Hardy Elementary School

Had a good experience with contacting the school.

St. Raphaels has overall been a great experience for our child who is in Junior High. There are a lot of great after school programs (sports and academics) that students can take advantage of. They also have four dances (more like parties) a year and other fun social events, and there are educational Washington DC and NYC trips available for students to take part in. In the Junior High academic program, there is one teacher for grades 6,7,8 per subject. This can be a great thing if the teacher is an excellent teacher, which matches my perception for the bulk of the Junior High teachers. The kids seem to have a hard time learning from the math teacher but the school seems to be working on ways to make this better. If you are considering sending your child to this school, find a parent to talk to about their child’s experience with the math teacher. A good number of parents end up getting outside tutoring for math, which can add up quickly in terms of a family’s education budget. Overall, the teachers and staff are caring and devoted to the mission of the school.

Our daughter has had a wonderful kindergarten experience at Cambridge Friends. The community is diverse, engaged, and supportive and the teachers are wonderful. We've especially been impressed with the friendly and casual feel of the school, and with the depth of resources. Our daughter loves the extended day program (which is nice for us parents too!) Even in the unique COVID times, the school works to create a community which is appreciated. In terms of education, the student-teacher ratio is impressive and we really see the impact of it in the feedback we get from teachers about our daughter and the ability to customize classroom activities to world events and questions from the kids. We're thrilled to be at CFS and recommend it highly!

This school was fine for me when I was younger. As soon as I entered eighth grade, it no longer worked for me. I was required to practically teach myself math the entire year, with speed being prioritized over understanding. Most days I had no homework, and I never studied to earn perfect grades, which resulted in my not gaining any study skills. When I got to high school, I felt underprepared and embarrassed that my previous schooling was so much less rigorous than that of my fellow classmates. The teachers appeared disinterested in my learning, and didn’t listen when I brought them my concerns. Teachers were also allowed to exert harsh punishment on us, ranging from lining us up and yelling for upwards of 15 minutes to parading us through the halls in silence. Not all punishments were this harsh, but they were notable.

ISB is a great school. The academics are top. We have a son in another prestigious Boston private school and the teaching and learning is far inferior to what our children at ISB receive. The students are taught to be global citizens, come home excited about learning and are very supported in the bilingual education. Our children joined not knowing a word of French and were immediately supported and felt at home. After just one year of French as a second language support, they were mainstreamed back into the classroom. The children are kind, creative and warm. My kids befriend kids grades up and down, boys and girls. It's very open and inclusive. The academics are great, the community and extracurricular activities are fun and enriching and our kids could not be happier.