Charlottesville Day School

Charlottesville Day School is a day school for students in preschool through eighth grade. The program includes music, art, and physical fitness as central parts of students’ education and development, with music described as an essential part of the CDS experience and the school hosting the largest private school music program in Charlottesville. Instruments taught and played at the school include flute, guitar, violin, viola, trumpet, piano, saxophone, trombone, voice, drums, xylophone, cello, and bass.

• Ages: 2–13 years old

Founded in 2006, Charlottesville Day School focuses on providing a well-rounded education for students ranging from early preschool to eighth grade and prepares its diverse student body for success in an interconnected world by combining classroom experiences with music, art, and physical wellness. The school enrolls 210 students at full capacity, ranging from two-year-olds to eighth-graders, and has 42 employees. CDS welcomes and embraces a diversity of learning styles and cultures, serves a diverse community of children, and teaches empathy and habits of kindness in all grade levels and across all subjects while prioritizing academic progress and a student embrace of a growth mindset rather than an over-emphasis on judgment and achievement of arbitrary benchmarks. CDS is described as a joyful environment where students bravely take academic, artistic, and social risks, and the school is 100% committed to the preschool through eighth-grade experience.

At Charlottesville Day School, 92% of lead teachers hold master’s degrees. Honorary trustee Dr. Carol Tomlinson inspired the founders’ vision and ongoing blueprint for how students are taught at CDS. The school’s mascot is Bruno the Bear, and Harmony magazine was created to celebrate the accomplishments of the school community.

One parent, Fern Hauck, M.D., M.S., described CDS as a nurturing, supportive, and stimulating environment with excellent education that contributed to her children’s later successes in high school and college. Another parent, Josh Fischer, M.D., stated that the environment is very supportive and also challenges students to push themselves, and said he would recommend CDS to any family. A graduate, Aidan Miller (CDS Class of 2016, Charlottesville High School), credited English and math classes with putting him on a more AP-style track than many students and described graduation and his overall time at CDS as an amazing experience.

Last updated January 18, 2026.