Welcome

Wakefield Country Day School is a non-sectarian, pre-school through twelfth grade, college preparatory day school. The curriculum emphasizes scholarship in the classical tradition.

WCDS develops character and intellect through the application of a structured curriculum founded on classical principles that encourages scholarship, self-control, and respect for others. We foster an ethic of individual worth, service, and personal responsibility rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition to prepare our graduates for the moral and intellectual rigors of citizenship and parenthood in the twenty-first century.

The school was founded in 1972 by the late William E. Lynn, Jr. and his wife, Pamela. It was incorporated in 1991, and is governed by an elected board of directors drawn from parents, faculty, alumni, and the Lynn family. Bus routes currently include: Winchester, Strasburg, Edinburg, Luray, Marshall, Bentonville, Warrenton, Jeffersonton, Culpeper, Boston, Amissville, Front Royal, Hume, Sperryville, Woodville, Chester Gap, Washington, Va., Flint Hill, and Huntly.

Mrs. Kathleen Flaherty Grove, named Head of School in August of 2004, has over 30 years of experience in the education field, both as a teacher and an administrator. Mrs. Grove has taught English, designed special programs for gifted students, been a student counselor, administered a Guidance office, and in 1987 she was selected "Outstanding Teacher of the Gifted" in Northern Virginia. In her most recent position as the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for the Arlington Schools System, Mrs. Grove supervised curriculum development for all subject areas, and developed expertise not only in disciplines such as mathematics and English but also in program areas such as early childhood, English as a second language, technology, and gifted services. She provided curricular leadership to 31 schools, managed a budget of over $21 million, supervised staff development opportunities, administered a remediation and summer school program, and acted as a consultant to the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools. Mrs. Grove holds numerous certifications and has attended the College of William and Mary, George Washington University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Virginia. She joined WCDS, attracted by its “combination of a commitment to academic challenge and a nurturing, family-like climate.”