Washington Gifted School

Helped many become professionals in the community

I have multiple children who attended this school, starting at preschool. The Primary classrooms have dedicated, Montessori trained teachers who create a welcoming and enriching family environment. When my children started at this quiet, and charming school they had art, music, Spanish and tumbling. As the years went by, these programs were discontinued, often with no communication as to why. Their classroom aides changed often, and they even had to abruptly move buildings when they were unable to maintain a positive relationship with their landlords. The children were crammed into small and smaller spaces, which became loud and louder. They decided to discontinue their Kindergarten program with no warning, leaving one of my children out of the experience. The curriculum seemed to change based on the teachers' interests and willing volunteers. More and more "core families" left the school and felt alienated when doing so. We tried to overlook the lacking education our children were receiving in thinking that their mental/social health was still thriving more than it would in a traditional school. There seemed to be a trend occurring. We were expected to "trust" the school more, and question them less. If our children were not excelling, it was a problem with the child, not the school/teachers/environment, etc. Multiple times we were told the school was going to "acquire a new space" and move very soon. Year after year it became clear this would never happen. They failed to set aside any money, are unwilling to let anyone help them manage their office, and are more concerned with keeping up appearances, than creating a healthy environment for the children and staff. They provide no planning time for their teachers, nickle and dime their staff and support personnel, and refuse to meet with parents and staff whenever convenient. They are supposedly non-profit, but they are run by one family, who is also on their very small board of directors. There are no open board meetings, no accountability, and a 50% turnover rate. Upon moving our children to public school, we were faced with the reality of the poor education they were provided. They were all very far behind their peers, and not even close to grade level in math and reading. They have had to work very hard to catch up. When speaking to former parents of MSP, the consensus is that we fear sending them to Montessori School of Peoria was our biggest parenting mistake.

Our children have been attending St.Thomas for 3 years and we have loved every minute. We have had all positive experiences with the teachers and principal. Excellent curriculum. Smart boards in the classrooms, mobile cart of iPads, music and art (even for the PreK & Pre3 students), Spanish class, plenty of recess times. We love St. Thomas!

We've had a terrible situation with this school. My daughter has adhd and cannot focus sitting still. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that, however the school made us think that she had mental issues/was psychotic. In 7th grade we took her out of this terrible teaching system and she's now homeschooled and getting 100%s in every class. This school also has no black / Hispanic teachers and has said no to accepting some black students. Insanely overpriced and definitely not worth your time in applying. Find somewhere better.

No other school will care about your kids more. We are lucky enough to have our child attend this school, where the staff is top-notch and cares about the development of your child in every aspect. This is a small, close-knit community where you will be on a first-name basis with the whole school, unlike many public schools. If you want to do the best thing for your kids, send them here.