Nativity Parish School

It's wonderful!Alpha is like our son's second home. He is loved and cared for there by amazing educators and above all he loves going. Alpha's teachers are Montessori certified, have been there for many years, some 20+, which speaks to the fact just how amazing it truly is. Alpha provides a welcoming community for all families and for children of all levels. They work with your children and meet them where they are at. Children participate in engaging activities throughout the day but also are a part of many unique experiences at select times throughout the year. For example, Eagle Bear's presentation! It's a memorable experience for all!Alpha is also very affordable. Tuition even includes weekly dance class taught by a local dance educator, a weekly music class taught by an award-winning musician, weekly yoga classes, and an amazing once a month cooking class with Yaya. To highlight what the kids learn throughout the year, Alpha even has annual music and dance performances where the kids are able to show their friends and family what they've been working on in dance and music class. For a small amount more you could add a weekly Happy Feet soccer lesson. If you are interested I would recommend taking a tour or speaking with any of the Alpha parents. We decided on Alpha after our first tour. You could tell that the owner was genuinely excited to have our child there and didn't view him as just another paying customer. -Mom of 3rd year Alpha student

Unfortunately, we had a very poor experience. (I usually don't write reviews, but I thought I needed to share). Some teachers were really great, but overall, it was not somewhere I felt comfortable leaving my kids and we left after a few months of really trying to make it work. At drop off, no teacher would engage with the kids, I had to leave my child crying on the floor by himself while the teacher just stood at the front. (This happen everyday. Even on the first day, no one even cared he was starting a new school) This teacher never interacted with the kids in the morning or evening, she also would snap at kids. They said the ratios would be 7:1, it was 11-13 to 1 most mornings (I was not there during the day, so I don't know). During outside time, most all teachers would just sit in the shade, no interaction with kids. (Again, a few really good teacher would play, but they could not be with all of the kids, Many board kids). This are some of the main issues, but they also lied about food. I saw them serve breakfast and snacks, and the food they put in my "note" was different from what they served during the day. They said the kids had a low sugar food in my daily report, but it was really a very high sugar food when I was there in the morning and at snack. This did not happen all of the time, but enough where I did not trust the report. Etc, etc, etc . . . (end of 2019- early 2020, we left)

The experiential learning at Notre Dame de Sion has been exceptional. My daughter has explored the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest United States and did research on HIV in Kenya, Africa. She will participate in an exchange student program this summer in Melbourne, Australia and then plans to complete a service project next spring in Guatemala. Her classes are rigorous and she respects her teachers knowing that she will be well prepared for college. The school faculty is caring, supportive and inclusive. She attends a variety of clubs, participates in two sports and is active in the choir. Sion is a wonderful place to be involved in a wide variety of activities and try new things.