Montclair

I went here a few years ago and not only did I not have a homeroom teacher all year long, I also watched a student get escorted off campus in handcuffs after stabbing a kid with a pencil. Horrible school. I hated every minute of it.

The teachers have been great! Im very unhappy with the lack of enthusiasm, joy and kindness from the principal. The kids are scared of him because he yells and looks very mean

I’m a parent having 2 kids in this institution. A first grader and a third grader. Their learning experiences has been wonderful. They tell me everyday how they had fun with their friends and teachers. Their reading skills, maths and science has improved. I normally do a follow up with them everyday. They must tell me everything they studied in school each day. That’s how I get to know it.I’m amazed seeing some negative ratings by other reviewers. Teaching a child begins from home. We parents are teachers too. Every child is unique and we all need to find out how to go about it.

I would without a doubt give St. Paul Catholic School a five star rating. The teachers, principal and all the staff care deeply for all those in their care and they strive to do everything they can to ensure that all the children excel. I have witnessed this in the almost 23 years that I have been involved in the school in many differents capacities. From working in the after care program, to voluntarily teaching Spanish, acting as a translator when needed and even volunteering in the school cafeteria and serving on the St. Paul School Board for the last 6 years. I believe wholeheartedly that St. Paul Catholic School lives up to their mission to educate students spiritually, intellectually, physically and morally, so that they can reach their full potential in Christ.

Our families experience with Lake Montessori left us with serious concerns, particularly safety, class sizes, and support for students with special needs. My biggest concern was an incident in which my autistic son was unaccounted for for at least 20 minutes. As a parent, that is something I simply cannot overlook. I also became increasingly concerned about the size of the classroom and whether my children were to receive the individualized support needed to learn and thrive. Lake Montessori accepts the family empowerment scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, but accepting that scholarship did not translate into additional individualized support within the classroom.My daughter was ultimately asked to leave after a week, at age 3, because they could not provide her the support she needed. One week. I don’t expect every school to be the right fit for every child, and I’m not suggesting that other families have had positive experiences here. However, if you have a child with autism or other unique abilities, learning or behavioral needs, I strongly encourage you to ask specific questions about class sizes, supervision, staff experience with special-needs students, what individualized supports are actually provided and how scholarship funding benefits your child before enrolling. I withdrew both of my kids and found a better environment where they use the scholarship funding to meet the needs of those types of students. Shout out to Ms. Mary - she was the only positive experience we had over the past year. She was kind and patient with our special needs kid.