8426 Decoursey Pike, Covington, KY 41015

Praise is well deserved for this school. In an age where the general public feels an (often undeserved/unfair) entitlement to criticize via public forum every personal and professional interaction they encounter, I'm pleased to see so many parents and students taking the time to give praise so genuinely earned for this school. I can't imagine the inherent difficulty and frustration for educators today, who find themselves clinging to their optimism and idealistic desire to positively shape the academic, moral and personal growth/development of each incoming class year after year, all the while fighting a consistently inconsistent curriculum, the biases of parents, and an impossible public forum of 1-sided criticism enabled and promoted by social media today. And yet I find that the educators and administrators at Ryland Heights are waging this battle daily, with an admirable enthusiasm and humbling amount of professionalism that is inspiring and a welcome relief. I currently have 4 children attending this school, and have spanned grades K through 5 over the past 2 years, aside from 1st grade. All of our experiences have been positive, including art, music and physical education. I have a personal fondness for the enthusiasm, effort and general kindness of the music and PE teachers, which is something I never would've thought would even enter my conscious awareness. We transferred into this school 2 years ago from Johnson Elementary in Ft Thomas, and had such wonderful teachers at that school that I came into this school with admittedly unfair low expectations, but I have been continuously impressed with every interaction I've had with this school. And the undeniable reality is that with 4 children in 1 school, there is no shortage of interactions! The principal undeniably deserves individual commendation for her daily dedication to cultivating a personal relationship with every student in the school. In an age when phoning it in has become the default expectation, she continuously strives to raise the bar in this school, and is succeeding. She gives hand-written, personal comments on EVERY report card for every student. Every child deserves the feeling of pride that comes from the personal acknowledgement of the highest authority in their world, outside of their parents. Thank you, Sarah Callahan, for that contribution to our kids' well-being!