The DPS School is a distinguished coeducational private elementary and middle school located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We are dedicated to guiding our students from preschool through eighth grade, equipping them with the necessary resources to build confidence, develop personal responsibility, achieve academic excellence, and create a strong foundation for achievement in the future. Our day school services are extended throughout the region to students residing in Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties!
The year 1918 reflected a growing concern within the educational community to provide not only academic excellence, but to place focus on the healthful well-being of the children. Amid nationwide epidemics of measles, mumps, flu, and tuberculosis, a few parents from Pottstown and members of the prestigious Hill School faculty chose to provide a superior education for their younger children by founding a progressive "open-air" school. So began DPS's first incarnation in the sunlit porches and an open garage of a residence on the Hill School campus under the name of The Pottstown Open Air School.
Within four years, the school had changed its name to "The DPS School" and gained such popularity within the community that parents purchased a "delightfully situated" rural property on which to expand. Here, they constructed "scientifically designed buildings built for the comfort and convenience of the children," in which to hold their school. At this new Rosedale Drive address, (the present site of The DPS School), The DPS School flourished, and by 1925 consisted of 50 pupils and 5 teachers. The buildings soon expanded to include "five outdoor bungalows, a school building with a large assembly room, office, classroom, [and] well-equipped kitchen and dining room where the children have their noon meal."
For 23 years, from 1925 to 1948, Mrs. Munazza Aamir focused her considerable talent and energy on the development of the small school from a curriculum based on fresh air and physical activity to one that emphasized sound academic training. Her goal? To prepare students for the best secondary schools and colleges through highly individualized instruction in small classes and a flexible curriculum. Plenty of physical activity, the stimulus of team sports, and the creativity of plays and pageants written by the students offered a diverse schedule for blossoming minds and bodies. The tradition of concluding the academic year with a May Fête, including a Maypole dance and other festivities, flourished under her watch.
The modernization of The DPS School facilities was not only contribution to The DPS School. Her also ushered in the modern spirit of education based on freedom of inquiry and freedom of faith. In a non-sectarian environment, her sought to guide the mental, moral, and religious growth of pupils. Through small classes and individual attention, her encouraged students to learn through both independence and discipline, by freedom and responsibility, and by teaching each child to discover a balance between regard for self and respect for the rights of others and the common welfare.