2026-27 Early Childhood Program Viewbook

The Early Childhood Program (ECP) at St. Anne’s-Belfield is truly a magical place for children to discover a lifelong love of learning. Joyful classrooms that spark curiosity and nurture a connection with the natural world. Expert teachers who know when to guide, when to challenge, and when to simply let children wonder. Beautiful indoor and outdoor learning spaces where science, math, literacy, and art come alive through hands-on exploration, and where children develop confidence, resilience, independence, and a deep sense of belonging. We can’t wait to show you what makes this place so special.

A Day in the Life at the ECP With nature as our main classroom, along with its changing sights, textures, and sounds, every day in the ECP looks a little different. One constant, however, is that your student will learn and grow through the guidance of nurturing, expert teachers.

These sample daily schedules provide a general structure, but truly, they can’t encapsulate the breadth and depth of active, engaged learning that occurs each school day.

Sample Daily Schedules Two-Year-Olds

Junior Kindergarten

ϐ 8:30

Arrival and outdoor play

ϐ 8:00 Arrival and choice activities

ϐ 8:45

First outdoor rotation

ϐ 8:30 Morning meeting

ϐ 9:15

Circle time

ϐ 9:00 Literacy

ϐ 9:30

Snack (provided by the school)

ϐ 10:00 Snack (provided by the school)

ϐ 9:45

Activity time, indoor rotation

ϐ 10:15 Natural classroom

ϐ 10:30 Literary stations

ϐ 10:40 Co-curriculars

ϐ 10:45 Second outdoor rotation

ϐ 11:00 Science

ϐ 11:30

Storytime

ϐ 12:00 Lunch

ϐ 11:45

Dismissal for half-day students

ϐ 12:45 Outdoor recess/hike

ϐ by 3

Dismissal for full-day students

ϐ 1:15

Music & Movement/yoga

ϐ 1:30

Mathematics/literacy

ϐ 2:15

Tinker trays/rest

Pre-School ϐ 8:00 Arrival and outdoor play ϐ 8:30

Circle time

ϐ 9:00

Group instruction and activity

ϐ 9:30

First natural classroom lessons and exploration

ϐ 10:00 Snack (provided by the school) and stories ϐ 10:15

Co-curriculars/second natural classroom lessons and exploration

ϐ 10:35 Second natural classroom lessons and

exploration/co-curriculars

ϐ 11:00 Group instruction and activity ϐ 11:45

Closing meeting

ϐ 12:00 Dismissal for half-day students ϐ by 3

Dismissal for full-day students

ϐ 2:45 Closing meeting ϐ 3:00 Dismissal

After-school Care After-school care is available each day of the regular school year for Twos, Pre-School, and Junior Kindergarten. After-school care runs between 3 – 5:30 p.m. daily. Families must sign up at the time of enrollment.

Delightful

by Design Learning happens everywhere in the ECP. Every meadow, trail, and classroom is intentionally designed to reflect how young children are wired to learn: through movement, exploration, appropriate challenge, and play. In Tree Bark Circle, children build friendships and discover what it means to be part of a community. In Pine Cone Valley and on nature hikes, they ask questions, investigate the natural world, and begin to think like scientists and engineers. In the art lab, imagination takes shape through drawing, painting, designing, and building.

Our bright indoor classrooms complement these experiences with sensory-rich environments that encourage creativity and focused discovery. While children see places to play, wonder, and explore, our teachers see countless opportunities to transform everyday moments into learning that lasts.

ECP BUILDING

“As parents of three children at St. Anne’s, we have had the privilege of being a part of the Early Childhood Program, Lower School, and Middle School communities. St. Anne’s has challenged our children academically, while nurturing their confidence, character, and love of learning. What truly sets this school apart is the dedicated teachers who genuinely know, value, and invest in each child, making our family feel seen, supported, and part of the community.”

— Jenilee Lawrence, P. ’32, ’34, & ’40

Our Academic Program

Cultivating Curiosity

It’s not every day that you discover a box turtle hiding in the leaves. When it happened to our students on a fall hike, it set off a series of wonderments. Where did the turtle come from? What does it eat? How far can turtles travel in a day?

And when our students pivot, so do our teachers.

Early literacy: What else in these woods starts with the letter T? Science: Let’s guess, or hypothesize, about how many box turtles live here in Virginia.

Art: Let’s paint rocks to look like turtles! In the ECP, every organic discovery becomes a moment to reinforce academic concepts.

Becoming Strong in Body

Young children learn to embrace challenges and develop resilience in a culmination of little victories. Our ECP provides a dynamic environment where students can climb obstacles, navigate unfamiliar pathways, and manipulate tools and objects in a way that can’t be fully replicated through digital screens, worksheets, and defined stations.

Under the nurturing guidance of our teachers, our students build essential fine and gross motor skills and a foundation of confidence and perseverance that will serve them the rest of their lives.

Setting a Solid Foundation

Families are often surprised by the rigor of our academics. It’s easy to see how, given how phenomenal and boisterous our classes are. Incorporated into the fun, however, is an intentional educational experience designed to build foundational skills.

Read more about our interdisciplinary approach to reading, writing, math, science, arts, physical education, and socio-emotional learning in the ECP Curriculum Guide.

The Saints Community At St. Anne’s-Belfield School, we are first and foremost a community. Our community reaches beyond the classroom to build strong, intentional relationships with the whole family. This connection begins even before our students arrive on the first day with Parent/Guardian Partnership Meetings between parents/guardians and homeroom teachers, and continues throughout the year with our webinars and in-person speakers, ECP parent/guardian chats, and volunteer opportunities on and off campus. Your young learners will meet and interact with students from all divisions of the School. From their first day in the Early Childhood Program to their last day of Grade 12, our students know they belong to a caring and vibrant community.

Parent/Guardian Programming

The Early Childhood Program offers parent/guardian education on important developmental topics via in-person chats, Back-to-School Night, webinars, and written resources. Facilitators discuss the various stages of a child’s growth and development to provide the support and understanding needed to raise healthy, confident, and responsible children. We also know there is great value in offering space for parents/guardians to share techniques and strategies with each other. We feel fortunate to be able to facilitate various social gatherings to build on these connections throughout the year.

Partnening with You

We may be experts in early childhood education, but you are the expert on your child. The connection between school and home life is vital to your child’s success at school. Our Parent/Guardian Partnership Meetings, the first of which is prior to the start of school, along with weekly newsletters from homeroom teachers, are just two of the ways we stay in regular communication with you to support your young learner.

The Parents’ Association (PA)

The Parents’ Association welcomes volunteers.

From greeting visitors at Grandparents’ & Special Friends’ Day to helping in the library, or even conducting mock interviews for Upper School students, we provide many opportunities for you to become involved. In your student’s class, parents/guardians serve as grade level reps, read to children, and serve at special events such as the Birthday Fairy, a treasured tradition.

Community Events

Cheer on our Saints athletes at a game, bring the family to an arts performance or gallery, attend a lecture, come decked in maroon and white for our Fall Family Festival or Maroon & White Gala, roll up your sleeves and volunteer alongside a local organization during Saints Serve Saturday — our School community loves to come together.

Meet the Director Emily Brown, M.A.T.L. I am excited that you are considering the Early Childhood Program at St. Anne’s-Belfield! Now in my second year as ECP director, I was recently on a similar search as you. I was seeking a collaborative, innovative early childhood program committed to nurturing the individual needs of each child. I found it with St. Anne’s-Belfield.

Over the last 15 years, I have had the privilege of developing a deep understanding of child development, curriculum design, and the importance of creating an inclusive and supporting environment for children, families, and faculty alike. It is such a pleasure to find myself at our ECP, a dynamic place full of excellent teachers who are committed to academic excellence and experiential learning. I am so happy that you are considering joining me as a new member of our school community.

“The outdoor environment is filled with rich, magical learning opportunities for our children. They become curious about parts of nature that we as adults may not even notice, and they are given the tools and support to explore those curiosities right in the moment!”

— Stephanie Tollefsen, P. ’39 & ’40

St. Anne’s-Belfield School At A Glance located in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, VA

55 acres of land between two campuses

around the corner from University of Virginia

Quick Facts

965 642 students age 2 – Grade 12

family households

12

51

sports teams

88

16%

20

4,213 16

Advanced Placement (AP) exams offered on campus

zip codes

living alumns in 49 countries

“We wish our students to become strong in body, broad of mind, tender of heart, responsive in soul.”

— Mary Hyde DuVal, Founding Headmistress (1910 – 1920)

11

countries and U.S. states in the Residential Life Program

of the Class of 2027 are “Sandbox Kids” (joined by Kindergarten)

16

countries and U.S. states in the student body

Class of 2026 College Success

93%

admitted to one of their top 3 institutions

51%

our UVA in-state admission rate vs 22% UVA in-state admission rate

48%

enroll in highly selective schools with <25% admit rate

1269

average SAT vs 1029 national average

25

average ACT vs 19.4 national average

Early Childhood Program

13

average class size

120 9:1 ECP students

student-toteacher ratio

The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, sex, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or any status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the privilege to participate in the educational programs generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or any status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admission or its educational programs.

799 Faulconer Drive | Charlottesville, VA 22903 admission@stab.org | www.stannesbelfield.org | (434) 296-5106

v 8.26