Our family has been at Stanley since 2019, and we now have a unique perspective: a Pre-K student, a…read moresixth grader, and a recent Stanley graduate who is a freshman at East High School.
Stanley is known for being joyful, warm, and child-centered--and it absolutely is. What can be less visible is how intentional and academically strong the education behind that joy is.
Our oldest has been the best evidence for us. He transitioned seamlessly to East, placing into advanced math, English, and Spanish and taking honors-level classes. But Stanley prepared him for much more than coursework. He left understanding how he learns, how to advocate for himself, how to take academic risks, and how to make thoughtful decisions about what he needs to be successful.
We're seeing that same development with our sixth grader. His teachers know him deeply as a learner. They have worked to understand how he processes information, scaffolded challenging concepts in reading and math, taught him strategies, and partnered with us to help him reach his potential. He has become a confident self-advocate, both academically and socially.
And now, in Pre-K, we're seeing where it begins. Our daughter's teachers are calm, loving, and incredibly skilled with this age group. There is joy and play, but also structure and purposeful, age-appropriate learning. She loves going to school.
After watching one child complete Stanley and thrive in high school, choosing Stanley again for our youngest was easy. The joy and academic growth aren't competing priorities at Stanley--they reinforce each other. The result is children who are prepared academically and, just as importantly, know themselves as learners.