Wolhurst

I have four children and we have spent our entire elementary years at Normandy Elementary. With two having moved on to middle school, I have seen two of my kids through Normandy from start to finish. The things I love as a parent are as follows: The team of teachers and paras are amazing and only get better with each hire. I’m so grateful how the teachers are so professional at our school. They are amazing and caring and my kids have loved their teachers. They have helped my children get what they need be it IEPs, 504, etc. I know most of them now and they are just a phenomenal group!Core Knowledge curriculum is so rich and I love it! My kids learn the coolest stuff that I never learned and the teachers are creative and create great opportunities for the kids to learn through hands on activities, etc. I also love that the school emphasises respect.Our community of families is awesome! Parents are kind and helpful and show up for school events. Our PTO and SAC are awesome and welcoming to everyone. No “better than you” attitudes here, just how can I help. I’ve been to the past two school auctions and we had so much fun. I’ve also noticed just how many parents come in and help in class which is great! You’ve got to be the change you want to see.Our school has amazing art teachers, our music teacher is so fantastic with the kids and getting them moving and singing, playing instruments. PE is always exciting. The new and old playground is awesome. The shade structures are amazing. Our huge school garden is my kids’ favorite time where they get to learn how to do the things they learn in class, find bugs, and explore and serve via setting up a farmers market and prepping garden produce to serve in the cafeteria. The new Makerspace is also amazing and a fun place for the kids to explore and build, fail, and achieve. I don’t expect every teacher and staff to be the most amazing all the time. They are human and have lives too, just like our students and I think some people get offended too often and do not seek restitution in congenial ways. Our experience has not been perfect, but we have always found ways through good communication pathways with the teachers, the principal, and staff to resolve our issues. When another student started bullying my 4th grader, the principal and teacher nipped it in the bud immediately. They have always been willing and wanting to help any way they can and I appreciate them!

Pros: The teachers are excellent and genuinely care about their students. They were one of the best parts of our experience.Cons: We ultimately transferred our child due to ongoing concerns with administration, communication, and safety. We felt that serious concerns, including student-to-student threats and significant behavioral incidents, were not always taken as seriously as they should have been. We also became concerned about how staff were treated and saw good teachers and staff leave.As parents, we often felt that our concerns were dismissed rather than meaningfully addressed. It is unfortunate because there are wonderful teachers and families at this school. Ultimately, we no longer felt confident in the leadership or the overall environment for our child.

I have waited a long time to make a review to reflect on what the real problems were with FRCS. I believe this school is damaging enough to it's students that I should leave some warning for anybody considering it. There are some amazing teachers here who go out of their way for the students. Generally that is not the case, though potentially it is beginning to improve a little. Most teachers follow a straight line to not risk their jobs or relationship with the owner/principle and coworkers. The main issue I have is with the High-school Bible teaching. I have no knowledge of who is teaching that now, they could be great, but in the past it has proven to be very damaging to students. The selling point for FRCS to a lot of people is the Bible/Christian aspect. But I have learned it is worse to be taught the Bible wrong than not at all. The last Bible teacher was a sports coach, and should have never been considered for Bible teaching. The 3-4 teachers before that, (usually duos) generally taught more harmful beliefs than thought provoking ones. And almost always were in disagreement with each other. I personally chose to agree more with Nietzche than any Bible teacher, and they introduced me to his philosophy. I truly do hope the Bible teaching is better now, but in my experience it can be devastating to a real faith in God. It seems encouraged for the teachers to disagree with the literal parts of the Bible, and leave most things open ended. Which is especially bad when they are the ones to give the side of non believers and just leave the defense unsaid. As far as the Christian side of FRCS, I would highly suggest you either tell your kid to ignore the Bible teachers, or to avoid the school entirely. I had a terrible experience for a lot of reasons, that is not the fault of staff. So I will not speak to the other aspects more, but i do think its important for me to warn people considering this school. Even if you are not a believer but want your kid at an expensive private school for whatever reason, this is probably not for you. It has too few students for real social interactions, and public school probably offers a slightly higher level of education.

My kids have been attending St. Mary since preschool. There have been some hurdles in recent years as others have mentioned (replacement of playground, which took too long, some difficulties with the strict Mass uniforms on Fridays) but overall, no school is perfect and we love this school. The teachers and staff are thoughtful and effective. My kids enjoy school, which says a lot. The homework starting in 1st grade is relatively rigorous, I could do for less so that time at home is more relaxed, but it has helped the kids understand their responsibility in their education starting young. The best part of St. Mary's is the community- many parishioners attend the school and you can feel that there is something special in it all. There is excellent family involvement in the school. I wouldn't choose another place to support my kids growing and learning in an environment of like-minded, yet diverse, students, teachers, and staff all in a place where faith and virtue are center.