Magnet Schools

Hamilton Avenue School (HAS) is the District’s first Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) school. STEAM education ignites interest and uses an inquiry approach to develop the skills and knowledge that prepares students for expanding college and career opportunities. Among the more recently upgraded schools to become a state-of-the-art building with a design lab, HAS was one of the first Greenwich Public Schools to launch a Digital Learning Environment. HAS offers world language instruction in Spanish in grades K-5, Suzuki Violin (PreK-5), and a smaller average class sizes in grades K and 1.

In 2000, The International School at Dundee (ISD) was the first magnet school to open in Greenwich and chose the International Baccalaureate Program as its magnet theme. The school was one of the first elementary schools in the country to become an authorized IB school. It has continued to successfully implement the program, which focuses on the development of the whole child and incorporates the teaching of the GPS curriculum through an inquiry-based framework.  A Connecticut School of Distinction, ISD offers world language instruction in Spanish in grades K-5, as well as grade level partnerships with highly regarded institutions, such as the Guggenheim Museum and the Audubon Center.

Julian Curtiss School (JCS) offers world language instruction in grades K-5 in either Spanish or French and has been described as “the little United Nations School of Greenwich” in The New York Times. The student body and staff represent nearly 60 different countries and 30 different languages.This diversity is recognized and celebrated as a source of strength and a reflection of the world. Building on the strength of this international foundation, JCS provides a rigorous academic curriculum, a strong social-emotional learning framework in a personalized learning environment and partnerships with many local community organizations.

New Lebanon School (NLS) is an authorized International Baccalaureate World School offering the Primary Years Programme, and was named a 2022 School of Distinction - High Growth (High Needs Students) - ELA by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Opened in 2019, the state-of-art award-winning building is Leadership in Energy & Development Design Gold-Certified and the envy of the community, complete with a wonderful media center, gymnasium, cafeteria, playground, and other support spaces for children, teachers, and school administration. The magnet program presents the GPS curriculum in a holistic, inquiry-based framework, making connections among subject areas with an emphasis on global perspectives. NLS offers world language instruction in Spanish in grades K-5, Teachers College Columbia University Reading and Writing Workshop, and partnerships with many great local community organizations

Western Middle School is an ‘AVID Schoolwide’ middle school. AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination is a college readiness and executive functioning program designed to help all students achieve their goals and reach their full academic potential. Your child will be exposed to a variety of instructional methods, including critical reading strategies,  focused note-taking, Socratic Seminars and Philosophical Chairs. These strategies are designed to help students grow as readers, thinkers, collaborators and writers.  In addition, students will be taught a variety of executive functioning skills to help them learn how to plan and prioritize tasks, organize their thoughts and materials and reflect on their learning and goals. Students will be exposed to a variety of career and college opportunities, set long term and short term goals and work on progress monitoring.