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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] OP here.  As I said in my original post, contrary impressions of these schools are more than welcome, and I'm glad your experience with Maddux was more positive.  And also, my original post stated clearly that it reflected our subjective experience, not a definitive opinion on which schools are best for everybody.

Just in the sake of clarity, we actually did research all those factors you mentioned.  It's one reason why it was so frustrating for us that Maddux was so unresponsive -- not once, but twice.  We wouldn't have looked into them if we hadn't thought there was something there worth investigating.

When parents are putting themselves and their child through a school search, it can be very stressful.  You are aware that your child is being judged in the process, and a good school should be sensitive to that and responsive to prospective parents who are putting their child out there.  We experienced a range of professionalism in visiting 14 schools (and we called even more than that).  Unfortunately Maddux handled our inquiries with the worst manners on both occasions.   We were truly appreciative whenever other schools gave us a warmer reception.

I don't allege that Maddux hasn't been able to offer good things to the children who attend; but in our experience (and apparently the experience of at least two others on this thread) this is in spite of the unresponsiveness of the school administrators, not because of it.  If Maddux is growing as fast as you say than they ought to be able to hire someone who makes sure that when parents are told that they will be contacted, that they actually will be, rather than being left hanging time and again.

And as others have pointed out, if you don't want to know of others' thoughts about schools, it might not make sense to read the DCUM message boards about schools.  And if Maddux doesn't want parents to denigrate them, they can return prospective parents' calls.  [/quote]

OP here again -- I do want to follow up so as not to leave an unfair impression of Maddux.

We actually do know families with children at Maddux who are quite happy with it.  Nothing in my original review should be taken as a disparagement of the expertise of the teachers there.

Our negative experiences with Maddux pertained to the callousness with which potential applicants, both parents and child, were treated.  We also took this to be a possible negative indicator of the quality and frequency of parent communication after enrollment.  In our experience, we have found a high correlation between how well we were treated in the admissions process and how we were treated after enrollment.

I stand by my criticisms of Maddux but this should not be taken as condemning everything the school has to offer.  My original post had, I thought, made that distinction clear, but at least one respondent received a contrary impression, hence this clarification.[/quote]

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