St Walter School

Our child started at Clissold for PreK 4s and is now in 1st, and has grown so much - academically and socially. We have been very pleased with the education our child receives.

Overall he loves the school and was mad that he was transferring this year.

As a former student my mental health was at its absolute worst during my time at Whistler. School sometimes seems as if run like a prison in the sense that they only work to fix not prevent they only fix a issue if it caused a problem or if a complaint has been made. The middle school teachers are nice, I can’t quite speak for the other grade groups. Lots of unreported bullying goes on at this school however that is subject to change as students come and go. Some of the systems at this school are corrupted and this school is probably the most basic education you can offer a child.

There are alot of breakdowns in proper communication:1. My nephew was taken from the school on a school bus and then walked to another park without notice to his parents. There was no permission slip only a robo call day of.2. Activity practice and games are canceled without notice. Leaving kids waiting outside for parents. 3. Kids are able to sign up for activities with no permission slip.4. It's been difficult for my sister to get support for his IEP

Terrible experience here. The parents and kids are bullies. The school discriminates.

Overall, I have had a terrible schooling experience at MPA. I started in first grade and have been here 12 years. The problems truly start in middle school when we move into “harder” topics. If you do not understand what is going on, you will NOT receive any 504 plan or extra guidance. If you are neurodivergent of any sort, I would absolutely stay away from this school. The students don’t want to learn and often complain about ANY work given. Majority use ChatGPT on everything, but if you are related to the school in any way, shape, or form, you will not receive any disciplinary actions. Teachers kids are given special treatment and often bully others. Yes, their parents know, and no, they do not do anything about it. If you are Black, you will generally not be discriminated against. However, if you are any other ethnicity, people will judge. I have experienced this almost every year I’ve been at MPA as a mixed person who is white passing. I will note, many teachers love and are great at their jobs, but many do not know the content they are teaching because they are forced to teach classes they aren’t qualified for or interested in. I’ve also never had an issue with safety here, you are definitely in a bubble when on campus. MPA loves family engagement! That is, if your family offers a surplus of money on top of tuition costs. The galas they host are over $300/person, where the gala activities are things like fundraising or auctions. Notice how they all involve giving away more money. A huge issue is also the heating and air conditioning. The school is old, yes, but there are truly some days where it is so hot people are borderline passing out. I’ve seen it happen to a very close friend when a classroom was 86°. MPA also doesn’t call off school for these issues most of the time. We have had weeks where we had no heating and their solution was just to get rid of block periods so you could move around between classes, but that doesn’t work when passing periods are only 3 minutes. My main personal issue with this school is the lack of theater. Even in upper school, the shows are barely funded, if at all. We put on a singular musical every school year, while neighboring schools have student led plays, multiple performances, and A BUDGET!! Our director refuses to make schedules, is always late, takes copious amounts of smoke breaks (mid show), and promises more than he can give. MPA is simply way too expensive to have this many problems and not work on them.