North Stamford

My son completed the 2’s program at Canaan Ridge last year, and we are back for the 3’s program this year. We have found it to be an incredibly nurturing, wonderful place—just the right mix of a relaxed Montessori program with art and music that has provided him with a great introduction to school. My son loved doing daily well-planned art projects and enjoyed music lessons and story time. He loved his teachers and the principal and staff. Canaan Ridge has two beautiful playgrounds for sunny days and a large indoor play space when the weather is bad. Because of their small class sizes, they could tailor the teaching to each child and allow each child to progress according to his own abilities. For example, if a three-year-old showed interest in reading, a teacher worked individually with the child each day to foster their development. We also found the administration to be extremely flexible and accommodating.

This school has a serious bullying issue that they refuse to address. The administration has been made aware on many occasions that the girls will verbally and emotianally abuse individuals in certain grades, excluding and taunting. The administration talks about things they will do, but never address it.

I have two children at The Long Ridge School, and it has been a wonderful experience for our family. The community of teachers and staff is warm, attentive, and deeply committed to nurturing and supporting the students, creating an educational environment that kids genuinely get excited about. From day one, my children have come home eager to talk about what they learned and what they experienced each day.The school and faculty are exceptionally communicative and truly partner with parents. Weekly updates from teachers outlining curriculum and classroom experiences provide transparency and meaningful insight into the day-to-day life of the school. Community events broaden the experience to the families as a whole.Everyone—from the faculty to the staff—is kind, thoughtful, and invested in the students. Long Ridge is a special place for children to grow and learn during their most formative years. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Mead has overcommitted and underdelivered with their Nexus program. My child's class had only one neurotypical child. The rest were students with autism and/or ADHD who were not getting the support they needed. There were regular behavior issues that the teachers were not trained to handle and many parents in the Nexus program complained about a lack of adequate support for their children. Some children never got the services they were promised, after parents paid an extra $20K for the program. Teachers are rigid about their teaching methodology, failing to provide basics like visuals and scaffolds for learning. The Mead way is that the child must advocate for what they need, but even when my child advocated, the teachers did the bare minimum to get the child through that assignment and did not change their approach with the child or develop strategies moving forward. Teachers regularly kick out half the class as a classroom management technique. Administration protects their teachers and get very defensive if you point out issues with how behavior is being managed. Students are able to take breaks and not get work done and the teachers won't tell you until the progress report comes out and you realize how behind your child actually is.