Piney Plains

My girls have been thriving at Oak Grove. The teachers & staff have made learning so impactful for my kids. The year round schooling has also been a perk. They're so excited to be in school & during track outs we can vacation during non-peak times!

This school has been nothing but AMAZING! Everyone is so nice and welcoming! My children love this school. It is very special to know the teachers know and welcome the kids with smile on their faces.

Greatschools, stop taking down my reviews. I've been rewriting this review for years now. I am now documenting your censorship of the comments on this and other schools. By everyone's account in my family, Briarcliff was subjectively (and objectively in many ways) the worst educational experience we've ever encountered. The principal at the time (2017-2019) was the most duplicitous individual I've ever encountered and the teaching was very sub par.

We are now in my daughter's second year at Farmington Woods, where she has attended kindergarten and is now in first grade. Overall, we have had a great experience. First, I want to highlight the positives—this may be the most important indicator of a good school for me: my daughter genuinely loves going to school every day. She is excited in the mornings at drop-off and equally enthusiastic at pick-up as she shares stories about her day. As a parent, it's wonderful to see her so engaged. She also adores her teachers and insists on visiting her teacher from last year during every family school event. I appreciate her teachers as well and can see that they genuinely care about their work.The school emphasizes community values, which I value greatly. However, my daughter has faced challenges with learning, particularly in reading and spelling. Her teachers have been proactive in intervening, creating a plan, and maintaining communication with me to ensure she receives the support she needs. I am extremely grateful for their efforts.My experience with communication from staff and teachers at the school has been inconsistent, which is why I rated it a 4 out of 5. I rated the Special Education services a 3 out of 5. My daughter has struggled with speech, and her kindergarten teachers recognized this early, suggesting an evaluation for speech therapy. Unfortunately, there was a delay due to a new speech therapist transitioning into the role, so she didn’t start therapy until the last month of the school year.As we enter the second year, I have received no communication from the speech therapist, which is concerning. This lack of communication creates a disconnect and makes me feel unaware of the support my child is receiving. I don’t think it's a matter of the therapist's ability or care; rather, it seems to stem from poor communication and possible staffing issues. Overall, the positives at Farmington Woods Magnet Elementary outweigh the negatives, and we’re happy to be here.

very good school, and teachers I recommend this school

Our experience at this school has been deeply concerning. Ongoing bullying has not been adequately addressed, and in some cases, it has felt as though inappropriate behavior from both students and parents has been tolerated rather than corrected. Additionally, there have been instances where staff used unprofessional language and made comments that were not appropriate for a school environment.Despite having a 504 plan in place, we have struggled to receive consistent support or necessary accommodations. We are often told that changes are “fluid,” yet no meaningful adjustments have been made. It is also concerning that classroom disruptions caused by ongoing behavioral issues are not being effectively managed, which impacts the learning environment for all students.Unfortunately, our experience has led us to feel that our child’s needs are not being met here, and we look forward to moving on to a middle school that will provide the understanding, support, and accountability she deserves. Please consider any other option of schooling before you entertain Yates Mill.

Our family’s experience with Resurrection Lutheran School ended up being deeply disappointing. We originally chose RLS because it presented itself as a school that offered Christian formation, strong relationships, individualized attention, and a smaller, more attentive educational environment. Those were major reasons we entrusted our children to the school and committed to the tuition.What changed for us was the school’s decision to move forward with a single third grade class of 30 students. Just as concerning as the decision itself was the timing. Families were informed only after reenrollment decisions and deposits had already been made, which put parents in a very difficult position and left little time to pursue other options in an orderly way.The explanation given to families did not inspire confidence. Rather than presenting a clearly developed, well-vetted plan from the start, leadership seemed to be building the details after the decision had already been made. From our perspective, that reflected poor planning and weak leadership on an issue that directly affects children’s education.We also found the school’s repeated emphasis on one teacher’s willingness to take this on to be beside the point. This was never about whether a teacher is caring or hardworking. It was about whether a single class of 30 students represented a sound structure and a good value for families paying private school tuition.After touring other private Christian schools in the area, it became clear to us that there are schools at a similar price point, and in some cases less, offering much stronger facilities, more structured academics, more extracurricular opportunities, and a more polished overall program. That comparison made us question what exactly RLS is offering that meaningfully distinguishes it at this tuition level.To the school’s credit, after parent pushback it did offer a one-time refund exception for deposits. We appreciated that. But for our family, the larger issue was the breach of trust. Once a school makes a material change, communicates it late, and then appears to backfill the plan afterward, it becomes hard to maintain confidence in the leadership and direction of the institution.We had hoped for a very different experience. Unfortunately, based on what we experienced, we could not confidently recommend RLS to other families.