At Free Union, learning is...
everywhere
At Free Union, learning is...
joyful
At Free Union, learning is...
challenging
At Free Union, learning is...
independent
At Free Union, learning is...
shared
At Free Union, learning is...
messy
At Free Union, learning is...
eye-opening
At Free Union, learning is...
for all ages

Our Response to COVID-19 and the Opening of School This Fall

Plans for reopening school in fall 2020, how we will keep students safe and healthy, structural changes in the campus ongoing this summer (e.g., construction of three "outdoor" classrooms), maintenance of continuity of learning and minimizing of the chaos in student and family life.

Welcome to Free Union Country School!

We are a progressive, independent elementary school, serving eager learners in preschool through fifth grade near Charlottesville, Virginia.

The school philosophy begins with the child at the center. Natural curiosity, creativity, and eagerness to explore are powerful forces that drive learning.

Our goal is to spark a love of learning and provide an academic and social foundation that will serve each student today and well into tomorrow.

Progressive education at Free Union is distinguished by a number of research-based ideas: students who learn by doing, teachers who ask rather than tell, a community that nurtures growth in character as well as intellect, and a fundamental understanding that students are individuals who arrive with their own interests, preconceptions, and preparedness to tackle certain tasks.

Our Free Union Way

What's a School to Do?

Information
Sarah Donelson

The Sacred StumpsMixed-age soccer games, second and third graders reading to preschool buddies, fifth graders in charge of bi-monthly pizza sales―what's a school who prizes community going to do in the time of COVID? Improvise, guide, write, and share across class cohorts or from one tent to another!

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Learning in Action

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Preschool: Pirates, Explorers, and Maps

Katie and I discovered we had pirates and explorers in preschool fairly soon after the school year began. One preschooler wore her pirate gear (headscarf, vest, and eye patch) to school regularly and others spent every morning building ships to sail through the skies, the seas, and space.

Craftsmanship: Working Toward Excellence

"I want my third-grade students to know that the intention and the work ethic you have and the way you think about things and keep working is what builds us to be better, to be great." (Blair Amberly, third-grade teacher)

Pre-K Learns About The Beautiful Oops

Our pre-kindergarten students see mistakes as opportunities for creative thinking.

Coopers Cove 2019

Each year in October, Free Union’s fourth and fifth graders head off to Coopers Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, owned by Burgundy Farm Country Day School, for two packed-solid days immersed in nature, studying wildlife, having too much fun, and deepening relationships with friends.

Second Grade Bubble Laboratory

Second-grade students began their school year not struggling for the right answers but looking carefully at bubbles, and asking questions.

Third Graders Interview Local Change Makers

Think back to third grade. You might remember memorizing multiplication tables, learning new vocabulary words, or understanding a brief, possibly confusing poem.

Free Union
Country School

Preschool through Fifth Grade