Ashley Forest

This school does an amazing job helping students become independent learners who lead and shine both in and outside the classroom. It balances play and learning beautifully, creating a joyful environment where kids thrive and still achieve great results. With so many opportunities beyond academics, students grow into well-rounded, confident children. The dedicated staff truly go above and beyond to help every child succeed.

I have 2 children that attend Newington, my oldest child who has been there since K and currently is in 2nd there, and my younger one who just started K! They both love it! I could count on one hand the days where I have to actually “make” them want to get up and go to school, and it’s usually because they would rather stay curled up in their bed- and not because they don’t like their class/school.The teachers they have/had have been amazing (especially dealing with all the COVID, quarantine and virtual learning situations that have been thrown at them- with no or very little guidance on how to proceed or how to handle) even when one of their teachers got sick (unsure if it was COVID related or not) she was still on virtual the week they all were on virtual at home, you could tell she didn’t feel good, and had to take a few breaks but she pushed thru it and finished the week and taught what she had to get done for that week! Neither of my kids have ever mentioned themselves or anyone being bullied or getting picked on!My 2nd grader is reading way ahead of where he should be (I believe it’s 4th grade DRA numbers) has been doing multiplication/division since first grade- at home in his free time, he asks for hard words to spell, hard math questions to do, and extra long numbers to read out loud for fun!! I’m hoping he tested well enough to go into GATE next year! He was lucky enough that his K teacher moved to 1st along with him so we had the same GREAT teacher 2 years in a row! Unfortunately she moved upstate so my younger son won’t get the chance to have her, but his teacher and her assistant this year are just as great!! They have patience with their students I could only dream of having one day!! I was for sure my youngest was going to be a tough one- mostly to get him to focus and hold his attention long enough in the classroom, and it would be a struggle to make him do “extra” work at home- but he has almost finished all his sight words he needs to know by the end of the year ( with 4 months left) the ones he practices every night- he can do it in record speed!! He is reading whole Pete the cat books each night, and pretty quickly! And just got Terrific kid of the month! So very proud of him!! So our experience at this school so far has been great and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon! But I know everyone’s will be different depending on needs, wants, and expectations - and it will be that way everywhere you go!

Great school that puts kids first! FES is the place to BEE!