UCDS Schools - UCDS

Developing Expansive Thinkers
Encouraging Unique Strengths
Igniting Positive Change

Where Learning Has No Limits

Welcome to UCDS. We encourage students to stretch, reflect, collaborate, and think expansively—enriching their educational growth and ensuring they thrive in school and beyond.

UCDS Schools 18

Infant-Toddler Education

UCDS Schools 4

Early Elementary

UCDS Schools 2

Elementary

We’re driven by the idea that learning is as varied as each individual. So we’ve designed innovative educational programs that activate personal learning styles and set students up for the rewards of life-long learning. Become part of the UCDS community.

UCDS Schools 13

Our Mission

We cultivate reflective, collaborative, skillful thinkers who ignite positive change in their communities.

UCDS Schools Blog

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Being Brave

Design-led Learning, Education Hub

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Being Brave

UCDS is having a birthday! As we celebrate our 110th year, we are rolling back the clock and re-sharing six highlights of an innovative school: Culture of Inquiry, Sticky Curriculum,…

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Coaching Independence

Design-led Learning, Education Hub

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Coaching Independence

UCDS is having a birthday! As we celebrate our 110th year, we are rolling back the clock and re-sharing six highlights of an innovative school: Culture of Inquiry, Sticky Curriculum,…

Design-led Learning, Education Hub

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Mentorship Through Collaboration

Design-led Learning, Education Hub

Six Highlights of an Innovative School • Authentic Assessment

All Blog Articles

ucds_seattle

Preschool-5th Grade. We cultivate reflective, collaborative, skillful thinkers who ignite positive change in their communities.

On Wednesday evening, we were delighted to bring b

On Wednesday evening, we were delighted to bring back a much-beloved annual event, Middle School Night. This three-part event is designed to support our fifth-grade "Moving-On" students and families as they think ahead to middle school, as well as keep connections strong for last year's Moving-On class and their families.

For the fifth- and sixth-graders, these former classmates had a chance catch up and dig into all things middle school. Fifth-graders came prepared with questions, and the sixth-graders took turns answering them by sharing their experiences at their current schools. Questions spanned a whole range of topics—from the nuts and bolts of everyday life like lockers, recess, homework, clubs, sports, dances, and school transportation to more socially and emotionally driven questions about favorite classes, community-building opportunities, feelings around the transition, and more. The evening was filled with friendly conversation and advice, not to mention many hugs and high-fives between reunited friends.

While the students talked and had dinner, current fifth-grade parents and guardians met with UCDS administrators and faculty who offer support through the middle-school process. They shared a general overview of the year ahead, as well as offered guidance and answered questions about steps along the way. This session concluded with advice from a panel of parents who have gone through the process before.

Meanwhile, our Head of School, Paula Smith, welcomed back the parents and guardians of last year's Moving-On class. They enjoyed reuniting, sharing stories about their children's middle-school experiences so far and a general sense of appreciation for UCDS's support and help preparing their children for various schools around the Puget Sound region.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening!
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #middleschool #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattledad #seattlemom #seattleparents #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

Our 1-2s had such a magical field trip yesterday a

Our 1-2s had such a magical field trip yesterday at Seward Park! Their focus was on community building and adventure so students and teachers mixed together to form cross-level hiking groups. In these small groups, they hit the trails, played collaborative games, and immersed themselves in the natural environment. At midday, they rejoined the whole 1-2 community for lunch in the picnic shelters and recess along the Lake Washington shore. And of course, what far-away field trip wouldn’t be complete without riding yellow school buses, a first and a highlight for many students. What a great debut field trip for our 1-2s!
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #sewardpark #community #firstgrade #secondgrade #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattledad #seattlemom #seattleparents #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

Hi, UCDS book lovers! We want to take this opportu

Want to learn about melanin? Do you wonder how our

Want to learn about melanin? Do you wonder how our skin tones are impacted by ancestry, genetics, and environment? Why does melanin make everyone's skin different shades of brown? Our 5th graders can fill you in because they revisited these ideas this morning when working on the next step of their self-portraits: mixing skin tones with watercolors.

Each year across the school, students dig into conversations about skin tone and identity as they create self-portraits. To support this process, teachers offer students opportunities to reflect on their previous knowledge of the relationship between melanin and skin tone. In these conversations, students are able to further their understanding of their own identity, and in the case of the 5s, turn to tablemates to offer tips to each other as they find pigment recipes that represent their skin tones. In the coming weeks, teachers are excited to continue conversations connecting skin tone to race. For sure, it was a highlight of the 5s' day!
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #diversity #inclusion #equity #dei #abar #antiracism #antiracisteducation #antibias #antibiaseducation #diversityintheclassroom #education #representationmatters #familiesofcolorseattle #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #northseattle #seattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleindependentschool #seattleschool

The UCDS Fund kicks off today! What makes UCDS gre

The UCDS Fund kicks off today! What makes UCDS great? Our amazing community of students, teachers, families, and alum, of course!

For a little extra FUN with the UCDS Fund, we cooked up a short video series. Here is part one, which features EE students—enjoy! Check back weekly for new episodes, and remember to participate at any rate today! Thank you so much for your support! Link in bio to donate.
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #ucdsfund #dig #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleindependentschool #seattleschool #recesstherapy

Shana Tova to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah! On

Shana Tova to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah! On this New Year, we wish you good health, happiness, peace, and prosperity.
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #roshhashanah #shanatova #jewishnewyear #jewishinseattle #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleindependentschool #seattleschool

This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event sp

This week is Banned Books Week, an annual event sponsored by a large coalition of organizations, including the American Library Association, Amnesty International, and the National Book Foundation. It celebrates the freedom to read, highlights persecuted individuals and marginalized groups, and draws attention to banned and challenged books.

In celebration of Banned Books Week here at school, our Librarians, Nancy, Elaine, and Leah, have collected and displayed many books in our library that have been challenged or censored over the years because of some aspect(s) of their content. During Library in the 3-4s and 5s this week, they've led rich conversations with students about why this week is special and how it came to be, and they shared examples of some challenged books and the reasoning behind each. They also talked about the protections afforded by the First Amendment and stressed the importance of learning to be a critical thinker—especially when peoples’ rights of self-expression, lived experience, and identity are at stake.

If you would like to learn more, please visit the resources linked in our bio, which are shared courtesy of @thebookwrangler.
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@banned_books_week
@americanlibraryassociation
@amnesty
@nationalbookfoundation
#bannedbooksweek #UniteAgainstBooksBans #BookBans #IntellectualFreedom #FReadom #ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

Students and Specialist teachers alike have been D

Students and Specialist teachers alike have been DIGging their time together each week, exploring their specialty areas with lots of "DIG"-inspired activities. Here's a sampling of what's been happening over the past few days! You can read descriptions of each Specialist class’s project in the comments below.
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #DIG #theme #musiceducation #scienceeducation #designandtechnology #makerspace #PE #physicaleducation #espanol #spanisheducation #library #arteducation #STEAM #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

UCDS is proud to announce that we are once again j

UCDS is proud to announce that we are once again joining area independent schools in bringing the Equity and Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series to our community. The series offers our communities and beyond the opportunity to connect, learn, and engage in topics around equity, inclusion, and antiracist education and action. The purpose is to raise awareness, challenge ourselves, deepen understanding, and empower our communities to advance our efforts to actively recreate systems into equitable, inclusive, and antiracist institutions.

SAVE THE DATE for the first speaker: Wednesday, October 19th, 6:30-7:45pm—author and speaker Tiffany Jewell will talk about "The Anti-Racist Kid: Identity, Justice, and Activism."

You can RSVP for one or all Speaker Series Zoom Webinars at the LINK IN OUR BIO. These events are free and open to the public. We hope you are able to attend!
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tiffanymjewell
#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #diversity #inclusion #equity #dei #blmseattle #abar #antiracism #antiracisteducation #antibias #antibiaseducation #diversityintheclassroom #blacklivesmatter #education #representationmatters #inclusionmatters #nwais #parentmap #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleindependentschool #seattleschool #weneeddiversebooks #Thisbookisantiracist

Monday morning means "Monday Morning News" in the

Monday morning means "Monday Morning News" in the Labyrinth! Every week, students in our Early Elementary program get to share a weekend highlight through pictures and writing. Academically, this activity is designed to help students develop their writing and drawing skills while focused on sharing real-life experiences. At the same time, Monday Morning News also builds social and emotional tools—investment, excitement, and perseverance in the writing process and a solid self-perception as a writer and communicator of ideas.

Along the way, teachers individualize to each student by coaching them at their level, like supporting early illustrators to add colors and details to their pictures and sounding out a few key words together; encouraging students to use their "best-guess spelling" to help build fluency with writing rather than feel stuck by not knowing "how to spell something;" and focusing on individual goals with letter sounds and formation, self-editing, conventional spelling, mechanics, and more—the list goes on and on! Not to mention, it builds community and connections between classmates as they talk while they work and later when they get to share their completed News with the class. Many weeks, classes play a game of "Whose News?" where they try to guess which classmate wrote and drew each News article (which you can see David, Erin, and Madeline's Class getting underway in the last slide).

Today's News articles around the EE are full of stories about running in the first Cross-Country meet of the season, going to the Washington State Fair, spending time with family and friends, and so much more! If you have a child in the Labyrinth, you can check with them each week about what weekend highlights they shared with their classmates. Happy reading!
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #preschool #prek #kindergarten #writing #teachingwriting #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

Thank you to all the parents and guardians who met

Thank you to all the parents and guardians who met up for a walk around #greenlakeseattle yesterday! We appreciate our PGA officers who organize events like this that help our community come together. The next PGA-sponsored event is coming up on Friday, Sept. 23rd—Family Movie Night here at school! Mark it on your calendar!
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#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #ucdsinstitute #newteacher #facultyspotlight #meetourfaculty #newfaculty #backtoschool #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattledad #seattlemom #seattleparents #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleschool #seattleindependentschool

When the 3-4s kicked off their cursive studies thi

When the 3-4s kicked off their cursive studies this week, they did it with flair! Teachers prepared a handful of introductory activities to warm up students’ fine-motor muscles, including this “finger kaleidoscope” exercise (if you’ve never heard of “finger kaleidoscopes,” look it up, and prepare to have your mind blown 🤯!). This activity helped continue building students’ understanding of the importance of strengthening the tiny, “fine” finger muscles necessary for controlling writing implements and to help them continue streamlining their brain-hand communication in order to have more isolated finger control. Not only was it challenging and mesmerizing, but kids couldn’t stop! Later on the playground, groups of kids were gathered around in circles inventing their own kaleidoscope moves! We hope you enjoy this peek!
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@statussilver
#ucdsseattle #ucdsalum #handwriting #handwritinginstruction #cursive #dnealian #handwritingwithouttears #firstgrade #secondgrade #thirdgrade #fourthgrade #pencil #paper #nwais #psis #parentmap #peps #pnwfamily #pnwkids #northseattle #seattle #familiesofcolorseattle #seattlepreschool #seattlefamily #seattlekids #seattleindependentschool #seattleschool

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