a sense of community.
o Inspire a lifelong love of learning, a cultural appreciation, and environmental sensitivity and awareness.
o Provide a strong academic base, enhanced by the inseparable integration of the arts.
o Provide a loving and respectful environment in which each child develops into a self-starter, an original thinker, and a perpetual learner.
o Emphasize honesty, respect, kindness, cooperation, laughter, thoughtful resolution, positive reinforcement, tolerance, and an acceptance of difference.

Population and Geographic Areas Served

The school is a non-profit and non-sectarian institution offering educational programs for boys and girls from preschool through grade five and our families come from Bourne to Provincetown.

For 10 weeks during the summer, we offer a dynamic day camp serving the same age groups as our school program. Our campers come from the cape, all over the U.S., and many foreign countries. Camper families give the camp rave reviews and return year after year to enjoy a wonderful Cape Cod family summer experience.

	Philosophy and Program
	The Laurel School provides a loving, supportive environment promoting children with the opportunity, freedom, and trust to explore and learn. With consistent guidelines, structure and positive reinforcement children learn in an atmosphere of mutual respect. In this atmosphere, children develop confidence and a strong self-esteem and adults nurture and encourage children to become independent thinkers.
	Faculty members have high expectations for each individual child and design a program using a well-rounded curriculum to meet each child's needs. The Laurel School curriculum follows the Massachusetts Frameworks as a foundation but integrates fine arts, music, dance, environmental studies, physical
education and Spanish with the basics. By utilizing an eclectic approach, our faculty members are able to teach to the many different learning styles and to enable the children to move at their individual pace. With confidence, children enjoy successes, take risks, and love to learn. Our summer campers, in a nurturing atmosphere full of play and discovery, enjoy diverse summer activities that embrace the nature and culture of Cape Cod.

License and Certification
The Laurel School is accredited by the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) and certified by the State Board of Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) license the preschool program and the Town of Brewster licenses The Laurel Day Camp.

The Laurel School does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, cultural heritage, political beliefs, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or marital status in the administration of its educational or admissions policies, or other school administered programs.