Manhattan Virtual Academy

Our experience with Lee for the multiple years we were varied from year to year. There are some excellent teachers there and there are some horrible teachers there. We got our taste of both. One teacher seemed more focused on medicating our child than teaching our child and also favored one parent over the other - that was the horrible one. Other teachers were excellent and focused on encouraging our child and propelling our child to excel. As far as the staff goes - it is hit and miss. Some are fantastic and some leave you wondering how they managed to be qualified for their job. If you are a blended family, I would avoid this school at all costs. They are not prepared or equipped to provide a non-biased interest for your kids. We experienced staff members telling us they were "on our side" and staff members making it clear they were not. I suppose if you do not have any drama with any exes this school would be an okay school. My take from it is that they don't quite have their stuff together to handle any dynamic other than your ideal American family.

My child has autism and was on an IEP. At Bluemont they were great with her, by then we had to move and she had to switch to TR. She was bullied during the entire two years she was there. I had several meetings with the principal, staff, teachers, social workers, etc...All swept the bullying under the rug. When I asked them to speak with the parents of the bullies, they said they wouldn't. My daughter was terrorized in school all day. They stripped her IEP from having a full time para to only during the quiet classes where she didn't need one. Nobody protected her from the bullies. The principal and staff sided with the bullies instead and nothing got done after countless meetings. My daughter was crying herself to sleep every night because, of it all. She does homeschooling now because of how bad it got. I don't have enough room here to get into the details, but your neurodivergent child is not safe at TR. If they're being bullied then they're getting no support. They made my daughter sit alone at a desk for lunch instead of addressing her bullies. I spoke with DCF after she started homeschooling and they said that a lot of kids are going to homeschooling because, bullies aren't being taken care of. Shame on you Ashley Smith and TR for sending a bright empathetic brilliant child away from school. She did not feel safe and I didn't feel safe sending her there. If you have any neurodivergent child with an IEP, TR isn't for them. All of her cries for help were viewed as just seeking attention. She wasn't even allowed to cry. I witnessed all of this on a school trip I joined, and during a class party that parents were invited to. I watched in real time my daughter being shoved and laughed at by multiple kids, and teachers and staff doing nothing. I told my daughter to was okay to cry after one of the boys shoved her, but she said that she would get in trouble if she cried. It broke my heart. That school destroyed her.

Kids went through Bergman. The former principal (until 2019) was fantastic. Her skills, personality, and understanding of what young kids need to feel safe and thrive was wonderful, and we loved every day at Bergman. Now we have a new principal (Mr. K@#!) who has taken the heart and joy out of this school and turned it into a "my way or the highway" kind of place. Ugh. And the VP uses a bull horn to shout at kids during their "no talking" lunches, and takes away recess time if the kids fidget. Seriously. The teachers are, overall, very highly skilled and care about the kids. Can't say that about the principal or the VP.....if you are looking to live on the west side, maybe consider Amanda Arnold until the current administrators retire.....

We chose Manhattan Catholic Schools for the small class sizes and high test scores. However, we have also loved the relational aspect of the community, as well as seeing our kids develop a moral compass and leadership skills.