Zimmerman

DIS was wonderful under the leadership of Shaad Ahmed. Following his departure, Sophia Shalash was leading the school to great places until the board pushed her out. While there are some lovely teachers, DIS faculty and staff include discriminatory, judgemental, and unkind individuals. My child was belittled and stifled by teachers, and good teachers have left this school due to the problems they have experienced. The entire board should be replaced. Be aware that the leadership covers up serious incidents such as a gun scare at this school that was attempted to be kept secret from teachers and parents by the principal (the weapon later determined by Beavercreek police to be a BB gun). Other things were covered up and when children reported to their parents, the leadership of this school actively gaslit kids and parents. Ultimately I decided it was not a healthy or safe environment for my child.

Would I recommend this school, depends on what you are looking for in a school. Academics: The academics are superb. If you are looking for a competitive academic environment with a strong curriculum, St. Luke has that for sure. My child left there with a great work ethic, and a strong foundational in his/her faith, and outstanding study skills. My child was very well prepared for the next private school he/she attended.Leadership: The the principal knows all the students very well, has a big heart and really does care about the well being for all students. She has an open door type policy where she is accessible to anyone who wants or needs to reach her. I can't speak for the staff on that one, but many parents and students liked her accessibility, I know I did the few times I needed to reach out to her. It is very comforting at the time to know you have a principal that really cares. However, leadership has room to improve in the fact that the principal struggles with trying to please everyone and avoid conflict to the point that it could be detrimental to the situation at hand. Sometimes being a strong leader means having to say no to parents, firing ineffective staff, or not hiring staff that may not be the best candidate just because they have a relationship with the school. Classroom: Class size can vary depending on the year anywhere between 15-25 students. I never thought the class sizes were too big that it got in the way of learning. Homework load was at times a little much but that is typical of Catholic school. Two out of three of my child's teachers were some of the best she ever had. The other teacher was the worst she ever had, but that is also typical anywhere else. Every school has their share of good and bad teachers. I was disappointed though that leadership waited it out with the bad teacher since they knew she was retiring instead of stepping into fix the problem.Social Environment: My child made friends quickly with classmates as did I with the parents. St. Luke is located near a military base and they do a great job with accepting transfer students and making sure they feel welcome. Just like any school, especially a private one, there are snobs, but not enough to disrupt the positive social environment, at least that was not our experience.