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Nursery 4 at Harley

Joy in Growing

Developmentally-appropriate Pre-K

Pre-K students gradually develop age-appropriate independence within the safety of our classroom, which encourages curiosity, creativity, and exploration. Students flourish academically and socially in our community setting.

Child-Centered

Our Pre-K program is child-centered and developmentally appropriate. With a student faculty ratio of 9:1, we offer each child individual attention, discovering strengths and opportunities for growth.

Social and cognitive development are equally important in our unique, developmentally-appropriate program.

Thematic Approach

Our thematic approach to teaching helps learning come to life for our students. Early math skills and number sense are gained through authentic connection to a guiding theme. Students are engaged in this way because every child learns differently, and our faculty differentiate to maximize learning for each student.

Literacy emerges through a carefully planned literature-based program, which emphasizes storytelling. From a very young age, our students see themselves as authors. 

Our students are encouraged to make connections. They relish the opportunity to explore and discover through play, while developing the necessary pre-academic skills for Kindergarten. 

From fluent readers to students who are still discovering letter sounds, every student is both supported and stretched at Harley. The result? Happy and engaged learners who have the necessary skills and attitudes to be successful in their future schooling.

At Harley we believe Pre-K  education sets the tone for learning–inspiring and igniting joy, which students carry with them as they continue to grow.

Acorn Grants are now available!

Interested in learning how to make a Harley education possible for your child? The Harley School offers the Acorn Grant Program, aimed at helping families who may not qualify for need-based scholarships meet the cost of tuition. Acorn Grants provide up to $3,000 to recognize parent investment and student potential. Many middle-income families have benefited from our Acorn Grant Program, created to help subsidize the cost of a Harley education.

For more information about the Harley difference, need-based grants or Acorn Grants, please contact admissions at admissions@harleyschool.org.

Come for a Visit

Learn more about what makes The Harley School experience unique.

The Harley School

1981 Clover Street
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 442-1770

©2023 The Harley School

Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes. 

  • Independent study: one trimester, full year, and multi-year projects have included automating our solar chimneys, coding handmade musical instruments, or developing a class on financial literacy for underserved high school students.
  • Serving on student council: 
  • STEM: Climate curriculum program, biomimicry program, NASA Hunch program

At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.

Our faculty integrate social justice into our broader curriculum to assist students in gaining a foundational knowledge about what makes a democracy function. By gaining skills in ideating supportive pathways they become more exposed and experienced to how communities can undergo healing and restorative actions.

Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.

Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees. 

Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize. 

About

Academics

Key Programming

Enrollment

Letter from the Head of School

Letter from the Editor

Features

Central Work that Matters: DEI

Harley Black Alumni Network

Climate Crisis Curriculum

Citizen Scientists

Joy Moss: Storytelling Roots

In Every Issue

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

By the Numbers

From the Archives

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Divisional Highlights

Alumni Profile: Vandebroek

Alumni Profiles: Keller

HAC Athletics

2021 Lives of Great Purpose Awards

1000 Words

Commencement 2022

Reunion 2022

In Memoriam

Retirements and Fond Farewells

Letter from the Head of School

Letter from the Editor

Features

Central Work that Matters

Affinity Group Forms

Climate Crisis Curriculum

Citizen Scientists

Joy Moss: Storytelling Roots

In Every Issue

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

By the Numbers

From the Archives

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Divisional Highlights

Alumni Profile: Vandebroek

Alumni Profiles: Keller

HAC Athletics

2021 Lives of Great Purpose Awards

1000 Words

Commencement 2022

Reunion 2022

In Memoriam

Retirements and Fond Farewells