Rocky Hill School

Founded in 1934, Rocky Hill School is an independent, coeducational, non-denominational, college preparatory day school in East Greenwich, RI made up of students in preschool through grade 12. Rocky Hill School focuses on innovative teaching and an interactive educational experience that prepares students to become leaders and lifelong learners. Our diverse student body is challenged academically and afforded opportunities not found at any other schools.

Our small school community, where every student matters, allows for individualized instruction and creates a familial setting throughout campus. Upper, Middle and Lower School students interact with each other and faculty in ways that create a distinct learning dynamic. Located on 84 acres overlooking Narragansett Bay, Rocky Hill School’s stunning campus fosters exploration and discovery within a safe environment.

Rocky Hill School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, handicap or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its admission, financial aid, employment, educational policies or other school programs.

The Rocky Hill School journey prepares students for the rigor of college academics and the demands of personal independence. We deliver a robust college-preparatory curriculum using innovative teaching methods and interactive educational experiences to ensure that students grow to become navigators, critical thinkers, citizens, and communicators, who are innovative, self-aware, ethical, and globally-minded. Discover the myriad of programs and opportunities you have access to as a Rocky Hill School student.

Through intentionally designed projects, students at Rocky Hill School engage in rigorous and extended inquiry by asking questions, conducting research, and testing findings. Teachers craft projects that deliver important content, use authentic tools and resources, and allow students to shape the process through their questions and experiences. Projects culminate in work presented to a public audience. At Rocky Hill School, students do not just “learn about,” rather, they learn “to do” and “to be.” While in school, our students are scientists and artists, not just students of science and art. Learn more

In support of our academic program, Rocky Hill School’s curriculum employs the philosophies of Responsive Classroom and Developmental Designs to foster a sense of community, responsibility, and camaraderie in our classrooms. Mindfulness practices are used daily across campus by students and teachers to help develop an intrinsic approach to strengthening the student competencies and our motto “know thyself.” We endeavor to build students’ self-awareness, curiosity, and resilience through this programming. Additionally, Community Service is not simply a graduation requirement, but a value woven into activities, clubs, and field trips throughout the year.

At Rocky Hill School, we look at Innovation through the lens of mindset. We strive to cultivate students’ resilience, their ability to take risks, be observant, and be empathetic. We believe innovation is far more than adding technological gadgets to our classrooms; we believe it’s providing students experiential learning across all disciplines which develops their analytical and evaluative skills as they create, critique, reflect, and iterate. Our goal is to develop innovative students, capable of identifying and solving some of the world’s most challenging problems.

To create a close-knit and student-centered experience, Rocky Hill enrolls 12-16 students per Lower School, 26 per Middle School, and 40 per Upper School grade. Our small class size, averaging 10-12 students with a 5:1 student-teacher ratio, allows our faculty to focus on the talents and strengths of each individual student.

The Academic Center for Enrichment (ACE) serves students who have a learning difference and need additional academic support to reach their full potential within the context of a college preparatory school. ACE aims to empower students to use strategies and tools to help them compensate for their learning differences and advance their strengths. The assistive technology center in ACE provides dedicated technical devices and software that enables our faculty to maximize instructional time and minimize distractions using tools whose features are engaging and collaborative in nature.

It is the School’s goal to provide an environment that is safe for and receptive to the sharing of ideas, experiences, and dialogue that will broaden the perspectives of different constituencies. To achieve this, the School continues to make an active, educated and collective commitment to work against forces of discrimination. As diversity enriches the quality of school life, it is the expectation that all members of the Rocky Hill School community will favorably impact their extended communities and bring new meaning to the School’s motto, Know Thyself.

Rocky Hill School believes that the educational outcomes of its students are directly dependent upon the active recognition, support, and fostering of the student body’s diverse backgrounds. The School recognizes the broad spectrum of what makes people different, and through its discussion-based curricular pedagogy, the School encourages its teachers to create a safe and challenging environment in which the expression of difference is actively sought and fleshed out.