Manhattan Beach Preschool

My wife and I are in closing in on the last chapter of our American Martyrs School parent experience as our youngest will be graduating 8th grade in 2026. Our oldest started at Martyrs back in August 2011, so we are beginning our 15th and final year. As parents, the school has given us ample opportunities to get involved and we have relished those offers because we know how fleeting these moments are. Our children have flourished at the school. Our oldest is now in his second year in college and our oldest daughter is a senior at Bishop. We are proud of who they have become and we owe some thanks to the staff at Martyrs for helping us prepare them for their next chapters. But more important than anything I have previously written is the compassion and emotional intelligence the administration and teachers have shown us during our darkest days. Our youngest daughter had a medical emergency toward the tail end of her 7th grade year and was hospitalized for 64 days. Starting with the leadership of Dr. Kris Knowles, this school has bent over backwards to make accommodations for us and our daughter to make her feel welcome back. She is one month into her 8th grade year now and is slowly regaining her old self. We owe a debt of gratitude from top to bottom. Special love goes to Beth Hirschmann and Monsignor John Barry who visited our daughter weekly at Children's Hospital and spent lots of time with her. Say what you will about any other reviews you see on this page, but I know what's important in this life and this school has demonstrated they also know. I will never forget this place once our dance comes to its end. Patrick Wuebben