Peekskill Holw
Putnam Valley, NY 10579

We moved here in 2020 during the height of Covid. During the school year of 20-21, the school did a wonderful job of staying open, going remote only for 2 weeks. They did an excellent job of contact tracing and required the minimum amount of students to quarantine due to exposure. They were able to do this because they utilized social distancing, outdoor classes, and split up the classes into groups. They followed the recommendations of the state and opened appropriately. We are so happy with our teachers and academics. We have loved every teacher and my son is absolutely thriving. He is exciting about learning and loves going to school. Despite the obvious issues that could have happened during covid/quarantine, I do not find that my son is at all behind and he is learning ELA, math, science, and social studies at grade level (or above). For those children who are struggling, the school offers several special teachers who work with these students daily during "i block". These children are able to receive extra help for english, math, and even english as a second language help. They offer OT, PT, speech, and even psych services. The students are also learning mandarin chinese starting in Kindergarten. It is truly incredible. The administration is great and very responsive to any concerns. Another thing that we love about this school is the option of children's center for before and after care (at a relatively low-cost). This school could not be better for working parents. The children's center is excellent and goes from 7am to 6pm if needed. They even offer options for childcare for special days (ie superintendent days, etc.). We are extremely happy to have moved here and love the school district. We came from a well-known and "excellent" school district in Westchester, NY and are much happier within this school district.

My experience with this school was nothing short of a nightmare and heartbreaking. My son was bullied from the start as the new child time and time again and we just received the response “kids will be kids” as the incidents just kept escalating, from sexual based inappropriate incidents from other students to mental and physical incidents. The things he experienced in these walls while the adults in charge did nothing is simply unacceptable and heartbreaking. They kept pulling him into the couselors office to make sure he could take it but did nothing to his bullies though we kept asking for help. They stated they were separate incidents so they would not have to declare it as bullying although all the kids were friends. However, 2 weeks before the end of the school year they decided it was in fact bullying and they were ready to do something after my son had endured this the whole year and he was no longer the same excited kid he went in as. The best part of that experience for him was leaving. Worst part was finding out this school has a reputation for this. Do yourself the favor and look for a different school, save yourself the money for the therapy they’ll need to adjust after experiencing this trauma center.