St Raphael Elementary School

The Glen Montessori School has a steadfast commitment to its teaching philosophy, enabling students to learn at their own pace. Each child is encouraged to explore their unique talents and interests. The classroom environments provide a calm atmosphere where children are encouraged to embrace the learning process.The faculty at our Montessori School deserve praise for their unwavering dedication to education. Their passion for teaching shines through in every interaction. Students are curious, kind, and excited to attend each day.

My son has had access to high level teachers. He has been immersed in a predominantly African American school community with teachers who look like him as well other teachers who bring excellence to the learning environment and hold high expectations. This has allowed him to do well academically, socially, physically and emotionally. I am pleased with the program and his growth.

This school is phenomenal. We are so fortunate to go here. Our daughter loves school, has made wonderful friends. From the first week the teachers all seem to know every child by name. Students are greeted each morning with an all-school assembly with drumming, singing, a welcome message by the Principal, and the school rock band rocking out. Its a fantastic way to start the day! There are tons of field trips, lots of art and music incorporated into each day. We love it here!

#1 in Excellence and Quality Child Safety . I love the way the teachers embrace the new student with concern for the level of education they require for standardized testing. Parents are involved with all aspects of learning here and teachers embrace the unity.

The pandemic destroyed everything we liked about Sunnyside. - A class size that used to be 12, is now close to 30. - My child has had zero homework or projects, and there are only 4 weeks left in the year.- My child is given outside time 0-2 times per week. Sometimes they don't go outside for over a month.- My child does her core schoolwork on the computer 90% of the time, and not on paper or with handouts provided in class.- My child plays Minecraft on the computer for one or more periods a day and is told it's educational.- No paper comes back so I cannot work to correct any errors my child receivea... I have no idea how they earn the grades I see on their report cards.- I have not seen any art projects come home and there are 4 weeks left in the school year.It may seem like the above are not connected to the pandemic, but I had issues with none of the above before 2020. The teachers are now stretched so thin or just too worn down and not able to teach very many minutes in a day.

My son attended WSP from Little Friends through the 8th Grade. He is now attending the best private academy in the area and excelling across all his subjects. WSP prepared him well--not just in subject matter, but providing him with the tools to continue to learn. Because the grades classroom teachers stay with their classes for several years--they really understand how each student learns and are able to create environments where each child can reach their academic potential. I saw another review mention knitting. Actually, it's an entire handwork program where young children are taught to finger-knit and the handwork techniques increase in difficulty through the grades. This is part of the Waldorf curriculum which utilizes the Head, Heart Hands approach to teaching concepts. My (and my son's) experience has found this approach to be highly effective. I definitely recommend WSP.