Birch Lane Elementary School

My child was only at Schwarting Elementary for 2 years.The teachers are great- I believed they truly care about their students both on an educational and emotional level.What I have a problem with is their administrative staff.We had an incident with one particular security guard telling us he knew we didn't live in the district and that we didn't belong at the school.This guard said this right to my child's face in my presence.We are not caucasian by the way but more importantly, shouldn't residency verification go through a school administrator following an accepted procedure and not handled by the school security guard? What investigation did he complete to arrive at this unfounded and incorrect conclusion that he blurted out like verbal diarrhea.When I complained in writing to the Principal, I got back a phone call that started with " I really don't believe he did that because he's been here so long and my office staff says otherwise and the guard was not racially being biased, etc, etc..."Right. Thanks for your unbiased investigation into my complaint.And did anyone from the school apologize to the student yet?Well of course not. Principal said the child looked happy to her and that suggests everything is A okay.Right. Thanks for ignoring my reports as a parent that my child wakes up not wanting to go to school and comes home saying the same.But the fact my child puts on a strong face while in school clearly means all in well.Thank goodness our plan was never to remain in the district.And yes security guard Doug, we very soon will not be in your district- we will be in much better one that is more racially diverse where 90% of the parents have a college education unlike your district.You can keep your district all to yourself.Some people undergo evolution in life.Others stay stagnant only to have their traits eventually go extinct- thank goodness for this.

I went to this school way back in 1959 - 1963 ( 5th - 8th grade). It was the worst 4 years of my life between the student bullying and teacher bullying. I am amazed that I survived to attend public high school where I actually got a great education. My experience in those 4 years turned me off to the catholic dogma and tough guy mindset. Today I have had a successful career thanks to public education in high school and university. I look back on those 4 years as a total waste.

St. Rose is a wonderful community. My two sons thrived at this school. The academics are top notch and now they have added many extracurricular activities. We have made so many wonderful friends at this school who are honestly more like family.

We became a new family at St. William the Abbot School this September and have been beyond thrilled with our experience so far. We currently have boys in Kindergarten and First Grade, and next year another will be joining them in Pre-K. From the very beginning, we were welcomed with open arms, and there have been so many opportunities to get involved and connect with other families.The principal, administrators, and even teachers outside of our children’s classrooms know the students by name, and the level of personal attention each child receives is truly incredible. The teachers have open communication about class events and upcoming lessons and the Principal sends out a weekly note with all the school's happenings. SWS also offers impressive enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom. Both of our boys joined a variety of clubs this Fall, including: Chess club, Coding club, Sports club, Disney club, and Storybook club. The older grades have even more options, along with exciting opportunities such as trips to New York City and Washington, DC.Our First Grader is enjoying learning the violin, and Spanish instruction begins weekly starting in Kindergarten. Each grade has already had a field trip this year, with another planned for the Spring, along with Field Day in May and special assemblies throughout the year.I would recommend SWS to any parent who is looking for a faith-focused education that combines rigorous academics with a warm, tight-knit community. St. William the Abbot School is truly a special place for children to grow and learn.

The administration communicates poorly and the staff turnover rate is high. We had some teachers that we absolutely loved but they left the school. They claim to be a ministry of the church, but do very little to help foster community among the parents. My child was in care from 6 months old to 4 years old, and we only know a few families because they are adamant about not sharing class contact lists, and they do not really provide opportunities for parents to meet each other, unless it’s in the form of fundraising for their church. We left due to a situation involving our child that the administration handled very poorly, and it has had a lasting impact on how our child feels about school that has been hard to help him recover from. When we started there, it was decent. But the changes occurring since COVID have really brought this place down.