Shady Hill School is an independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, Shady Hill serves students in pre-kindergarten (called 'Beginners) through 8th grade. The school has an enrollment of approximately 500 students. Current Shady Hill Head of School Mark Stanek became the school's sixth director in 2010. A teaching approach called Central Subject is the fundamental organizing force behind Shady Hill's curriculum. It is a year-long study around which each grade, III - VIII, focuses its work in history, literature, geography, and writing. It is the study of a people, a period of history, an idea or movement. It is a way of organizing subject matter that is flexible, inclusive, frequently changing in its application, yet constant in its commitment to certain approaches to study.