Hill Murray School

This is a great little school and I feel that it's a high quality education. I was able to get an IEP for my kiddo without too much trouble. I love that the school is a lighthouse school for the 7 Habits, and that kids are taught these leadership lessons early on. This past year, it seems the 7 habits have been dropped, but I hope they pick that up again because that was what made this little school exemplary and unique. It does have a number of students learning English as a second language, but so far, they've handled this seamlessly.

The teachers care about the kids-they find innovative ways to engage them-there are multiple special days,activities,classes free or very low cost.

Frost Lake is a hidden gem of a school! Some of the best school staff I've ever met. We had two children attend there. One who required intensive accommodations for mental health disability. The school works so hard to build an inclusive and welcoming community for not just students, but also families. Both our children were treated with care and respect. Our daughter is a 6th grader now and wanted to go back to visit the other day. Her second grade teacher instantly recognized her and was so warm and welcoming. She even asked if she could come to one of her volley ball games!

Children's Discovery Academy in Little Canada is horribly run and fails to provide children with emotional support and stability. The director refuses to address any issues that are brought to her attention. She often blames concerns on state regulations that do not exist. She also continually changes her mind with regard to plans, and leaves families feeling unheard and disrespected. Her lack of ability to serve as a manager is highlighted by the high staff turnover, which she refuses to take any responsibility for, or even notify families of in a timely manner. As a result, there is no consistency for students and they are left without the necessary psychology safety when at CDA. The co-director is equally ill-equipped at child care and creates an environment where children are scared of her. Exacerbating all of this is the COO's complete lack of oversight of her staff. She refuses to take charge in matters, and will not intervene, even if families raise concerns. Families are not included in their children's learning, and when ideas are raised they are outright dismissed. Our experience at this school resulted in lasting emotional and psychological damage for our child that we are continuing to address via therapy.

MPA was an amazing school to learn and grow up in. I felt thoroughly prepared for college and the experiences I was afforded at MPA gave me the confidence and executive functioning skills to be successful in college and for my career.