Allaire School

What a tremendous disappointment. We enrolled our child in this school and paid for special testing and a full year in advance. We explained that our child is challenging and that we have had behavioral problems in the past. Ms. Allaire promised that her great experience and attention would be up to the challenge, but she wasn't. What's particularly disappointing is the way Ms. Allaire handled the matter. She became rude and hostile to our 10 year old child. Rather than developing an empathetic relationship, as many have with our child, she was cold and unfeeling. Our child was expelled and I want the world to know that our experience at this school has been terrible. Beware.

Mary Allaire and her school are fantastic! We had our child at Allaire for two years and wish it could have been four. Mary does an incredible job individualizing programs to student s learning styles and needs. After attending Allaire, our child transitioned to a public high school. Her transition was successful primarily due to the organizational, social and athletic skills she learned at Allaire. Don t let this small one room school concern you. Mary has been doing this for over 30 years and she is a master at it. Mary encourages the students to do their homework independently, a great skill to learn. She wanted to know exactly what our daughter was capable of on her own so she could teach her the necessary skills to succeed. I must also mention that for those couple of parents who wrote negative reviews, I assume they never accepted or understood Mary s approach and style. All Mary s teaching assistants were wonderful. They are in the same room as Mary and work with her hand in hand. Mary is also very careful and precise at screening students that are a good fit for her program and is very honest with parents. Superb School all the way around!

I attended Allaire School for two years and I really liked it! In high school last year, I had a project on a country and I was able to complete it on my own because I got the tools from the international dinner project. We got to do science experiments at the science fair. We have all sorts of school events before tests to get us prepared for the test. They show us how to memorize our notes. In the morning we work alone at our own level of ability and then in the afternoon we work as a class on the particular subject. Miss Allaire sets aside time to organize our work and our desk. I became very neat and organized through time. Everyone is really nice at Allaire school and if they aren't she knows how to handle them. My math teacher at Allaire taught us music appreciation with everything from classical to jazz and rock! He played basketball and ping pong with us too. One of my other teachers taught us how to speak Italian and interesting social studies. I was given an Italian name! We had the best overnight field trip to the Marin Headlands. We had field trips to museums and went on hikes. I learned how to play volleyball, advocate and read a lot better. Miss Allaire is awesome!

Allaire School is the best school for children with learning and social challenges. Mary Allaire is on top of her game, compassionate, sets challenging, reachable goals for her students, fully understands each child's learning/ social issues, operates with a high moral compass and demands respect from her students, staff and parents. The students learn to engage socially. Students train for a triathlon! Mary and her talented staff carefully coach them on each core academic subject. From this one room school, graduates are well prepared for academia and other ventures. The staff follow Mary's style of teaching, so there is nothing inconsistent. There are no class "pull outs" for "extra" programs. . There is parent involvement for carpools, etc. However, the children learn how to do their homework independently which is nice if you've ever dealt with homework battles:) Our daughter, now in tenth grade at a local high school, is doing well in her courses and participates in school sports. She is organized in her approach to high school, a talent learned over her two years at Allaire School. We are deeply grateful our daughter was at Allaire, under Mary's guidance.

The Allaire School was a tremendously positive experience for our son, Jonathan. He gained academic skills and confidence that enabled him to move on and thrive and succeed. Jon is now a software engineer, living in the Bay Area, and very happy. Thank you, Mary, and the Allaire School!