Lafayette Elementary School

Great academics, strong teaching staff, small class sizes, lots of extracurriculars, a beautiful renovated building and playground, and an active and engaged parent community!

We are leaving Janney and a large number of families of children above grade 2 are, as well. Principal Danielle Singh has created a culture of no accountability, including allowing an abusive teacher to continue teaching after three years of bad behavior (including refusing to allow students to receive accommodations and services as required by law). Staff and families find her non-responsive, afraid of conflict to the point of inaction, and focused only on optics and her own personal goals. Several of our best teachers are leaving or planning to leave, as well. Families who have younger children at Janney as well as older children who went to Janney before the principal changed speak regularly to how different it is now under Singh. The community and PTA are wonderful, and lower grade teachers are generally better regarded than upper grade teachers. Special education students, in particular, are considered a burden and the staff routinely pass the buck when working with them.

While the education is good, they are entirely too harsh and unfair in how they punish young children. The downside of a private school is they ultimately care more about money than the health of the children.

We absolutely love Oneness! We have been Oneness parents for 7 years now. Our son attended Oneness from 3rd grade to 8th grade, and our daughter joined since kindergarten (currently at 6th grade). For our kids, it has been a transformational experience. They grew academically as well as socially, developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills simultaneously. They learned math, sciences, foreign languages but also how to organize their days, how to advocate for themselves, how to speak in public and no less importantly, how to be courageous and conscientious citizens of the world. The teachers and whole staff are welcoming, friendly but also knowledgeable. Coming from a different country and culture, Oneness has been more than a good school, it is really a second home.