Hope Valley Elementary

My oldest is currently in 2nd grade in the Spanish Immersion program at Lakewood and we LOVE the school. All of the teachers are wonderfully supportive of the students and the parents, and my child is genuinely excited to go to school every day. He is excelling above his grade level in math, and I've been pleasantly surprised with just how much Spanish he can speak and understand after three years in the program. Coming from a family that doesn't speak any Spanish, I was worried that he would be left behind without help at home, but he's doing great. I really love that he has friends from many different backgrounds, and he sees strong leadership from teachers of diverse backgrounds as well. Lakewood also has a great PTA which is great at making sure the teachers, staff, students, and families at the school are supported. They fund field trips, teacher appreciation, provide food at events, and put on several fun events each year to bring families together. The Lakewood community is so supportive and I couldn't ask for a better Elementary School experience for my kids.

I have two children at WG Pearson and they both have had good experiences. Both were reading during their time in kindergarten. The teachers really care about the students. Everyone tried to do their best with online learning but it is so much better now that they are in person. They take covid seriously and take temperatures before entering the building. The principal sends out a voicemail and email each Sunday evening with updates for the week. The specials like dance and art are outstanding! More parent support is needed for sure so come on and get involved.

My daughter started attending MSD when she was in second grade. She is now in 6th grade and hopefully graduating this spring. We are extremely sad to leave this school. My daughter transferred from a public school and thanks to her amazing teachers she had absolutely no issues adjusting to the Montessori curriculum and becoming part of this loving and genuine community. We’ve both been welcomed with open arms and there is not enough time or space for me to review how amazing and helpful the teachers, the assistant teachers, the lunch teachers and the administrators have been to us over the years. There is nothing negative to say about MSD; from staff to the curriculum to the parents involvement, to the on and off campus activities and trips ... everything has just been excellent. But most importantly, this school has built my daughter’s self esteem and guided her to understand and love herself, to appreciate and respect who she is and where she came from. That to me is extremely important along side the academic aspect of the school.

Head of school is completely incompetent. Communication with parents is terrible, the elementary teacher we have is unimpressive. The “Jewish” education piece is weak at best. I wish we had another option. We’ve had multiple issues with the school, mostly with the administration, the school is run so poorly it’s an embarrassment.

I am a lifer at DA, been there since pre- k and currently in 8th. It’s a great school, supports kids and makes them feel noticed. If you want your child to get the best education then definitely choose DA, I always feel at a better place in learning than people in my grade in other schools despite my average grades at DA. It teaches innovation and the new campus they are building will house all the students and their passions. Someone said it was a woke school, it’s an accepting school, not pushing agendas. They try and make everyone noticed. They have affinity groups and students can create their own if they think that they are un represented. Teachers are definitely very kind and want the best for their students. My teacher noticed I was struggling this year and had a conference with the counselor, never told my parents about what I talked about and told he was there for me as well as other teachers. If the school does not tell a parent something it’s usually either related with outing a student or a student in counseling, they only tell others if a student is going to harm themselves, others, or others are harming them. DA also teaches students to be individuals and try to let students take ownership for their work and show their parent’s themselves, if they don’t no worries, at a parent teacher conference or at an email or call, teachers will happily tell you. Never at DA have I ever felt threatened or bullied, DA is a school I will never stop recommending. My only drawback from it is that it’s very expensive and being qualified for a lot of financial aid takes a lot, if not equipped with money then students may not be able to go on trips (highschool) since those require 5k-10k.