Buffalo View

I love that there are students from different countries, which brings about social interactions for the children from different backgrounds and culture.

Don't send your children here. They will deny your child access to education.

Ashley has been coasting on an old, outdated reputation, and it shows. Upper school classrooms are nearly empty, with many grades combined due to ongoing funding issues. Staff is spread thin, teaching subjects to fit a budget, not experience. When a basic Google search pulls up multiple inaccuracies in teaching material and ranks spelling lists consistently 1+ yrs below where they should be, you begin to question every tuition payment. Grade manipulation is so common that you stop believing 'honor roll' results. I watched my kid's classroom be consistently held back so staff could focus on 1 child. (That kid has other tuition-paying siblings and received awards for their improved performance.) 'Special projects' are repeated every year, but merged classrooms = repeat the same projects over and over.Meanwhile, parents are subsidizing an inefficient and ineffective administration. They are now pursuing accreditation so that they can be an option for state vouchers, which must be their plan to save the school. They are building a 'high school' (3 kids last year = buy a homeschool curriculum) while ignoring the realities and ROI of the core K-8th experience. The early learning school is clearly financially supporting the school. Even more alarming is the security. An outside firm manages the day-to-day, but when outside national security forces were called in last year for an active threat, admin didn't mention anything to parents for 3+ days. I don't want my kid becoming a statistic because school admin isn't prepared.Now to the social realities. When you have 3-6 kids in most classes in the upper school, there is simply no escape from the bullies and the privileged. The same kids get the same awards over and over. When issues arise, admin decides which parts of their handbook they want to follow. There is no school counselor or safe space for the kids. Classrooms are often mixed-grades which they sell as a good thing on their tours. In reality, it means the thinned-down staff is context switching across subjects and within the same classroom every single day, and heavily relies on internet materials.Could I go on? Yes, easily. Let's wrap by saying parents have many options in this area. An independent school is a fantastic choice, but not this one. The ROI is bad, and I see no actual real change in sight, especially with this admin. Ask more questions about trends in your visit, and don't buy the 'they leave for sports/University School' story.