About

School History

Lancaster Country Day School traces its roots to 1908, when Lancaster College and Miss Stahr’s School merged to become the all-girls Shippen School located at 120 N. Lime St.

1927 FMA Jazz Band
1927 FMA Varsity Boys Soccer
1927 Franklin and Marshall Academy
1940 FMA Sports Collage
1955 LCDS Field Hockey
1956 LCDS Clever Superlatives
1956 LCDS Small Junior Class
1957 LCDS Ruth S.Hostetter
LCDS Class of 1961
1962 LCDS Old Building
1964 Ann H. Musselman
1964 Impressions Staff
1970 Classroom
1977 Twelfth Night Production
1980 John Jarvis with Students
1988 Model United Nations
1990 Dale Mylin
1990 Linda Campbell
1990 Paul Bostock
1998 Travel Abroad France
Class of '71 Penn Square
Helen Leche-Keller
Kate Gschwend '90
Viola McCloud Rupp

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Shippen School

Gertrude Minerva Lurio (student)
Anna Ruth Shrite (student)

Lancaster Country Day School traces its roots to 1908, when Lancaster College and Miss Stahr’s School merged to become the all-girls Shippen School located at 120 N. Lime Street in Lancaster. The mission of the Shippen School was “to promote the education of girls through academic course, especially in literature, the sciences, and the fine arts,” which was accomplished at a tuition rate of $100 per year.

Franklin & Marshall Academy

When the nearby Franklin and Marshall Academy for Boys closed in the early 1940s, the Shippen School changed its charter and its name, and the eminent, independent, coed institution known affectionately as Country Day was born.

The name “Country Day” came from the pedagogical philosophy of the same name that was popular when the school was founded. The system held that physical activity and spending time outside in the fresh air and sunshine was a vital part of the whole educational economy. We still believe that, and besides physical education classes, students can participate in sports ranging from Lower School girls’ lacrosse to varsity chess.

Franklin and Marshall Academy
1927 Franklin and Marshal boys soccer
1927 Franklin and Marshal jazz band

1940's & 1950's

1956 LCDS Small Junior Class

In 1947, the school purchased the property at 113 N. Lime Street, but it was badly damaged by fire in 1949. That year, LCDS moved to the 29 serene and welcoming acres in School Lane Hills that we still call home. As the years went on, the school’s footprint expanded to include the Lower School wing (1954), and the Harrisburg Pike athletic fields (1956).

Modern Era

The arrival of headmaster John Jarvis in 1965 gave Country Day the college-preparatory focus and creative, nurturing spirit that remains the keystone of an LCDS education. During the '60s, male students outnumbered females for the first time and the the school began its tradition of inviting international students into our community each year. During John Jarvis' tenure, the school also built the Buckwalter Memorial Gymnasium (1970), the John F. Steinman Theatre (1971), the Parents' Field House (1990), as well as more and updated classroom space. Over the last three decades, the school has added a science center (1997), a second-floor Upper School (2004), and the PE & Athletic Center (2017).

Students from Dauphin, Berks, York and Lebanon counties study alongside their Lancaster peers, and, whether their commute is 30 yards or 30 miles, the reason they make it is the same. Lancaster Country Day School offers the best education available. Our teachers are committed and caring; our curriculum is rigorous and edifying; our students are warm and animated; and a sense of purpose, possibility and encouragement infuses every aspect of Country Day life. Our school is simply an inspiring place, for students, teachers, parents and anybody else who becomes part of our ever-growing family.