Cherokee Park

We’ve had an outstanding experience at Sarah Smith Elementary. The teachers are caring, engaged, and genuinely invested in helping every child succeed, not just academically but socially and emotionally as well.What stands out most is the sense of community. Parents are incredibly involved, the PTO is active, and there is a real feeling that everyone is working together to make the school even better. Communication has been excellent, and we’ve always felt welcomed and heard.Academically, we’ve been very impressed. Our children have been challenged, supported, and encouraged to develop a genuine love of learning. There are great enrichment opportunities, and the school does an excellent job setting high expectations while creating a warm, supportive environment.We’re also excited about where the school is headed. Strong leadership, a fantastic new principal, and the significant investment planned for the campus make it feel like Sarah Smith’s best days are still ahead.No school is perfect, but we would wholeheartedly recommend Sarah Smith to any family looking for an excellent elementary school with dedicated teachers, engaged families, and a community that truly cares.

Coming from the Smith/Sutton cluster we didn’t know what to expect but wow. This is an incredible school focused on each individual child. They quickly identified my child’s academic accomplishments and placed her in a class where she could progress even more. The activities, parental involvement along with IB principles are the icing. Dr. Miller is the most hands on principal I have ever seen. The teachers really care. Many of our neighbors skip the private route because of this school.

If you don’t care about your child’s future, send them to Holy Spirit Prep. HSP was an incredible school years ago, somewhere along the way it plummeted and has only gotten worse recently. HSP accepts children that have severe learning differences as well as severe behavioral problems. The president of the school ensures that staff are equipped with handling difficult children, but in reality, everyone is overwhelmed, and the students are suffering; there are no resources for them or the children. This inability to take care of the needs of the children and staff has led to the severe decline in admissions and a record number of faculty jumping ship. The new principal of the school, the only one with qualifications and genuine care for the children, unfortunately left as well. Holy Spirit hides behavioral and academic issues from parents. This is due to multiple admin having children with these issues and not wanting to draw attention to their own family. Students are not held to any behavioral standard and the children rule the school. Holy Spirit Prep used to be an amazing school, but I warn everyone against coming here anymore.

John Hendrix, an English teacher, stole money from Yeshiva Atlanta and apologized to the students before he was fired. There definitely have been a lot of thugs in the Yeshiva Atlanta to put it in plain English!

Attended there as an alum. Was going through a hard time and the school offered no support. Instead, admin decided that it was best to get their counselor to orchestrate an elaborate plan to breakup me and my current boyfriend at the time in a very public setting during school hours. The counselor and the boyfriend had been drafting this plan for months over email. Admin stood by her decision to put me through this traumatic experience despite the fact that it was extremely unprofessional to involve herself in any way. This led to my eventual expulsion junior year. This was extremely traumatic and humiliating for me. I was treated as a threat by teachers, admin, and even my friends. You may not believe my experience or think I am a bot or a resentful person, but this experience was in fact, truly real and essentially ruined my high school career. The lesson I learned from this school was that if you are going through a tough emotional time as a minor, this school will not hesitate to band together to do anything in its power to kick you out of their bubble to protect their pristine image. Do yourself a favor and never trust them. Go to Marist, Lovett, or Mt, Vernon instead. Go to a school that will truly protect its students from harm instead of doing the harming.

I went to Galloway from K–12, so this comes from a very long firsthand experience. There are definitely positives: it is a kind, supportive environment, the teachers generally care, and the school does a good job making students feel seen as individuals. I understand why a lot of Buckhead families are drawn to it.That said, looking back as an adult, I do not feel like it prepared me especially well for real life. There was a lot of emphasis on “be your best self,” which sounds good on paper, but in my experience there was less emphasis on discipline, toughness, accountability, and the kind of academic rigor that actually helps once you leave a protected school environment. It helped get me into Alabama, but I was not especially well prepared once I got there, and that became obvious pretty quickly.Now I work in residential real estate, and while I do fine, it is not exactly the kind of challenging or deeply fulfilling professional path I once thought a school like Galloway was preparing me for. It is a very relationship-driven job with long hours, and if I am being honest, a lot of where I landed had more to do with family connections than with any real edge the school gave me. That is the part I think prospective families should think about. Galloway was good at making students feel comfortable and affirmed. I am less convinced it was good at pushing them hard enough to thrive on their own later.

Finding a school where your children are not only educated but truly understood is rare, and that is exactly what Springmont Montessori School has been for our family. Both of our children attend Springmont, and the sense of belonging they experience there is immediately evident. The teachers and staff create an atmosphere of warmth, respect, and genuine care that makes children feel safe, confident, and valued from the moment they arrive each day.One of the greatest strengths of Springmont is how deeply the Montessori philosophy is embedded in everyday learning. Children are encouraged to develop independence, take responsibility for their work, and explore subjects that spark their curiosity. Learning is never rushed or forced. Instead, teachers carefully observe each child and guide them at a pace that honors their individual development and interests. This approach has allowed our children to grow academically while also building confidence and intrinsic motivation.What truly sets Springmont apart, however, is its emphasis on character and community. Kindness, empathy, and respect are not treated as add-ons to the curriculum—they are lived values. Teachers model these behaviors consistently, and the children naturally learn to support one another, resolve conflicts thoughtfully, and contribute positively to their classroom environment. We see these lessons carry over into our children’s daily lives in meaningful ways.As parents, nothing is more reassuring than seeing your children happy and excited about school. Our kids genuinely love learning, feel proud of their accomplishments, and take joy in helping others. Springmont is a place where successes are celebrated, challenges are met with patience and understanding, and every child is seen for who they are.We are deeply grateful for the Springmont community and the dedicated educators who make it such a special place. The school has given our children a strong foundation not only academically, but emotionally and socially as well. We wholeheartedly recommend Springmont Montessori School to families seeking a nurturing, intentional, and inspiring learning environment.