Newton North High School

We are thrilled with our son's experience at Wellan so far. He started when he was just 15 months old, and the positive changes we've seen in the past year have been truly remarkable. The growth in his vocabulary and communication skills has been exponential and in multiple languages, and he's built tremendously on his genuine love for books and reading. What has impressed us most is his blossoming independence and maturity. The nurturing and stimulating environment has helped him become a more confident and capable little person.Beyond the individual growth, what makes Wellan truly special is its vibrant and inclusive community. The school actively celebrates diversity, and we love how different cultures are woven into the classroom experience. Through various festivals and activities, parents are encouraged to get involved and share their family's traditions, creating a rich, respectful, and welcoming environment for the children to learn about the world around them.The support for families is also outstanding. Wellan offers insightful parent workshops that have been incredibly helpful, providing us with valuable tools and knowledge that extend the learning principles into our home. This focus on partnership truly strengthens the community and makes us feel like a team in our child's education.We wholeheartedly recommend Wellan to any family looking for not just an excellent education for their child, but also a warm, diverse, and supportive community to be a part of.

This is long but please read it all!I wasn't really on board with private school education. My wife and I did public schools as kids and turned out fine, and I hadn't known a ton of people growing up who went to private school. It honestly felt like a huge gamble (financially and...developmentally?) on our kids' futures. Still, my wife, the devoted mother that she is, did loads of research on the topic and felt private (specifically Montessori) school was best for our kids for a variety of reasons - I trust her infinitely more than myself on these matters, and followed her lead in spite of my skepticism. I can safely and proudly say that I am extremely grateful for my wife's decision :).The first day we dropped our daughter, Ana (1.9 at the time), off at Walnut Park was bittersweet - her brother also started school elsewhere, so the house wound up noticeably and unfortunately more quiet; Ana is a social butterfly, so it was great for her to get to spend a few hours with more kids; drop off was tough at first, so we were anxious about how the kids were doing. She adjusted quickly, giving us the impression that it was the right thing. I'll never forget the moment where it really crystallized for me that Montessori and Walnut Park specifically was something special.The next month we got to observe her class over zoom. Ana is...high spirited and vocal with her opinions. She tends to do what she wants on her own terms, though to her credit she generally can be reasoned with. She was doing some work with a teacher, and at the end of it the teacher, who was with a different student by now, looked over to Ana, said "Ana, please put your mat away," and went back to the other student. After maybe 10 seconds of pondering the instruction, she quietly stood up and put her mat away without any further instruction. WHAT?!?! WHO'S CHILD IS THIS?! My mouth dropped open, and stayed that way for a while. The rest of the class was equally shocking, from all of the kids. From peeling oranges to connecting the tables for snack time to cleaning the floors, the toddler room teachers (saints that they are) had these kids no older than 3 behaving in objectively perfect order (not just considering their age). I was convinced that this was IT.That’s how I felt last year, and we’ve only grown now satisfied with our daughter’s development here. Her ability to communicate has always been strong, but now we’re seeing a greater clarity and thought with how she talks with us.