When I was searching for a school for my children, I didn't just consider the curriculum, the…read morecommute, or the demographics. I asked myself a bigger question: What kind of adults do I want my children to become? With that in mind, I chose a school that would teach them integrity, resilience, and the ability to accomplish and create in every stage of life. Ridgeview offers more than an education--it offers education for life. As they often say, "At Ridgeview, we do hard things." These challenges aren't for their own sake, but to help every child discover and develop their full potential.

I went here from 9th grade until I graduated high school. I made great friends and had a few truly…read moreexcellent, inspirational teachers, but I also had multiple teachers (particularly ones that taught history and government related classes) who were overwhelmingly biased and even frequently told blatant lies or made up stories to further their own narratives about our world. I would frequently come home after history class and feel a need to fact check my teachers; more often than not I would find that they were thoroughly wrong on the topics I had researched myself. Also at Ridgeview there is a culture of conformity. Self expression often seems discouraged and students can be severely punished for "disrespecting teachers" when in truth all that happened were mere disagreements. And, although respect towards teachers is a paramount rule within this school, teachers frequently disrespect and make fun of students; the principal himself has presented ad hominem attacks against students during debates about things like paternity leave, the black lives matter movement, or the wage gap. I have nothing against tongue and cheek banter, but what I'm talking about here is beyond that. Student council at this school is for all intents and purposes run by the administration. As such students have no real say in the frequent changes that come to the school. The current principal seems to want the school to be a place for deeply conservative minded young people to become even more staunch in their views, rather than a place for real discourse, debate, and discussion. Also this place abstains from teaching any kind of sex-ed, which I believe leads to a deeply misinformed student body when it comes to sex and sexual identity. The school claims to be a place for students who like a challenge or enjoy difficult and truly stimulating classes and conversation. If that describes your student however, the IB program at Poudre, or the AP programs at Fossil or Rocky would be better, in my opinion, and would probably set up your student to be more likely to get into top colleges with top scholarships. DISCLAIMER: I did not attend Ridgeview in middle school or in the lower grades. My review is based in my experiences predominantly in the high school. Please do not judge their middle school based on what I've said. Students typically seem pretty satisfied with their middle school experience here.

I have seen Rivendell School almost every week when I drive by to deposit my recycling. They have a…read morebrightly colored playground and a huge peacock statue that was once was covered in CD's which was very very creative! It reminded me of a real peacock! It has since lost the CD's and is now dressed Hawaiian style. About a week ago I saw that Rivendell has signs up for a book sale. The prices looked very reasonable. About 50 cents to 2 dollars, depending upon what type of book. I went in and looked around the place. I was very impressed! The school is fairly small and the main room is covered in books. A very impressive library! I bought about four or five books all for a very good price and the ladies that were working there were all very nice and sweet. After going to the book sale I decided to investigate more about what Rivendell School was about. I saw that they have been around Fort Collins since 1976. They are a nonprofit, secular private school. They have a huge emphasis on respect. They teach children how to respect the teachers and each other no matter how different you may be. In other words they don't let the cliche's run wild like at regular public schools. Their curriculum is less 'goal oriented' meaning they don't primarily focus on test scores and make things so directional. If a child needs a little extra attention then they can get that extra attention because of the small class size. Wow! How I wish I could have gone to a school like Rivendell! I was not impressed or amused overall with my public school experience and think I would have done much better in a place like this. While I don't have children I would highly recommend this place to friends that have children that are about to start school. I think they could greatly benefit from it. I also will be keeping tabs on the school's events and would love to continue to support this place! There really, really needs to be more schools like this!

Both of my children attend or attend here. The teachers are wonderful, caring, and highly…read morequalified. The curriculum allows students to progress at their own pace. The low teacher/student ratio provides a wealth of time for individual instruction in literacy, math, foreign language, science, and social studies. The school has a tight-knit community that fosters a life-long love of learning,, a trait that is more than worth the cost of tuition.

My 7 year old grandson goes to this school. He likes his school from what I can tell, however, he…read moreis not reading well. He is now in the 2nd grade and is barely able to read. He struggles and it takes some time to convince him to read a couple of sentences. He gets frustrated when he's reading (outloud) and a couple of words challenge him. This is a kid who is very sharp in all other areas. I personally wonder what the teachers are doing for the children during school hours. Why don't they spend time working with the students in reading more, because that's the foundation of learning anything. Without knowing how to read, kids will miss so much and it will affect them all through their lives. Please, rethink your teaching methods.

If you are a parent looking for a school that communicates openly, takes accountability, and truly…read moreprioritizes student well-being, I would strongly recommend exploring other options. Our experience at Academy of Arts & Knowledge was very disappointing. Communication was poor, incidents were misrepresented, and my child was even punished for reporting bullying. Promised support plans and accommodations were delayed or ignored, and meetings felt endless with no real progress. The environment caused unnecessary stress and emotional harm. I've since filed a formal grievance with the school board and CSI. Families deserve transparency, safety, and accountability -- we did not find that here.

The two years at the school left us very frustrated and disappointed. While there were kind…read moreteachers and creative projects, our daughter fell very behind in reading, spelling and math. Repeated efforts to communicate this to her teacher were ignored, as well as wanting to volunteer in the classroom. Our daughter went back to public school being one of the lowest in her grade and needed tutoring. While the school has good intentions, they cannot offer the resources our amazing public schools do, had constant changing and lack of staff and our family regrets our time there.

We've been to a few different preschools between our two kids and a move - no other school holds a…read morecandle to Harmony. It was such a warm, inviting, FUN, environment for my child's first school experience. We stayed for two years and I was beyond bummed when we had to move because my younger one missed out. The school has all sorts of fun extras - a Mother's Tea, a school carnival, lots of fun stuff for the kiddos and the tuition cannot be beat. It is hands down the best preschool in the Fort in my opinion. And for those nonreligious parents - like my husband - while the school does teach about Jesus and celebrates Christian holidays - it does so in a way that emphasizes the positive character traits and not in any way in an exclusionary way that keep many people away from some schools of faith. My husband loved the school as well. I can't say enough good things about the staff, the director, and of course the teachers. Thanks for the fantastic start, Harmony!!!

This school is fantastic!!!! So well run! Their Kid Kapers program (comparable to moms day out) is…read moremy daughters highlight each week and it's so convenient as you can pick and choose the days that work best for your schedule each month (do it early, they fill up fast!) They do arts and crafts, story time, tons of hands on play, lots of movement in the gym and playground, early preschool academic learning.... the list goes on and on. Mrs Brown is one of my daughters favorite people on earth. We are grateful for this schools influence in her life. Don't wait! Go check it out today!

My son has always struggled with being away from me. He hated daycare, preschool, and kindergarten…read more At one point, I even chose to homeschool him because of how difficult school experiences had become for him emotionally, We also tried therapy and many different schools and programs, hoping to find the right fit for his needs. Then we found Axis International Academy! From the very beginning, the staff went above and beyond to support him. They worked closely with his 504 plan and even adjusted it as his needs changed when he began vision therapy on top of behavioral therapy. Every single person treated him with kindness, patience, and understanding like he was their own child, enough that his therapist felt like he was finally over that bump and no longer needed to continue our sessions (twice a week at that point) As a former teacher myself, I have high expectations when it comes to schools and educational environments. For us, it was never about whether he was capable of learning. It was about understanding why he hated school so much and helping him feel safe, supported, and understood. Axis did exactly that. Yes, there were challenges along the way, but the way each staff member handled those challenges made all the difference. For the first time in his life, my son genuinely loves going to school. These are the last days before summer break, and he is actually sad he won't get to see his teachers and staff every day.. on top of his new friends of course. I never thought I would hear those words from him! At this school he is spoken to in a way he can comprehend. He is celebrated, respected, encouraged, and loved. No other school we experienced compares to the level of care and commitment we found here. I also want to say this honestly.. schools cannot do it alone. A school is not there to raise a child. it is there to teach, guide, and support families. Axis has done a phenomenal job doing exactly that, not just for us, but for many other families I've had the pleasure of meeting there. In my opinion, a 2.3 star rating does not accurately reflect the heart, dedication, and support this school provides. Sincerely, A grateful parent

This school actively weeds out any children with special needs. I have a gifted child with autism…read moreand adhd. She spent months in therapy recovering from the way they treated her. We had to switch towards the end of kindergarten because they decided that instead of helping her, they would require her to watch her class on an iPad in the office with a parent. We had to take off weeks of work to just sit in an area away from the classroom waiting for them to not be able to handle an undersized five-year-old. This isn't actually legal. Legally, they were supposed to support her. Legally they were supposed to hire enough staff so that all children had equal access to their program. They didn't. They were saving up for a new building. By the time they agreed to even meet to discuss her diagnoses they'd already ruined the school for her. She still talks about how horrible it was.

My son has attended this school for three years. I have had a great deal of problems with the…read moreadministrative staff. I was told by the vice principle that they would discipline my child how they saw fit even if I disagreed. They have a pattern of disciplining some children and not others. They treat affluent parents with money drastically different from single and/or poor parent. Every time I have tried to seek help from the principle I leave with no resolution and no intent to resolve any issues. There is a reason why this school has such low ratings academically. They strive to have less then half of there students (in certain grades) at the state standard age appropriate reading, writing, and math levels. There have been days that I have had to take my child out of school because he was not safe. On one such occasion there was a substitute and the children were kicking and throwing large objects (chairs, dry erase boards, etc) around the room. They were also hitting and pushing each other and the substitute did nothing to stop or prevent this behavior. He was texting on his personal cell phone during the majority of the 2 hours I was there. When I notified the administrative staff of the inappropriate events taking place in the class, they did nothing. This is the same staff who had my child go through a 3 day disciplinary consequence for cutting in the lunch line. However when another student drew explicit pictures and told a detailed story to my son of how he was going to violently assault him there was NO disciplinary action taken. The morals and values being taught in this school are disturbing. There are also drunk and disorderly people who like to hangout at the park located right next to the playground. On several occasions I have witnessed them trying to interact with a child and/or children and the playground attendants were completely unaware of what was going on. I was told by the vice principle that there is nothing we (the parents) could do about them because it is a public park. Which is completely not true, you can write letters to the mayor, legislators, etc. That is just another example of how they treat parents that they categorize as poor, or unintelligent. I wish someone would have warned me about this school. We are going to have to move to get him out of this school.

We have been there for 1 year now and we never have any problem. My daughter loves it here, Tasha…read moreand Laura (director and assistant director) are both wonderful.

My husband and I were in the market for childcare and we decided to check this place out as it is…read moreon my way to work. We walked in and it is decorated in a really poorly designed nautical theme. It took awhile, but the Asst. Director finally realized we were there and came to greet us. She was pleasant enough and was excited to talk about their programs. The infant room is through the toddler room. As we were walking past the toddlers I couldn't help but notice the dirt covered baby dolls that lay strewn across the floor. That's right I could see the caked on dirt from 5'7" away. GROSS. As we entered the infant room, my husband nearly hit a little girl with the door because she sitting directly in front of it. When asked if they keep the kids away from there we were told "oh they know not to sit there." Really? A 7 month baby "knows" where to sit and where not to sit? Moving on, we met the Director in the infant room. I try really hard not to judge people by the way they look but seriously? This woman looked as though she hadn't combed her hair in a week and had slept in the cheap-o ill fitting suit she was wearing. And the Pièce de résistance...she had a little boy in her arms and was letting him chew on her finger! Eww. Now as a mom, my baby will get my finger into her mouth, but I am her mother. Who knows where this lady's finger's been! This woman is basically a stranger and supposed to be a professional. We were totally skeeved out by this place and left as soon as we could.