Our UCDS community is broad and consists of three populations:

Students and Families

Our current students and their families commute from throughout greater Seattle and for many of our families, UCDS serves as a hub of social interactions. We encourage parents to come into the school with their children at drop-off and pick-up times, and to become involved in the UCDS Parent Association. Our classrooms and after-school programs provide a supportive peer community for children. Informally, parents arrange playdates, birthday parties, family trips, parent/child book groups, etc. Formally, UCDS sponsors Community Events for Families to build community and enrich curriculum. We welcome Alumni families at all events. 

Our Geographic Community

Each year our students are engaged in local service projects, environmental programs and collaborations with other community groups. Several programs have become part of our tradition at UCDS. Our fifth-grade Moving-On students complete a year-long community service project before leaving UCDS for middle school and our second/third grade students engage in a community service and oral history project with residents of Nikkei Manor retirement community. Our UCDS Adventure Summer Camp serves children from communities throughout greater Seattle. We are also delighted to host Sunday School and community events sponsored by the Blessed Sacrament Church.

Professional Educational Community

Serving our local and national community of professional educators is part of our school mission. To this end, we sponsor professional development opportunities for educators in our region, share curricular innovations at national educational conferences, and are engaged in collaborations with public schools in Seattle. Our school is open to visiting teachers, administrators and grantmakers throughout the year. Through the Resident Teacher Program UCDS reaches out to new teachers throughout the country and provides a year-long internship for nine educators.