Palmer School

They don't teach their students here. They give them a computer and YouTube and leave them alone. My child had homework in 1st grade at her original school out of state, one packet with a page to do every day of the week at home. Starting 2nd grade here they give no homework at all. Students where forcing my child to draw scary cartoon characters with blood in there eyes and on their hands. They are getting access to drawing tutorials for these things AT SCHOOL on kids YouTube. They do not monitor what your child is on during computer time. Children think bullying here is extremely fun, and have made it extremely normal. One child kept going out of his way to try to slap and punch my child and pull them by their jacket hood choking them. Bring your child anywhere else. We removed our child from the school the following year because of how bad they were being treated and not cared for. The staff did nothing about the drawing my child was being forced into making. No one was reprimanded for the situation.

Nothing but good things to say about this school. Three of my four children have attended since Kindergarten. My oldest attended public school (Byron Center schools), and it was amazing to compare her level of education with that of her sister, who is two grades below - many times, they would help each other with homework, as they found they were working on a lot of the same things, despite the grade difference. My second youngest struggles with schoolwork. From Kindergarten through the third grade, she received so much extra help from her teachers and other staff members - never once did she fall behind her classmates. This is the kind of school where community is very solid - parents find support from not just the staff, but from other parents as well. I'm very satisfied with the education and environment my children have grown up in within the ISJ community. They have never once doubted that Jesus loves them, and it's been a blessing to watch their faith grow and mature over the years.

It's hard for me to articulate how much this school has meant to our son and family. He attended from 1st grade through 8th grade. It's an incredibly special community of awesome staff, involved and dedicated Board of Trustees, and lovely families. The staff's kids attend there, the Trustees' kids are there, and the grandchildren of founding families too. It's a supportive and loving partnership focused on your child(ren) and their development, not just a letter grade. Montessori education is science-based, time-tested, and around the world (and growing) for good reasons. And Stepping Stones is an authentic Montessori school. We tell everyone we know in West MI to schedule a tour and see how beautiful the rooms are, as they're cared for by the kids; how exceptional, caring and respectful the staff is by modeling grace and courtesy and expecting the same of the kids; and seeing the investment the community is making by expanding to middle school at a beautiful farm in Ada. My son has made lifelong friendships, transitioned well to high school, and now is in college. He is confident in himself, adaptable, eager to learn new things, kind and empathetic. We know that Stepping Stones played a huge role in his development and we will forever be fans and supporters!

My child goes to daycare at All Saints Academy (Grand Rapids, MI), a Catholic school, and I walked in today having the main “teacher” actually screaming at my child, not only that she came up to me and started yelling at me and telling me all the things that he was doing wrong and how awful he is and making demands of me. Mind you my child was in a corner behind a bookshelf while she was screaming at him. I have never in my life seen a teacher actually scream at a toddler like that. This is not the first time I’ve had a problem with her, but this is the first time I witnessed it firsthand like this. Her name is Michelle Ball, the principal Meagan Schneider has previously done absolutely nothing about this teacher and I am not the only parent with these problems, I have talked to others that have had the same issues. So obviously I can’t send him there anymore because it’s ridiculous, a little boy should never be treated that way. I have also contacted Catholic Schools - Diocese of Grand Rapids Diocese of Grand Rapids on the matter.