Harmony School at Princeton

The school changed principles every year. You can tell the overall school's academic performance has declined so much during recent years. New teachers and admins kept coming and leaving. They are no longer on par with the other schools in nearby districts. I agree with the most of the previous reviews, except that the school is becoming even worse for gifted children. The teachers are more like robots. Plus, the staff members are extremely rude, and never care about your concerns.

As someone who has been in many schools and many districts, nothing exceptional stands out here. In fact, my experience has been overall a net negative. I think the community feels that the university's reputation somehow defines them, when in reality, there is no connection. Teacher-to-parent communication was next to non-existent. Oftentimes, I was completely ignored. Many of my interactions with the staff are unfriendly, where they think they can do no wrong and uphold unreasonable policies. Even the PTO was unwelcoming despite promoting inclusion. Many of the parents were obstinate and inflexible, smiling in your face yet judgmental and caddy about things that should not matter. The new curriculum the school board signed off on is full of plagiarism and teaches factually incorrect information. Don't even think about going to the district office, they will lie directly to your face.

Both our children have been going to this school since they started in preschool. Now they are in middle school at FASP. We chose it for the French; we stayed for the quality education in both French and English, the safety and comfort they feel, the teachers, and the community. Our children still love going to school. I am so glad they had the opportunity to stay through middle school (MS). The teachers are committed, teach from a global perspective, are always available to discuss parent concerns, and genuinely care for our children's well-being and learning. In the small environment our children can flourish and thrive. Teachers notice when something isn't right, whether that be a social situation or if a student is struggling with an aspect of the subject, and they take steps to support a good resolution for any issue that may arise. There are opportunities for advanced math classes in MS and every other year from 5th grade there is a year-long science fair project that is researched and conducted in not one but two languages. I always say that the school takes the best of the American and French educational systems, and always with a student focus.The true bilingual aspect of the school is astounding. I'm still amazed at how our kids just switch back and forth between the languages, are reading pretty advanced books (for instance, one just read L'etranger by Camus "for fun"), producing quality writing - creative, scientific and expository, participating in organized debates, all in a language that is not their mother tongue. Our 8th grader, a beautiful product of the school, is going on to the local public high school next year and taking AP and advanced classes, and is able to score a 5 on the high school AP French exam already.I love the international aspect of FASP. Our children really understand there is a big world out there with all different kinds of people and perspectives. In the middle school, there are students from Brazil, Senegal, Haiti, China, Belgium, Canada, Iran, Colombia, and of course the United States and France (to name some). I have been on the PA board twice, when our children were in maternelle and now MS. I love the school so much; even though I work full time I love to donate my time to give back to the school that has given us so much over the years. If we ever have any issues or concerns, I have always reached out to the teachers, administration, or even head of school, whose door is always open to talk.

We have two kids at YHIS, Preschool and nursery. We came from another mandarin immersion school and have been really happy with the engagement and education they are receiving here at YHIS. The teachers are warm, engaged, and care about the students. Our kids love it here.