DCDS Lower School reopens on W. Maple Road

After a complete reconstruction, Detroit Country Day School (DCDS) officially reopened its lower school campus on Tuesday, November 19, with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, marking the completion of the second phase of the school's expansion plans. The redesign and rebuild of the lower school, located at 3003 W. Maple Road in Bloomfield Township, is designed to transform DCDS's educational experience for current and future generations, school officials said. In 2017, Detroit Country Day School embarked on a $33 million, multi-year VIVID Capital Campaign which will continue through 2021, to help support both the middle and lower school expansions. The private school, which has 1,530 students, had been spread out over four campuses, with the upper and middle schools headquartered adjacent to one another at the upper school main campus on Thirteen Mile Road in Beverly Hills, and the junior school, for students in grades 3-5 on Maple Road in Bloomfield Township and the lower school, currently for students from PreK-3 to second grade on Bradway Boulevard in Bloomfield Village. With the opening of the new lower school, the campus now accommodates Pre-K-grade students,. “This is a monumental day for our community,” said DCDS Headmaster Glen Shilling. “As we welcome our youngest students to their new ‘home away from home,’ we are humbled by the forward-thinking leadership put forth by our board of gtrustees to make this vision a reality. This new campus is a testament to our school’s commitment to providing learning opportunities for the current students and generations of students to come.” The $18 million lower school renovation features charming neighborhood décor throughout the building with classroom fronts of Victorian, bungalow, or brownstone design; an innovation gallery incorporating a wet lab, a tinker lab, group study rooms, and a dedicated STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) maker’s space; a full-size gymnasium and a state-of-the-art cafeteria. Also part of the VIVID campaign is a $14 million middle school expansion, officially unveiled in September 2018. The new middle school features enhanced spaces and technology, dedicated classrooms for each teacher, STEAM spaces for project-based learning, an instrumental music room, performance spaces and more.