Meinert

We recently withdrew our daughter from Wood Rose Academy after repeated issues involving administration, staff conduct, and the school’s handling of student concerns.Our daughter has a documented medical condition with a formal 504 accommodation on file. Although the school acknowledged her dietary restrictions in writing, she was repeatedly offered food containing wheat during school events despite multiple reminders and prior communications.One particularly upsetting incident forced our daughter to publicly explain her medical condition in front of classmates after being offered food she could not safely eat. This caused her significant embarrassment and distress.After we raised concerns, the atmosphere noticeably changed. Our daughter began reporting that she felt singled out and ignored during class participation. Administrative responses also became increasingly dismissive and defensive instead of solution-oriented.At one point, the principal raised allegations involving a family member but later admitted she had not personally witnessed the incident and was relying entirely on secondhand information. This raised serious concerns regarding professionalism and judgment.The final incident that led us to immediately withdraw our daughter involved a complete breakdown of leadership and oversight. While we were at the school addressing a bathroom privacy issue involving a broken stall lock, a staff member who was also personally involved as a parent inserted herself into the situation, brought her child into the discussion, and began directly questioning our daughter in a confrontational manner.We repeatedly requested that the children be excused so adults could discuss the matter privately. That request was ignored. The interaction escalated while the principal failed to intervene, de-escalate the conflict, or protect the students from being drawn into an increasingly hostile adult confrontation.At that point, we completely lost confidence in the school’s ability to provide a safe, professionally managed, and supportive environment for our child.We strongly encourage prospective families to carefully evaluate how the school handles accommodations, parent concerns, and conflicts before enrolling.

This is our third year at The Seven Hills School, and we are grateful to be part of the community. The school has not only helped our children flourish academically and socially, but it has also helped us -- as parents -- strengthen our connection with them and better understand how they learn and grow. We’ve experienced firsthand the impact of the school’s thoughtful social-emotional program, which we now know builds a critical foundation for meaningful learning. Our children are encouraged to think deeply, stay curious, and take responsibility --- both in their schoolwork and in their relationships with peers. We also love the hands-on, project-based learning experiences that help make real-world connections (and the incredible Middle School program that includes travel Japan and Europe to augment learning in the classroom). There is a lot of thought and intention that goes behind the entire program, and teachers and administrators genuinely care about the students. We hope this exposes our children to a love of life-long learning...and icing on the cake is the beautiful campus! : )

We had two children attend St. Francis and desperately wanted it to work because there are many positives. Some teachers truly care, and our boys made wonderful friends.However, our overall experience was disappointing because of repeated failures in communication and leadership.Our oldest endured years of bullying that, despite numerous meetings, was never effectively addressed. Our younger struggled academically without proactive communication from teachers. Emails often went unanswered, and concerns were frequently redirected to an online app that wasn’t updated consistently enough to be useful.Over the years, we watched several families leave our grade because of similar frustrations. Every family’s experience is different, but ours was enough that we cannot recommend the school. If we had to make the decision again, we would choose another school.