My two sons have attended the Common School for five years, and our family could not feel more…read moresupported during this time. Most importantly, our children feel cared for, safe and socially and academically stimulated. The Common School is a ongoing project that evolves along with the its community expectations and, committed to a just society, through equity practices.

In my opinion, parents should be very careful about considering The Common School for their…read morechildren and should seek out former families to speak to rather than just taking the word of school leadership or selected references. I believe there are serious issues related to student safety and that the school and board leadership retaliate against parents who raise concerns. https://thingsincommon.substack.com/

This is a review of the Toddler program only. I can't review any other program because my son only…read morewent to the toddler program for one year. I wanted more for my son for his early year than day care so my wife and I spent the extra money to send him here. We have no regrets. Felice DiMartino, Kirsten Dudkiewicz, Kathy Holmes and Liz Montgomery are badasses! They always have plans for the kids and are very attentive to their needs and wants which is really fakking hard sometimes. They are great! Totally worth the money.

Simply an amazing school. Highly recommend it for all ages. Highly trained, courteous, and peaceful…read moreteachers/ guides. Children thrive at AMS.

Williston gave me a good education and a great start in life. College was very successful, thanks…read morein part to foundation I received at Williston. After college I returned to visit Williston and met with the then Headmaster [my old one too] and I was able to fill a position on the faculty for a semester and then in the Summer School. This experience was a springboard to my Boston College Law school education, and clearly a positive element in my career and life to date. This June [2025] will be my 60th Reunion. I will go with gratitude and anticipation of seeing my friends from Williston. As our Class Agent for decades [a ceremonial chore, I assure you], I am in constant communication with guys I was in school at Williston with. We may be "old", but we are thankful for our education at Williston more than 60 years ago, and happy for the life-long friends we made.

My family has not had a good experience at Williston. The teachers seem burned out or just…read moresurviving (and are fake nice, they hide how mean/angry they are, and then when parents are around, they act like they are so nice, which they are not), the coaches are only focused on playing the top players that come to Williston already as top players, rather than working on and developing their younger/less experienced players into becoming a top player. The heads of the school are not approachable. They look like they are always in a bad mood or are mad at students. They are always inconsistent when it comes to who is disciplined, and who isn't. One kid could break a school rule and get in sent to the dean, and then another kid could do the same exact thing and never have to visit the dean. The energy behind the scenes at Williston is negative, most kids who go there do not like Williston but appreciate that their parents are spending the money to send them to a private school. It seems more like a public school with rich (not wealthy) people in it, than a private school---kind of shabby and gawdy, not traditional new england private school, like they were desperate for students and let in a bunch of thugs who maybe can throw a ball well or who own Mercedes and BMWs but live in a cul de sac in a pre-fab pop-up McMiniMansion and visit the mall weekly. I preferred the private schools I visited on the coast, much classier that Williston.

The Hitchcock Center is a place that offers education on here, the place we live. It's really nice…read moreand important to take a look around and learn about what you are looking at. The plants and animals in the area. Public schools should really do something like this. My son and I are taking a class and it's one of my favorite things he does after school.

Wonderful facility and staff! We had such a positive experience with their summer camp this year --…read moreour 8 year old joined them for two sessions and came home full of stories and excited for the next day. We loved how supportive the counselors all were and are could tell how much everyone cared about the kids and their program. Outdoor classrooms, variety of activities, animals and environmental education, combination of facilitated and open play, great communication, gender neutral facilities and all gender supportive community, easy drop off and pick up, sliding scale enrollment fees based on ability and scholarships available. It's tough to register, though, as spaces are swooped up VERY quickly, and this year they capped families at two weeks for the summer.

The wild edibles class was great! I wish I had stayed for the whole weekend. I'll definitely be…read moredoing that the next time it comes around. Frank was great and extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I became more familiar with the vegetation around me and ate some wild berries. Great day and going back for more.

My son absolutely loved the Feb vacation program, and was very excited to head into the woods each…read moremorning. We'll definately sign up again!

Great teachers, involved community, and thoughtful educational programming for parents and…read morecaregivers. We've had a positive experience with the toddler program - all of the teachers and staff has been wonderful and our kid went from big tears at drop off to running in with open arms to greet her teachers and friends. Extremely kind and patient staff is so great at answering all our questions.

Cobb School has been the greatest gift to our family. Our son joined lower elementary as a…read moreMontessori transfer student and has been thriving. We are investing in his formative school years rather than saving for college because the outcomes of authentic Montessori education are well documented, and the proof is in the pudding -- he is happy to go to school each day, his academic progress is evident, and his love of learning has never wavered. The staff are genuinely caring and enthusiastic about maintaining optimal environments that support the development of each and every child. It is really beautiful to witness. An absolute gem in Simsbury, CT!

This place is fantastic! I've been obsessed with reading about woodworking of all sorts whether it…read morebe magazines, books, you tube videos, etc. I have had a harder time time actually committing any of this newfound book knowledge to use because of the lack of tools. Unfortunately woodworking is one of those hobbies that by and large require a large assortment of tools to do various projects. While many of these tools can be useful for even the regular homeowner into DIY (router, band saw, table saw, palm sander, various hand tools) several other tools are needed depending on the project. While I own most of the tools mentioned above one I don't have is the lathe. It's also one of those tools that I couldn't justify buying without trying because a) Wood spinning at 1000rpm is a little scary b) I would prefer to have some instruction prior to purchase c) Why spend the money on a machine for it to collect dust because I'm just not that into it. Enter Easthampton School of Woodworking/The Workbench. Aside from offering an intensive 6 month cabinet building program they also offer several weeknight and weekend classes that cover various topics. I perused through their list of available classes and saw an introductory lathe class for $80 which accounted for the material for the mallet you would make and also the 6 hours of instruction. Not too shabby. Location/Amenities: This place is pretty flipping stellar Its housed in an old factory building with several different rooms setup with various workbenches for use with hand tools, large woodworking power machinery, and in the back is a room with their lathes available for classes and open shop time. Instructor: Our class was taught by Brian who attended the North Bennet Street School of Woodworking (pretty esteemed school). He did a great job of giving our class of 5 individual instruction when necessary and also partitioning out the group instruction in manageable pieces so as not to inundate us with information. Open Shop Time: While I haven't used this resource I can see where it would be amazing. Aside from having the wood necessary for the project, the amount of machines necessary to dimension rough cut lumber can be quite expensive and take up a lot of space in your workshop area. Many people can't justify the space or the expense to own these machines, or perhaps they're reluctant to buy any of the big power tools because of cost or safety hazards of the machines. The great thing about this place is on Thursdays from 6:30-9:30PM they have open shop where once you demonstrate you can safely use their machines you can log in to a computer that tracks your hours (~$10/hr), and use their machinery. Not only do you have access to their machines but you also can use the staff that is overseeing open shop to ask for help if you run into an issue. I personally don't own a jointer/planer (needed for dimensioning lumber), but I would certainly use theirs and save quite a bit of money buying the wood rough cut vice s4s (smooth on all sides) and finishing it myself. Overall: It was an awesome experience and I'm currently searching Craigslist and auctions for a quality vintage lathe (I'm a sucker for anything old). It's pretty amazing turning a straight piece of wood into a useable tool in the course of an hour. Highly recommended if you have an interest for woodworking, or would like access to larger tools that you may not own. This would also be a good gift for a spouse, sign them up for a class, who doesn't like a guy/girl that can create something with their own two hands.