North Lake Elementary School

Swallow Elementary is amazing. They should change the school name to Swallow Academy. The staff is top notch, the academic rigor is top notch, the facilities are top notch and the surrounding area is amazing - best place I can think of to raise a family. The school prepares students well for Arrowhead High School. The combination of Swallow Academy (Swallow Elementary) and the University of Arrowhead (Arrowhead High School) will truly prepare your son or daughter to be anything they want to be in life.

I attended Merton for many years. This school may seem appealing based on the academic numbers, but that often coincides with an environment that values power, status, and appearances. When you value fairness, trust, and empathy, you get punished for being "different." At Merton, I learned that sensitivity and honesty made you a problem, while cruelty went unchecked and even admired. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Over the years, multiple parents pulled their children out for similar reasons. I even recently reconnected with a former classmate who shared the same experiences of isolation and mistreatment. Administrators and teachers frequently did not practice what they preached when bullying was happening right in front of them.Through therapy, I learned I was never the problem. In fact, I would have been a model child and friend in a healthy environment. All the kids and even teachers who bullied me were part of a larger broken ecosystem that rewarded power and image over integrity and kindness. Today, I have a good life that I made for myself. I'm an advocate for many causes and a voice for the voiceless. I turned my trauma into action.I’m sharing this in hopes that Merton will look deeper than test scores and PR campaigns. True excellence is measured in compassion, not status. I hope one day, students like I was will finally be seen, believed, and cared for like children are supposed to be.

We are incredibly happy with our choice to send our children to Stone Bank School! The teachers and staff have been very open with their communications and expectations of the students and are truly passionate about making sure the kids are learning and having fun. In our experience, they have also been an integral part of helping coordinate and reinforce a great support system for success! I also love how well all ofbthebkids get along, it truly is the definition of community. I absolutely would recommend Stone Bank!