The importance of education can't be overstated.

We all learn in our own time, in our own way, in our own space. That's what makes options and alternatives necessary.

Cue Lancaster Country Day School. Situated at 725 Hamilton Road, Lancaster, Lancaster Country Day is an independent, prekindergarten through 12th-grade, postsecondary preparatory school that's an alternative to public education.

"We're here to nurture and grow the minds and spirits of the students in our care," said Matt Micciche, who's in his first year as Lancaster Country Day's head of school. "We want them to be able to go on to college and their careers. We want to make them people who are deeply engaged in their community. We think deeply about what your place in the world should be. But we also want our school to be a place of joy where people can come to feel safe and happy."

Overseen by a board of trustees, Lancaster Country Day is more closely aligned to the concept of the one-time "boarding school" than it is to a faith-based institution. Broken down into an upper school, a middle school and a lower school, Lancaster Country Day offers all the fundamentals and extracurricular activities of a traditional education in an intimate setting.

"The role of education is something we should be asking ourselves about all the time," said Micciche. "We exist to perpetuate good in the world. It's also about creating individuals who see their role in the world as helping others and being a benefit to their communities. It's preparing students for the work world they'll live in."

Currently, 623 students in preschool through 12th grade are enrolled at Lancaster Country Day, 200 to 225 of whom make up the upper school - grades nine through 12 - population. Lancaster Country Day's students are predominantly residents of Lancaster County, but they also hail from Dauphin, Berks, York and Lebanon counties.

Lancaster Country Day employs about 100 staff members, 60 to 70 of whom are teachers.

"When you have 12, 13, 14 kids in your classroom, you're able to challenge each student on an individual level," said Micciche. "Our kids talk about their relationships with their teachers. Just about every teacher knows every student by face and name. One of the things I really value here is the depth and the breadth of the personal relationships. It allows students to feel safe and a connection to each other."

The origin of Lancaster Country Day School can be traced to 1908 and the all-girls' Shippen School. The school changed its charter and name in the early 1940s after including male students from the nearby Franklin and Marshall Academy for Boys, which shuttered its doors.

In 1949, Lancaster Country Day moved to its current location on 29 acres of suburban Manheim Township soil.

"I don't think we're as well-known as I'd like us to be," said Micciche. "I think our children are incredibly well-served here. As the world has become a more diverse and challenging place, I think our approach has changed. Any good school is evolving to reflect the world it lives in."

For additional information about Lancaster Country Day, go to http://www.lancastercountryday.org.