St. James Tower

I have a student there now and another on the way next year- The community cares so much about the children attending school there. The teachers, educators, support and principal are always in support of the childrens needs. I enjoy seeing the teachers receive my child with a smile and warm support as they enter the building. The communication is always comfortable and easy.

The principal is hostile towards the kids and their parents, instead of focusing on the kids learning and fostering an inclusive environment he goes on crusades to ban backpacks, he punishes kids for having panic attacks, he gets rid of fun things that were brought in to get the kids engaged and playing with each other. He doesn’t respond to parent emails. Does your kid have a 504 plan? You’ll never hear a word from the 504 coordinator, and you have to contact each teacher individually to communicate what your child’s 504 plan entails. If you have a choice in which school to send your kid to. Don’t choose Hamilton.

Lincoln High School is different from the ground up. Intentionally designed to build on decades of research about how students learn best - most of which are at odds with the way us parents were educated and consequently what we expect to see our children have to do. Many of the reviews on here are complaining because their kids are not experiencing what they experienced - i.e. lots of homework, no re-takes on tests, teaching to standardized tests and expecting very little self-directed learning. What works best for student learning has been known for decades. Changing the school system is nearly impossible though for the very reasons these parents are complaining - it's not like they did it so it must be wrong. This is why much of the way they taught at Lincoln was kept quiet till the school was well established and the success was seen in test scores and college performance. They even brought in a change management expert to help get parents to buy into these wild ideas when they were starting the school. Since it was started from the ground up, they worked within school district regulations and really mixed things up. The result? Students emerge being self directed learners not kids who only do what they are told. Yes, they have to find information and learn it on their own in order to do well on the standardized tests. This is great preparation for real life. Yes, they can take tests over again because the point is not the grade it is that you learned the material. Yes, there is a lot of freedom in how they approach a project or even a chemistry lab because it is about being able to think for yourself, not have the teacher tell you what to think. Is it different? YES. Does it frustrate me that my kid doesn't come home with homework? YES. Do I sometimes wish the teachers would "baby" my kid a little more giving them more help? YES. Is falling down and learning to pick yourself up on your own good for your kid? YES. Is equity a big topic in school? YES. Does research back up that kids are more innovative, better listeners and learn material better when they hear different perspectives, work with those not like themselves and have to figure things out on their own? Yup. Did it prepare my kids well for college? YES. Does Lincoln get as many or more kids into the top universities in the country than the $$$ private schools in the area? Yup. Are my / have my kids been happy there? VERY. Don't expect typical.