Dedham Country Day Expanding School for Younger Kids

will open its new $5 million elementary school building in September.

The new building will house students in kindergarten and grades one through five.

The construction has caused some feedback from neighbors as the school alters their student pick-up and drop-off traffic patterns. School officials say they are monitoring queueing issues and will make sure drivers know about new exit only and enter only driveways that accompany the project.

The new building will add two kindergarten classrooms, more lower school classrooms and four new reading rooms.

Completion of the new space represents the first phase of DCD’s plan to “grow bigger to get smaller,” accommodating more students at each grade level but grouping them in smaller sections of 15 to 16 students per room, according to a statement released by the school.

“Individualization, personal attention, and engagement in learning — long the hallmarks of a DCD education — are more easily managed in smaller groups, more intimate circles,” said Head of School Nicholas Thacher in explaining the reasons behind the expansion.

Ellen Tretter, director of admissions at the school, said, “These changes will ensure that each child receives even more individualized instruction geared to his or her specific needs and learning style and has additional opportunities for socialization.”