Preparing Boys for Life.

Lower School

In Haverford's Lower School, A Pre-Kindergarten-grade 5 Elementary School, your family will be part of a community that strives each and every day to understand your son’s abilities, strengths, and areas of development.

Our extraordinary educators engage and challenge boys to achieve their greatest potential, focusing on developing reading and writing skills, expressive language competency, fine motor abilities, and social and emotional intelligence. Our talented science, music, art, library, and physical education specialists build upon the strong academic foundation laid by the boys’ classroom teachers.

Meet Fisher, fourth grade

41%

41% of students who enroll in Haverford's Lower School attend Top 50 colleges and universities (Classes of 2014-2018). The national admit rate is 14%.

 

85 points

Students who enroll in Haverford's Lower School achieve SAT scores 85 points higher than those who enroll later (Classes of 2014-2018).

32

Of 480 entries across nine schools, our boys won 32 of 64 Gladwyne Library League writing awards in 2016-17.

100%

100% of our students engage in service learning, with pre-k-12 boys completing about 100 projects annually.

75%

of Lower School students perform at least two years above grade level in math by fifth grade.

71%

of Lower Schools students perform at least two years above in reading by fifth grade.

From Guided Reading, Writer’s Workshop, and Decision Education to the Lower School orchestra, band, and choirs, our boys have unparalleled opportunities for self-expression and collaboration.

Our best for boys approach to learning, including sensory-rich lessons, open classroom spaces, and twice-daily recesses, celebrates boys’ innate need for movement and activity, resulting in more focused and engaged learning. Through an emphasis on expressive language, reading and writing, fine motor development, and physical, social, and emotional growth, a Haverford boy becomes his best self.

Explore our Lower School programs in the slideshow below:

 

Lower School Happenings

Haverford-School-fundraiser

The Haverford School Parents’ Association held the annual Party and Auction on Nov. 3. The event, which had the theme ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boys,’ raised more than $200,000. All funds raised support important initiatives at the School, including service learning programs, the performing arts, athletics, facility improvements, academic programs, faculty support, and scholarships for students.

Read More about "Let’s Hear it for the Boys" Party & Auction raises more than $200,000
all boys school using technology

By Edwin Malet, County Lines Magazine

Technology. It cuts both ways. It can offer information, safety and community. Or it can be dangerous, especially for school-age kids. Fifty years ago, we asked, “Is our child old enough to drive?” Now our question: “Is she old enough to have a smartphone?”

Strangers, privacy, theft, bullying …. The list of on-line perils is lengthy.

As adults, we know how to avoid problems. Our kids, however, are inexperienced and exposed. Meanwhile, our schools struggle to find the right balance of protecting security, openness and youthful curiosity, acting as our partners in this process. Read the County Lines Magazine story, in which Haverford's Director of Technology, Andrea Drinkwine, is quoted >

Read More about Digital Danger: Keeping our kids safe on the web and social media
soft robotics at The Haverford School for boys

The Haverford School’s Soft Robotics Club was awarded first place in the 2018 High School Soft Robotics Design Competition, sponsored by the Soft Robotics Toolkit at Harvard University. The club developed a novel method of producing pneumatic actuators, and then used those actuators to create a glove that could help teach students the nuances of using a pottery wheel.

Read More about Haverford School Soft Robotics Club wins Harvard competition for second-consecutive year