Mont Blanc Academy

My son went here. Great 3 years he loved going to school daily which most parents realize is not the case. Great feedback from teachers. Great principal and staff

my name is wes it was the best school ever i live in bow nh but i will never forget smyth road.

Good teachers. Overall, good school. 3-4 stars.

My child has been going to this school for the past 3 years. Although she is holding her own in school, I see some of the teachers and other staff stressed by the lack of parents help. Meaning a lot of the kids that go here need a lot more than what the school can provide. 1 example language a lot of the kids do not speak English which can make learning difficult for everyone and frustrating. I have to say though that the Principal is 1 of the best. He knows all students by name. He makes it a point to know is students. He has a high expectation level,has he should. He is encouraging making sure all his students do has well as they can to succeed. He makes school fun for them. The staff is wonderful right down to the janitors. The staff is there willing to help and do what is takes to teach these kids. In regards to the school not ranking that great do to test standards, it is because again a lot of the children are not getting the quality of help they need from their home life. If more parents got involved in what their children were doing, they would have a better chance in school. If you want your child to do well it starts at home, School is just reinforcement.

I have never been so disappointed – and I had to PAY for this experience. Let’s start with the principal (crickets) – don’t expect her to return your calls or emails. She won’t and didn’t. After a couple of attempts, I just gave up.The teachers are mostly responsive. However, the teachers expectations of the students is, well….a lot. And that’s ok, but the thing is they don’t do what they preach the kids should do. For example, the kids were working on a project before Christmas break every day. When they returned from break, they didn’t finish the project; they worked on something else. This project sat on the sidelines for 2 months, until February vacation when the kids were told to have it hand it in Monday morning following vacation. Well, that’s annoying and unfair. Shouldn’t the kids enjoy their vacation? The teacher got to. Well, anyway, the project was completed and then there were NO GRADES, for 2 more months! What was the urgency? Again, do as I say, not as I do.Many of the teachers are older and do things in an old fashion way (write this word 25 times so you learn it doesn’t work for all kids). There is very little use of technology and lots of punitive type homework which doesn’t track back to their understanding. Also, if homework isn’t handed in IN CLASS the day it’s due, half credit! Oh, it’s another day late – no credit. What does this prove? The teacher won’t grade it anyway and whether its late or on time has no indication on the accuracy of the info and the kids understanding of it.These are my big gripes but I’ll also throw out a few more things. There are no busses and people bombard a small quiet neighborhood making drop off/pick up unsafe and time consuming (add in construction). The after school program is a joke. There is a lack of communication, all around. It seems that the expectation is, no one is new and has never done this before and they expect you to know about things that are going on at the school without being told. Finally, uniforms and appearance requirements – do not apply to the teachers. So it’s ok to have PINK hair if you’re a teacher, but a girl can’t wear the same color pink nail polish.We’ll be returning to the public school system. The education was the same, the teachers younger with modern ways of thinking, the principals are responsive and caring and there is bussing.