Reply to St. Andrews: Don't Buy The "Happy Kids" Marketing

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is the time of year when parents visit open houses, and at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School they will show you a video claiming their focus is “happy kids.”  Don’t fall for it like we did.  The school markets itself as a happy and supportive environment but in reality, it's a strict, rigid and traditional religious school concerned more with making kids conform than with educating or supporting them.  Although a few of the newer, younger teachers are supportive and creative, the large majority of teachers and administrators seemed to us chiefly interested in imitating the environment and structure of a traditional New England prep school (think Dead Poets Society).

The administration, in particular, is very uptight and most of the teachers don't seem at all happy or cheerful.  The staff is very focused on making kids conform to the school rules and on kids controlling their bodies, rather than on creating a warm and fun learning environment.  They teach the same material to all students, with absolutely no variation, and they are not equipped to provide individualized instruction or support for students who learn differently or at different speeds.  In the lower grades there are no specialists to provide help with math or reading if needed. [b] Your child either fits in socially and academically, or is ostracized immediately. [/b] Administrators will be happy to tell you what’s wrong with your child not “fitting in” but will make little effort to help kids who need more help.  There is fairly high student turnover, which helps to explain why the classes are so small.  In a homeroom class with fewer than a dozen students, the teacher told us there was “no time” to provide individual support for kids who need it, which makes you wonder what you are paying for.

You are certainly not paying for facilities, at least not in the lower grades.  The lower school's playground is bisected by a busy parking lot and the middle school classrooms are very small and boxy.  Indeed, the classrooms for Grades 3-5 have the look and feel of temporary “trailer” classrooms that you would find at an overcrowded public school.  Resources are simply not devoted to the younger kids.  The administration is focused heavily on image and athletics.  Leaders spend money on important-looking new logos (you can buy all sorts of ties and sweaters), staff social coordinators to organize fundraisers and golf tournaments, or a new gymnasium complex that will create what they proudly call a “college quadrangle feel.”  Yet the intermediate school (right next door to the new gym) doesn’t have a proper library or a well-equipped science room.  The intermediate school library is just a converted classroom with some books on trolleys, and the “science room” is another plain classroom with a few experiments stored in plastic bins on shelves.  Until last year, the lower school didn’t have a full-time science teacher.  And within sight of the expensive new gym and the AstroTurf fields, the third graders have not a single slide or swing to play on at recess. Look at the school’s Twitter feed – you will find information about upper school athletic teams, parties, and fundraisers but much less about education, especially lower or intermediate school education.

If you want tradition, structure, and strict conformity for your child, St. Andrew’s may be a good fit.  If you are looking for a school that will support, nurture and foster a love of learning in your child (especially a child in elementary school), look elsewhere.
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Curious if others have found this bolded quote to be true at all levels of the school? Interested in how they integrate into the Upper School as we are looking for next year.[/quote]

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