Emerson School

We have two kids at Emerson, both started in Kindergarten and both have had wonderful experiences. There is a strong sense of community at Emerson and the teachers are absolutely phenomenal. Also the school administrators are superb. They listen, observe and take action. They have helped us with two bullying incidents and in both cases, they did a great job at addressing our concerns and did not give up until they had completely resolved our issue. Andy Zimmer is a skilled leader and has been a lifeline to the school in every way. We are very happy with Emerson!

The school, administration, and teachers do truly care about the children and families. We have been very pleased with our experience in the Lower School.

We did not have a good experience with the middle school. My child is very bright, as are most if not all of the students at the middle school. We left the public school system because we were disappointed with teaching at the middle school level. At Emerson, my child was initially welcomed, even though most of the students had been in class together since the early grades. We found some teachers fantastic, but many others lackluster and unimaginative. The health teacher was not equipped to effectively teach teens and pre-teens about topics involving sexual orientation. The school social worker was great but seemed frustrated by the administration's lack of understanding and support for her work. The head of the middle school was ineffective in helping students resolve conflicts and was overly protective of a student who had harassed my child. We overlooked a lot during our time there but it got to the point where we were counting the days left in 8th grade. Another thing I found strange is that parents roam the school like they own the place. In middle school, they are in the building helping their kids put books in their lockers during the first few days of school and throughout the year they go in and out freely. I found that off-putting, as kids should have their own space and develop some independence and separation at that point. Parent involvement is great but in middle school it should be different than in the younger grades. But I guess when you're paying hefty tuition, you feel ownership. The one good thing I can say is that my child was well prepared to start high school.

Emerson is a wonderful school for bright kids who enjoy learning and for families that care about raising children with character and values. My eldest has been at the school 4 years. He loves it. My youngest will start in the Fall. I have always found the leadership and the teachers to be excellent- they listen and communicate well with parents and are invested in their students. My child was bullied a bit last year. His teacher supported him in resolving the problem on his own. She also spoke to the child and his family. Our family is not well off. My kids attend school on scholarship and I have never felt that the kids or other parents were anything but welcoming. I have no concerns about sending my African American child to Emerson. 40% of students are non-caucasian and the curriculum educates kids about diversity. Teachers support different learning styles and really know and appreciate all students.( I just paused for a couple minutes to consider whether I could think of some criticism to balance such a positive review. I couldn't!)

My child attended in Middle School and we were so glad when it was time to move on to high school elsewhere. There are some very good teachers and I suppose the school is good for a certain type of family and student. It's a very well-off and homogeneous crowd. Their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is strong on paper only. Bullying is ineffectively dealt with. They have no understanding of the anxiety and trauma bullying can bring about and fail to enforce effective consequences for offenders. Not at all impressed with the leadership. Good riddance.