Twelve Hills

We couldn’t be happier with TRES, my son is so well supported here. Teachers are willing to hear your concerns and are well experienced.

This is a great school. I had 2 children attend, and it was great. Teachers and staff are very attentive, informed, and truly care about your kids. It was a wonderful experience and a great beginning for my children in their path to success.

My wife and I cannot say enough good things about St. Louis school after 5 years with multiple children attending. The small community feel makes our experience feel personal like that of community schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and other North East schools. Why in the world Marylanders think county run schools can be better than community schools is beyond me. Maybe some families like the idea of redistricting, we certainly don't.Reading the comments of many critics makes me think either there are bad actors responding or simply some families leaving St Louis families "drink the cultural cool aid". The fact that people here are suggesting putting kids in public schools as a better alternative means they weren't actually a good fit for St Louis. In a state and county that calls up down and assigns pronouns to kindergarteners, if that is your thing public school is just for you. But when you want your kids to be held to a high standard that fosters respect, responsibility, and reverence then St. Louis is an amazing school and community for kids to learn and grow up.

Our family experience at the GCS Upper School was not positive although it took us some time to realize the school is going down hill. For the past few years due to financial difficulties the school has significantly lowered admission standards to bring up enrollment numbers and this had an immediate effect on the quality of academic instruction. We also observed inflation of the grades to satisfy the incoming families and keep the pretense of rigorous program. The AP class offerings are lacking variety compared to public high schools because the Upper school teachers are loaded to teach three to four courses and the new hiring is limited due to school’s financial constraints. Classes they offer won’t prepare for ACT/SAT as the school assumes you will hire private tutors to do that. We also heard feedback from other parents who went all the way to graduation that college counselors at the school are no good.There is a systemic issue with the GCS Upper school management. Most teachers and administration staff have their own children enrolled at a discount so when your child has an issue with a teacher or another student, you most likely will be facing another parent with own financial interest and administrative power over your children rather than an impartial third party that can objectively resolve a conflict. Some teachers and administrators have exhibited what I can only describe as clinically psychopathic behaviors such as lying, manipulating, pressuring students and parents to serve their own interests. On top of that the administration closely monitors students’ social activity within the school and on social media and uses intimidation and disciplinary actions against anyone posting about incidents at the school such vaping, sexualized behavior or just expressing their honest views about school life. At the same time open bullying at all-school assembly in presence of teachers and parents goes uninterrupted and unpunished. And all that costs nearly 40k a year. For our children it wasn’t worth it.