Robious Elementary School

Bon Air Elementary is a pretty special place. This is the 3rd year our kid has attended and we really appreciate the little community that has been built around the school. There are a group of very active parents and PTA which has helped enrich the school experience with extra activities like Pizza and Pumpkins in October or Field Day at the end of the year. Volunteers also help lead run club every Wednesday. While there are a lot of activities, you can choose your adventure. There doesn't feel the competitive pressure of needing to keep up with other families.

Greenfield Elementary. The principal is very pleasant, has a genuine smile and says hello.The person in charge of making sure the kids go the the correct vehicle needs to pay a little more attention.Another thing I observed is some parents come on the school grounds half naked. Backs, stomach showing and some have no bras on. Wow, I have never seen anything like that in Chesterfield before. For a minute I thought I was in the hood in Richmond.

I found that communication with parents was often lacking, and concerns were not always addressed in a timely or satisfactory manner. I was particularly disappointed by the way certain decisions affecting students were handled, as I felt that parental input and preferences were not given appropriate consideration.I also believe that greater consistency, transparency, and respect for families' choices would improve the overall school environment. Every child deserves to feel supported and every parent deserves to feel heard. Unfortunately, my experience did not meet those expectations.

The teachers are wonderful, but the students and the principal are the problem, especially if you're coloured, queer, and/or a minority. Students use slurs, such as the R word, often. If you are not popular, you become the next headline of gossip; everyone knows everyone, whether good or bad.

We moved from an amazing, large public school in another state to Sabot. We enrolled our children in elementary school and middle school. It has been an absolutely fantastic experience. My first ah-ha moment was in our first month or so when my older child was in 6th grade and came home to tell me they had learned how to solve for circumference alongside tree species and age identification one afternoon while playing in the forest. As a bright child, they could coast and do okay, but Sabot challenged them to develop ownership over their education and to challenge themselves to strive for growth. When there were struggles, the school was there to support. What’s more, Sabot provided a safe environment to explore self during middle school - which is such a hard time. Rather than striving to confirm my child and their peers became more sure of self. They left middle school going into their top choice high school program, confident in testing, abilities and self-guided learning. I could not be happier. My younger child is a very different learner, much more tactile and energetic. They have been equally as successful at Sabot and bolstered by unique relationships with teachers and staff that constantly challenge them to pursue passion and interests. They actually need time outside to be able to focus and regroup in the classroom, and the outdoor time both in the forest but also outdoor learning spaces is essential to their learning. The integration of nature and exploration into learning core subject areas has led to a phenomenal understanding and ownership of subjects. For both of my children I had to let go and learn to trust the process as it is different - and I am so glad that we have as my kids are incredible learners and ready for whatever comes their way!

We spent nearly a year going through the application process. The administration was horrible at communicating with us and I had to frequently reach out past expected timelines to schedule the next step. During the child interview, the owner was distant, barely answered our questions and largely ignored us. It took nearly two months for anyone to get back to us about enrollment, and this was after we had reached out multiple times requesting updates and information.