Charing Cross

My daughter currently is a kindergarten student at Quarton. So far, at least, I have only positive things to say about the teachers and principal, as well as the parents and community, and recommend the school unequivocally. In fact, my wife and I based our decision to move from San Francisco, California, to our Quarton Lake Estates residence specifically because of its close proximity to the well-regarded Quarton elementary school. Having said that, I do have one issue with this school, which is its poor management of the car pickup and drop off line process. For example, certain parents feel entitled to cut in line for afternoon pickup, showing up at the last minute and cutting in front of all of the other cars who have waited patiently in line for 10-45 minutes to get their kids. The school needs to implement some system to penalize these offenders because it is totally unacceptable. No one should be entitled to cut in line for pickup; we all have jobs to do and have places to go, after all. That said, I love the school and recommend it highly.

Save your money and take your business and your child elsewhere. This institution is lead by incompetent leadership that entirely disregards genuine Montessori practices nor provides it instructors with the respect and dignity they earn and deserve each day. The Head of School does not hold the formal Montessori training or the demeanor as prescribed by Montessori to be an instructor much less the Head of the school. Top notch teachers have been terminated without cause or reason, only to be replaced by by teaching assistants that also do not possess or hold the same level of credentials or experience. Its simply non-sensical. Additionally, it was apparent that The Head of this school (her name is Judy) is highly disliked by staff and parents alike, and has been for years. Why would a change not have been made long ago? The ever changing and detached Board of Directors are equally as incompetent and simply do not care, so long as they can continue taking in grant money and funds and non-refundable parent payments. They lack any serious motivation to function fairly, properly, transparently and with any level of moral ethic and integrity one would expect from a non-profit educational institution home based in Birmigham Michigan. They should be ashamed and remorseful to operate and function the way they do. Again, save your time & money with your child's best interest in mind and find a better place for early childhood development, ESPECIALLY if Judy is STILL at the helm. Seriously.

My experience with AOSH has been extremely disappointing, and I would not recommend this school to families looking for a respectful, academically rigorous, values-driven environment.The final straw for me was an incident involving my daughter. After pickup, I allowed her to briefly run around in the field while I remained nearby watching her closely. A staff member came outside, grabbed my child, and walked right past me without acknowledging me, introducing herself, asking me a single question, or attempting to verify that I was her father. Imagine standing there while someone physically takes hold of your child and completely ignores your presence. My daughter herself was confused and trying to ask why she was being held, yet we were both treated as if we did not deserve basic communication or respect. Black Male and Black Female in their school must be foreign. I fully support school safety and security procedures. That is not the issue. The issue is the complete lack of professionalism, courtesy, and humanity shown in the interaction. Any competent school should be able to balance security with respectful communication toward parents and children.What makes this even more disappointing is that I overlooked numerous warnings from friends and family before enrolling my child here. I come from a background where I attended highly respected magnet and private religious schools in Africa that placed enormous emphasis on academic excellence, discipline, character, and respect. That experience shaped my expectations and is exactly why I initially believed this school would be a good fit for my family.Unfortunately, my experience has been the opposite. In my opinion, the school appears far more focused on image, tuition, fundraising, and donations than on delivering a truly exceptional academic environment or fostering genuine community values. For the amount families pay, I expected much more substance, stronger academics, better leadership, and far more professionalism in how parents are treated.If you can afford the tuition here, there are significantly better options in Michigan that provide stronger academics, healthier school culture, and more respectful engagement with families.Very disappointing experience overall.

IT'S ALL FOR SHOW AND TOXIC ENVIRONMENT.... Seriously consider and ask about qualifications and teaching methods when considering this school. This school has changed drastically in the past five years and has very concerning teacher retention or teachers that basically are fresh out of college then usually leave. It lacks compassion and is not a warm environment for children to learn. The school no longer is exclusively a parish school and is about 75% Chaldean leaving no diversity. Last spring it came out that multiple children were being asked to kneel at length for punishment. Admin blamed one teacher, but all my children said it was used in their classrooms at one point or another. There was a wonderful priest at the church but the one who now overseas is strictly concerned about money and has cut all services and extras. This is not the sophisticated catholic school you knew growing up.