River Valley School

Lasted only 1/2 year in this school - 2nd day my child was grabbed by another student and hit. A month later he was pushed down in the bathroom. It's a disgusting mess in this school - if the child acts out - get them out. Give them to their parent - let them teach their child at home. My child left and is getting a much better education, he even had to be held back a year because he was not on course. Worst school system around. Kids have no respect for anything, parent/parents don't care. I saw a child the other day waiting at a bus stop for a bus - he was probably about 7 all by himself. Where's his parent? How many of you would leave your child at a bus stop by themselves at that age?

Universal Academy of Pittsburgh (UAP) is a staple and asset to the Islamic community within Pittsburgh and western PA

Some teachers here don’t understand how to teach kids to read. There’s little to no guided/small reading groups or individualized reading instruction, bright kids are rarely challenged appropriately, they seem to have no idea how to collect data to back up the grades they give on report cards, they don’t let parents know in what area(s) their child could be practicing at home, and communication is just overall bad. Very disappointing for a private school with the cost of tuition. I would expect all kids to get an exceptional education but it seems no better than a public school in many ways.

We have had an amazing experience at PUCS for our daughter. The teachers and staff so clearly care about the students and their development, academically, emotionally, and socially. We love that PUCS really values play, whether that’s in the classroom learning, or just making sure the students get at least one recess each day to burn off energy so they can better focus later in the day. The smaller classroom sizes allows the teachers to better tailor the lessons to the individual students and give them more of the attention they need. So many PUCS parents are engaged with the school life and there are opportunities to volunteer and get to know the teachers and other students in the class. We really appreciate how easy it is to drop our daughter off there knowing she’s safe and going to learn and have fun. We love this school and are so thankful for it.

We moved here specifically for our son to attend this school and it has truly been worth it. He started in the lower school and is now in the high school. The teachers, dorm staff (when he was a dorm student), nursing staff, well heck just everyone there is absolutely wonderful. They all hold a special place in my heart.