Welcome to Admissions

This is where your next chapter begins

At Rye Country Day School, you will find community. RCDS is a place where students are engaged and supported; where they can take advantage of countless opportunities to learn, team, create, and discover; and where they are encouraged to be true to themselves.

We believe that character, knowledge, and skills are the foundation of good citizenship. The School has a strong tradition of excellence in teaching and learning, of knowing and approaching students as individuals, and of instilling a lifelong commitment to our motto, Not for Self, but for Service.

Excellence happens at Rye Country Day because of a shared commitment to realizing our individual and collective potential within a diverse and inclusive community. RCDS is an ever-evolving institution unafraid of new challenges and ideas. We learn thoughtfully from the lessons of the past and look eagerly to the possibilities of the future.

Our Admissions Philosophy

We believe in an admissions experience that is personal and reciprocal. We get to know each applicant and their family to create tailored opportunities for them to learn about Rye Country Day and how it might be the place and community where they can learn and thrive. Connect with us. Learn, explore, and discover what a Rye Country Day education might mean for you.

If you have any questions or would like to speak with someone about what Rye Country Day might mean for your family, please reach out to us at 914-925-4513 or admissions@ryecountryday.org. You may also sign up to receive emails once-a-month from the Office of Admissions. Each newsletter will include application information, upcoming event dates, and school news.

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RCDS Learning Outcomes: Our Portrait of a Graduate

Character. Knowledge. Skills. Citizenship.

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This is RCDS

Engaged, passionate students

When visitors walk through the hallways of our school and observe classes, they see vibrant students who are engaged and genuinely eager to learn. RCDS students are committed to working hard—they do their homework, they are active in class, and they challenge themselves consistently to grow and achieve.

Dedicated, expert teachers

Teaching at RCDS means being an agent of inspiration for students and colleagues alike. The School is committed to recruiting and retaining the very best teachers. It is not uncommon for faculty to move great distances in order to teach at Rye Country Day.

An accepting, authentic community

At Rye Country Day, students belong. The entire community works to make sure that all students experience a strong sense of connection within a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment, which is critical to learning.

Nearly boundless opportunities

At RCDS, students do not have to choose between athletic and creative pursuits—they can do both. The School offers numerous athletic opportunities via 72 interscholastic teams, and the size of our community means that there is room for every student to participate. At the same time, students can pursue various creative interests across disciplines supported by committed faculty and incredible facilities from videography studios to concert practice rooms, dance studios, state-of-the-art theaters, ceramics studios, and manual arts shops.

A joyful school

Joy is an essential part of the RCDS experience. When you walk through our halls, you see smiling students and happy teachers. We strive to tap into joy on a daily basis.

Character, skills, and citizenship in addition to knowledge

RCDS teachers are not just subject teachers, they’re teachers of empathy, kindness, and confidence. They’re also advisors and coaches. They champion learning that extends beyond their disciplines and divisions to provide a cohesive education of the “whole child."

Individual attention and support

Small class sizes and teachers who collaborate with each other care deeply about their students enable us to fulfill our promise of a nurturing environment that ignites a passion for learning in each individual student.

A 21st-century education

RCDS is committed to providing students with the skills they need to be 21st-century thinkers and changemakers. At Rye Country Day, learning crosses disciplines, and knowledge and aptitudes transfer to new and exciting problems.

A campus that sparks learning

Rye Country Day students enjoy the benefits of a small school coupled with facilities that are more typical of larger institutions. Our campus features innovation labs, theaters, turf fields, and entire buildings dedicated to the arts, complete with a black box theater, a design makerspace, and visual arts studios equipped with the best equipment. Students get to learn and work in all of these spaces within a curriculum that encourages exploration. The result is eager, experienced, adventurous, and multifaceted thinkers and learners.

An emphasis on diversity and inclusion

RCDS is actively committed to diversity and inclusion, and the diversity of our community is a great point of pride for our faculty and students (37% of the student body self identify as people of color). In a recent admissions survey, RCDS families cited the School’s commitment to exciting academics and a diverse community as the top two reasons they chose to enroll. Our students are surrounded by peers who have experiences and perspectives different from their own, and they are encouraged to share and discover those experiences and perspectives. Our curriculum considers diversity in its many aspects including learning the language of diversity, understanding diversity identifiers, representing diversity in class content, and engaging across difference.