Welcome to Hickory Day School! 

Thank you for taking time to learn about this fantastic school that has proudly served the greater Hickory area for over 25 years.  I appreciate your visiting our website and invite you to find out more about the many great opportunities and offerings at HDS. 

The motto for the City of Hickory is “Life Well Crafted.”  At Hickory Day School, we want to help students in kindergarten through 8th grade learn how to craft their lives from an early age with knowledge and compassion.  Our mission is to instill in our students a love of learning in a unique environment that emphasizes academic excellence, critical-thinking skills, and global perspectives. We strive to create lifelong learners who are equipped to handle the exciting challenges of the 21st century.

Delivered in a nurturing environment, our academic program is college-preparatory and inquiry-based.  In addition to core academics, students receive instruction in music, theater, visual arts, wellness/fitness, technology, and foreign language (Spanish from kindergarten to 8th grade and Latin in 7th and 8th grades). Throughout our classrooms, we optimize learning and stimulate instructional differentiation.  We keep our class ratios at a low level so that students and teachers may form close-knit bonds in which every student is treated as a respected individual with unique strengths and gifts.

Underpinning our programs is our accreditation by both the International Baccalaureate (IB), and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). Hickory Day School is one of only 15 elementary schools in North Carolina with the highly prestigious IB accreditation. At its most fundamental level, IB seeks to develop global citizens who create a better world through education.  The IB program fosters cooperation and collaboration between students and teachers alike and promotes intercultural understanding and respect as an essential part of life.  The students of HDS, who come from a vibrant mosaic of backgrounds, live out the goals of IB on a daily basis, striving to be inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers who are knowledgeable, principled, open-minded, caring, balanced, and reflective. 

Hickory Day School has continually produced students who live out its lofty ideals and principles and who continue friendships forged on our 16-acre campus long after they leave.  I invite you to explore this website to learn more about the experiences and programs that form this extraordinary community. 

Please come visit!  I’d be honored to give you a personal tour of this unique and special place.

Rick Seay, Ed.D.

Head of School, Hickory Day School