I would never recommend a parent send any child to Allendale Columbia School. Many of the local public school systems offer a better, more complete, and more supportive environment for children. Here's why: My son was abruptly expelled from Allendale Columbia, and the school has made no attempt to rectify the situation. I'm going to communicate the facts of the situation and let you draw your own conclusions about how students are treated by Allendale Columbia. As background, my son (a first grader) has some mild behavioral issues that I acknowledge can be a challenge to deal with. We were working with the school, my son's pediatrician, and my son's therapist. We were seeing positive improvements and our impression was that things were headed in a good direction. On February 24th, 2021, at approximately noon, I informed Allendale Columbia that we might not be returning to the school for the following school year. On the same day, at 3:45pm, I received a call from Interim Head of School Shannon Baudo. Baudo claimed there had been "an incident" in the after school program, provided few details, and told me that my son was expelled from school effective immediately. He never had a chance to say goodbye to his friends or collect his belongings. We never received a written incident report. Two days later, on February 26th, my wife and I had a phone call with Baudo and the lower school principal Michelle Feiss. By this time, Baudo's story changed, and she insinuated that my six year old son had acted inappropriately towards a girl in the after school program. This is an allegation I take extremely seriously, so I called the parents of the girl, who were not aware of the severity of the situation. The school has still provided no proof, and no written incident report. The school refused to refund any tuition, even the tuition for the portion of the school year we did not receive. Only you can make decisions for your family. However, I feel that I'd be doing a disservice to the parent community in Rochester if I did not make you aware of this event, and the school's callous and abrupt response. read more

Super impressed with the campus, the students, the staff and the school! Looking into moving my daughter out of the city district and common core into this wonderful private non-religion based school! read more

This school has changed a lot. You may remember it as old fashioned and behind, but allendale is anew. They have embraced technology with the iPad program, giving the middle school students iPads and having them take them home with them to work on homework as well as using them for classwork, music, art and P.E. Pre-schoolers also use iPads in the classroom, they read books and play educational games. At the end of the day they putbthe iPads back in a special roving case. The lower school uses computers in a similar roving unit. Allendale is such a small school that you develop a bond with you teachers. They really know you and are like family. They start learning french and spanish in kindergarten and its more than just the words, it the culture. AC encore is another thing that is at the school. It is a after school program that anyone can participate in. Also rainbow room is a place where your kids can stay if you have to work later. They play outside and in the gym every day and get homework done too. read more

I have been part of the AC family for almost 10 years, and although I have always loved being part of this community, the new energy that is ever-present since the arrival of Mick Gee, the new Head of School, is felt by many. It has always been a wonderful feeling to know that our children are being educated by faculty that truly care about them, but it is even more encouraging to see them being pushed further to do even more. Parents are involved and have so many opportunities to connect with other parents and to support each other. Investing in your children now, at Allendale Columbia, is something you will never regret. read more

My children are in lower school at Allendale and have been there since kindergarten. I'm very pleased with the quality of the education that they're getting - they both have small classes where they get quite a bit of attention from their teachers. They are offered enrichment in both math and reading when needed and really enjoy their "specials" including art, music, and band. I definitely see a difference between what's offered to their peers at public schools and what they get. Plus there is no "teaching to the test" since they don't take standardized tests. I would highly recommend looking at Allendale, as there is an exciting new energy there since Mick Gee, the new headmaster arrived, and it's well worth the investment. Even if you visited a few years ago, it's really a different place now and is worth another look. read more

I have three children in attendance at Allendale Columbia - one in second grade and two in PreK. As it concerns the Lower School, Allendale Columbia is a completely different school than it was two years. Thanks primarily to the arrival of Mick Gee, the new Head of School in 2012 and John Sullivan, the new Head of the Lower School in 2011, AC is being restructured and set on a new path. The school has freed itself from standardized testing and bureaucrat regulations to instead enable it to quickly respond to new educational trends and the individual needs of the students. Lower School education is now project and inquiry based learning with real world relevance. The faculty paints the broad strokes of the curriculum, but the students are responsible for the fine strokes. The students feel like they are part of a higher purpose and can participate in projects that they are passionate about, have a stake in, and can help make a difference. Learning is now interesting and fun. My 8 year old daughter would be in school seven days a week if she could. Another key item that makes AC noteworthy is their ability to serve children with needs on both ends of the spectrum. They have employed math and reading specialists that reach into the classroom to assist the primary teachers for the benefit of both the children who are struggling to keep up, as well as the children who are advanced and need additional stimulation. At the beginning of the 2012 school year, AC responded to a need in a matter of weeks to implement their new STEM program which is absolutely amazing in its approach and its effect on the kids. Other feature-rich programs include Day 6 specials where kids have a choice in topics of learning, and Entrepreneur Day where students learn how to be business owners and employ innovation and creativity to create and sell their own products. Technology is no longer a computer course taught once a week, but is now a necessary tool seamlessly integrated into learning in the form of Smart Boards and iPads. "Skyping" with educators and resources around the world is now commonplace opening up the classroom into International learning centers. These are just a few of the numerous improvements being implemented on top of the already strong base of high moral values, a strong sense of community, cross grade cooperation, and family-style lunches. The cherry on top is that we, as parents, have a voice. The school solicits feedback, listens, and responds. AC is quite amazing and I highly recommend your consideration. read more