Welcome to Chesapeake Academy!

I invite you to explore our website and schedule a visit to our campus, uniquely situated on Carter's Creek off the Rappahannock River.

Chesapeake Academy is truly a dynamic learning environment, one in which creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication are the hallmarks of the educational experience. Our instructional approach is centered on the philosophy that students best engage in their learning environment when they have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in different ways, solve authentic problems, and communicate their ideas and strategies. Project based learning connects Chesapeake Academy students to real world problems, big ideas, and professionals working in the field. Learning at Chesapeake Academy is differentiated to best target student skill development and meet individual student's needs.

Innovative technology applications, as well as classical visual and performing arts encourage self-discovery and creative expression. Athletics develops both personal fitness and sportsmanship through a variety of team and individual sports and after-school activities. Every middle school student participates (by choice) on our athletic teams – Osprey spirit is second to none!

We take learning out of the classroom, whether outside on our own nine acre campus, in our own community, or beyond. Our campus includes a Certified Schoolyard Habitat on our Nature Trail and an outdoor classroom that spans the wetlands of Carter's Creek. Our students raise oysters in a nearby area and work with local organizations on solving environment and economic questions relevant to our area. The Northern Neck is rich in historical significance as well, and students use local resources to understand current issues. Students apply knowledge in larger trips to local waterways, the Chesapeake Bay, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Washington, DC, and the Florida Keys. Chesapeake Academy students are on the road!

The interconnectedness of students, parents, and teachers help create effective partnerships in which students take more and more responsibility for their own independent learning. Chesapeake Academy is a place where character values are essential to the learning environment, and nurtured in with age appropriate expectations for empathy, responsibility, respect, and consideration of others. Our faculty members know each student and each student knows one another. Leadership opportunities abound as students develop skills to share ideas and listen to others. This is a community where older students help younger ones, where trust among students is a given, and where we share a common purpose of maintaining a safe, supportive, and kind school.

When you visit campus, you will find that Chesapeake Academy offers an engaging and nurturing program led by a top notch faculty who brings joy and curiosity to each classroom every day. It will not surprise you that Chesapeake Academy has been voted the #1 independent school in Eastern Virginia for multiple years. I am confident a tour of campus will make you want to go back to school yourself!  

Chesapeake Academy...Small School.  Huge Classroom.

Julianne Duvall

Head of School

• Founded in 1965 on a 9.5 acre campus in Irvington, Virginia
• 2017-18 enrollment of 128 students for Age 3 through grade 8
• Student/teacher ratio is 8:1
• Average class size is 12
• 25 staff/faculty members with 10 earning advanced degrees
• School hours:  8:15-12:00 PK 3&4, 8:15-5:30 Flexible Full-Day PK 3&4, 8:15-3:10 grades K-grade 8
• 2017-18 tuition fees- PK:  $6,750.00, FFD PK 3&4: $8,975.00, K-grade 4:  $11,897.00, grades 5-8:  $12,643.00
• Extended care available for an additional fee from 12:00 to 5:30
• Spanish is offered from PK-grade 5; Latin grade 6; Spanish I grades 7-8
• Technology:  96 Macbook Air laptops, 60 Mac iPads, 4 SmartBoards, 2 interactive Smart Projectors, 4 Mac desktops
• Athletics:  soccer, golf, volleyball, basketball, and tennis offered in grades 5-8
• Uniforms are required from K-grade 8
• Nine weekly summer camp sessions are offered
• Nature trail and outdoor classroom on Carter's Creek of the Rappahannock River
• Accreditation and Licensure:  Accredited member of the Virginia Association of Indepenedent Schools since 1992, Member of the Educational Records Bureau, The State Department of Social Services certifies the Pre-K 3&4 program and licenses the extended care program
• Financial assistance is available

This instructional philosophy helps our teachers nurture and develop confident, competent, and engaged learners. Our teachers recognize that students have different ways of learning, different interests, and different ways of responding to instruction.  Teachers vary learning activities and materials by difficulty, by topic, and by students' preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves.  By implementing Differentiated Instruction (DI) strategies, our teachers create a classroom learning environment that builds upon each student's strengths.

How does DI increase student learning and develop 21st century skills?
Teachers focus on concepts and student's understanding of essential ideas.  DI emphasizes high level thinking and communication skills as students apply their knowledge to real world problems.  DI tasks cultivate an inquisitive mindset so students seek patterns, connections, and more complex relationships among ideas.  Our students are able to take facts and go way beyond them: they analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information to gain a deeper understanding of questions, themes, and concepts.

What are DI strategies?
Based on student readiness, interests, and learning profile, teachers can differentiate within a lesson or unit by:  

Content:  what essential concepts the student analyzes
Students working on different sets of information within a unit can become experts for the group as a whole.  Peer teaching and collaborative work ensure that all students end the unit connecting with the "big ideas" and supporting information.

Process:  how students work with essential concepts
Students can approach information in different ways, making choices based on their learning preference or interests.

Product:  how students demonstrate their understanding of essential concepts
Students can show mastery of material in a variety of ways, including projects, presentations, technology, and other assessments.

Chesapeake Academy believes that an enriched and challenging academic curriculum, within a nurturing, child-centered environment, provides the foundation for future successes.  Our DI approach ensures that each child's strengths are valued and utilized for maximum academic and personal growth.