Love this school! It has very dedicated staff and teachers, small class sizes and very nice…read morefamilies sending their children to the school. Two of our three children currently attend St. Joseph. Our eldest is in the HS. We have never had an issue or doubt as to whether we have made the right choice. The academics are challenging and standardized testing is not an issue for the kids. I would recommend this school to anyone, catholic or non catholic like myself.

St Joseph Elementary School is a wonderful community of teachers, faculty, staff and parent…read morevolunteers who care deeply for our children. Every day when my sons leave for school, I feel comforted that they are receiving a first-rate education in a safe and loving environment. They enjoy all of the extra-curricular activities as well, including basketball, chess club, art club, yearbook and much more. My boys are challenged by the curriculum, which is crucial to their future academic success. My older sons who are currently enrolled at St Joseph High School, were well prepared for their studies due to the foundation laid by St Joseph Elementary.

Once the heart of Chesilhurst, the elementary school close its doors due to a low student count…read moreback in 2009. Now operating only for the board members as a meeting place. This building is up to code a due to the hard effort of one gentleman Mr.O Due to covet 19 all board meetings are now being held remotely by Google meet but once the epidemic is over they will start meeting again back inside the cafeteria like before.

Excellent basis for the working world: Arabic and engineering are courses offered to prepare the…read morestudents for the future

For starters, I used the restroom 5 times last year, and every other time I saw 10+ students…read moresmoking in a huddle. Not to mention, they "enforce" a non-smoking campus, meanwhile I have only seen 1 detention handed out, and the Dean taking smoke breaks. Students that have accused us got away with everything, and when faced with an issue, we were forced to do janitorial work. One student even got away with stealing an almost $200 calculator from one of my friends. We were berated, overlooked, and even slandered by students and faculty. Somehow, the students' parents regularly send money to the school have been handed everything on a gold platter. Not only are they asked to lead the school on the executive committee, but they are also able to secure a spot on a varsity team all 4 years. This is achievable sans funds, but The Prep sugar coats it. Believe whatever, especially those of you who are rich enough to secure your son's success. But I paraphrase by saying, do not be deceived.

Worst elementary school ever, unless you are not child of color. At the time when I was here, a lot…read morechildren made fun of me being Asian and enjoyed saying that they never heard of "Chinese", that China must be an alien planet. Others tried to pick at the fact that I came from Philadelphia and say that I was too stupid and only know curse words, trying to get me trouble by lying to officials that I had a vulgar mouth... We're talking about 4th graders. I mean there were even some "popular" cheerleader girls that try to lure me to be their "pet" and use me. I realized it had to be racism in this school because even the darker-skinned children were made fun for being "black" or have "Crazy hair". Also, the teacher believed these lying children that were trying to get me trouble, and if any of the colored students tried to have a comeback or smart remark to respond to a mean student or two, it is the colored students that get written up or have a phone call home. It didn't help that I tried confronting to the teacher, she just didn't want to help me. She was biased, and so was every other staff member. It was sad, and I realized being literally the only Asian (there weren't even any Indians or Pakistanis, which are also Asian) in that school is worse than just the few bunch of African Americans that had to stick together there... The diversity was sad, but that was NO excuse for the staff to be biased, also racist and discriminating. Some of the parents of these horrible children know about it, but do nothing... Worst to say, I think a few of them encouraged their children to be that way. I know for sure if I were a teacher, I would stand for the helpless. I don't care if other teachers tell their staff and fellow coworkers to act cold to particular students; equality is justice. Children of all ages, color, and race should be treated properly and the same nice way in order to learn well and feel comfortable. You'd think these caucasian, middle-class families would teach their children better.

I attended OLMA for a year and a half during 9th and 10th grade in the early 90's. I was unable to…read morecomplete all four years of high school due to financial constraints. OLMA was an interesting experience for me. For starters, I'm not Catholic, so I leared a lot about Catholicism I hadn't known prior, despite having attended Mass with friends on countless occasions. Second, OLMA is an all girl's school. Let me tell you, young women act VERY different when there aren't boys around to compete with. The all girl's formula for learning is very effective in getting girls to come out of their shell. I LOVED not having to worry about what to wear every day and not having to worry about or compete with boys. OLMA is a small school, which is both a blessing and curse. It's just fine if you happen to get along with your classmates, but if you don't, you're in for a rough ride. I joined my class mid-year and wasn't welcomed with open arms. Several other students also joined later and were also given the cold shoulder. Like all high schools, OLMA is very clique-y... but it's more pronounced since it's such a small school. The cliques were divided into two groups- a: the anorexic bad girl cheer-leader types who got sent there so the nuns would set their daughters straight and b: the well behaved, studious good girls headed for college who never got in trouble. If you don't fall into either category, you may be in for a very lonely four years of school. Overall, I did enjoy my time at OLMA and the various activities we did that would have never happen in a big school. I also developed friendships with a few girls whom I recall with great fondness. The academics at OLMA are vigorous, but limited. Again, the curse of a small school is that choice is pretty much non-existant. Everyone takes the same classes, all paced the same way. Similarly, extra and co-curricular activities are also limited, with an emphasis on athletics. As a musician and artist, I found OLMA's offerings too limited for me. However, criticisms aside, I would happily send my children to OLMA if I thought there was a good personality match. The staff at OLMA are stern but loving and they give a good education. OLMA is definitely worth your consideration if you are interested in an all-girls high school education.

Great academic school that focuses on developing girls into strong, confident and fearless women…read more Exactly what our daughters need today!