We loved AESA Prep and the entire staff. They've created a loving and supportive environment for…read morestudents to thrive in. The small classroom sizes made it possible for our daughter to get the individualized attention she needed. We loved Ms Caro, both Mr Leals, Mr Garcia, Ms Carrie...... Thank you all for loving and caring for our girl.

This school may look beautiful and impressive on the surface, but my experience with the enrollment…read moreprocess was deeply disappointing and, frankly, heartbreaking. My daughter's enrollment was handled extremely poorly. When I began asking about scholarship opportunities, communication essentially stopped from Sara Solomon knowing that I was on a timeline for Tefa vouchers to choose a school. I text messaged her from 9 in the morning till 9 at night five text messages and she did not respond until I said I had the money to pay for the other half of enrollment tuition by that point she probably couldn't get a hold of the director but instead of taking accountability, she completely ignored me after saying she would reach out to director of the school to accept the Tefa voucher. My calls and emails went unanswered, and even after I contacted Barbara, the owner directly, I experienced the same lack of response. I spent a week trying to get information, not knowing if the enrollment was accepted from their end for our voucher That was especially troubling when the situation involved a child's education and future. What disappointed me most was the apparent lack of consideration, transparency, and basic professionalism. Families deserve to be treated with honesty and respect, particularly when they are trying to make important decisions about their child's education. If financial assistance is not available, that can be communicated honestly. Ghosting a family instead is unacceptable. The campus may be aesthetically impressive, but appearances mean very little if the people responsible for serving families do not communicate or demonstrate compassion and integrity. I would strongly encourage prospective families to look beyond the beautiful presentation and ask how the school actually treats families when circumstances become complicated. Based on my experience, I did not feel valued, respected, or treated with the level of decency I would expect from an educational institution entrusted with children's futures. I'm a big believer of karma and how you treat others. What goes around must come back around. This is not the way you treat human beings. Very disappointing experience. I would not recommend this school based on how my daughter and I were treated.

Waldorf is such a wonderful education. Unfortunately if the teacher is not great (or going through…read morepersonal crisis and has a large and demanding class) your child will suffer. Steiner's view was to nurture the soul of the child and unfortunately Austin Waldorf is seeming more budget focused and the teacher for our grade certainly really let us down and did not even have the care for us as a family to speak with us directly. I would avoid this particular Waldorf.

Beautiful campus with beautiful traditions. It is easy to get swept up in the idea of the school…read more Met the most wonderful, involved, and caring parents and a couple of wonderful teachers too. This school, however has absolutely failed my children academically. If you have a child that is neurodiverse, this school cannot meet their needs. If you have a child that is gifted, they will not be able to meet their full potential. The class sizes are at 30-33 in 1st and 2nd grade! My child's teacher assured us multiple times that my child would get the help they need. In the end my child's teacher, who had been his teacher for 1.5 years "strongly encouraged" us to find a new school midyear, with no warning. All of the previous reassurance, that they had resources for his learning needs, from her swept away. Now the same teacher is asking for parent volunteers to go in and teach children, not their own, to read. She cannot meet the needs of these children, yet you will not hear this, when the class size concern is brought up at parent meetings. You will be reassured over and over until your child has fallen so far behind, they need multiple interventions to catch up to where they should be or where they were before they started this school. My daughter was advanced for her age before this school. She requested to go back to homeschooling. She would sit in class, at AWS, with her hand raised and never get any help. She was quiet and not one of the louder children yelling out for help. She said she could not focus and would get pushed around by the boys on the playground. The school purposely holds children back from progressing "too fast." They have reasons for this. The issue is the class sizes hinder the children from moving as quickly as they need to, given the Waldorf methods, when they reach the appropriate age/grade level to do so; and they refuse to change. You will hear promises of expanding the grades to have fewer children in the classroom. This has been a promise for years. They have yet to follow through and deny any issues, even though there are many. The teachers do not fight for their students. The office staff is sweet, but when you get down to the people truly in charge, they only care about money.

I wanted to love Magnolia. We carefully chose this program because it presented itself as a place…read morethat understood autistic children and used modern, supportive, ABA-informed practices. Unfortunately, our experience did not match those expectations. During a trial day, a young autistic child became upset after a developmentally typical frustration in a new environment. Instead of observing the calm support, co-regulation, and individualized approach we expected from a program with this stated level of expertise, we experienced a response that felt escalating rather than supportive. There were also concerns with the emotional regulation of the leading staff member, and online records that reinforced concerns related to emotional regulation and safety. The biggest concern was the disconnect between the program's stated philosophy and what we observed in practice. A moment that could have been handled as an opportunity for connection, regulation, and teaching instead left us questioning whether the environment was truly equipped to support autistic children in the way it represents, or any child. Ultimately I did not feel comfortable trusting my daughter to Magnolia. I am grateful we had the opportunity to see this before the school year began, but it was disappointing to have to reconsider so close to the start of school after believing we had found the right fit. Every child deserves a program whose practices match its promises.

This is a special gem of a place. It's filled with kind, caring compassionate people who teach your…read morekids how they learn. They have a rigorous academic environment while having fun. What a special place to learn and grow.. Truly one of a kind. And the impact on my son and our family has been life changing. The kids learn manners, kindness, friendship, & teamwork on top of the academics.

This is a review for the Dell Performing Arts Center at St. Andrew's Episcopal School - A Hidden…read moreGem! (5/5) We didn't even know this place existed, but what a pleasant surprise! The Dell Performing Arts Center is a small, cozy theater with great views of the stage from every seat. The intimate setting made for a wonderful experience. Parking was convenient, with a lot right in front of the theater and overflow parking available. Check-in for the show was smooth and hassle-free, and there's even a concession stand before you enter. The audio quality was excellent, making every performance clear and engaging. Overall, a fantastic venue for performances--well-organized, comfortable, and a great addition to Austin's arts scene!

St. Andrew's is the WORST Episcopal school in ATX. The teachers are horrible, especially that…read moreAWFUL English teacher, Kay Hart, who was there, back in the day. She forced the kids in our family to read material that was disturbing and inappropriate. They should have had a better principal, or HR team, that could have prevented this. The science teachers, Stephanie Jenkins and Anne Donovan, were also lousy, and they seemed to resent the very attractive students. Perhaps, this was because they were not attractive, themselves. Please keep your children clear of this place. Thank you, and God bless!

This was our first year at Austin Rising School, and it has been a truly wonderful experience. Our…read morechild tends to lose interest easily and hasn't stuck with many programs in the past, so we were pleasantly surprised to see how engaged and happy they were all year long. The school environment is warm, creative, and thoughtfully designed to support each child's individuality. The teachers and director clearly care deeply and foster a genuine sense of connection and curiosity. We're so grateful to have found Austin Rising and are excited to return next year!

Austin Rising School has been a game changer for my family. The teachers and persons running the…read moreschool are nothing short of amazing. I have two children currently attending with very different learning styles and abilities. Both of my children are nurtured and challenged in this wonderful close-knit school. All of the students from the youngest to oldest learn from each other and form wonderful friendships. This is the first school my daughter with an anxiety disorder/learning differences has been willing to attend. That says a lot for the environment at ARS!

Wow, what can I say, I feel like we won the jackpot when we found Magellan. our daughter started in…read moreKindergarten and although she isn't very good at adapting or transitions, she immediately fell in love with her teachers and school friends.. There are no cliques and no bullying and when we have had issues we have raised them with the teachers and they have jumped on them to solve them immediately, and unlike other private schools there's no sense of entitlement from the parents or students. Also, because the school is so good at awarding scholarships not everyone is 'rich'! The school also has a great parent teacher association which offer weekly meet-ups and play dates as well as adult only events. Each class also has a WhatsApp chat group so parents can easily communicate with each other. If it sounds like one big happy family you'd be right, that's exactly what it feels like. In terms of academics my adhd child has thrived. Diagnosed at 4 we thought she would struggle but the school has been amazing at supporting her needs and accommodating her. They also offer many different seating types from a bouncy ball chair, to cushions on the floor and other such. It's very holistic and non political and offers many diverse ways of learning. They have a calming corner, encourage reading and emotional open communication as well many other ways of teaching emotional and academic intelligence. They teach in Spanish from day one and introduce Mandarin from 3rd grade, they also teach following the international Baccalaureate which is amazing. It teaches the children self confidence through weekly presentations and teaches them autonomy. Honestly this school is amazing and now it goes until 12th grade we are obsessed and so you will be too. But, sshh don't tell anyone about our secret slice of heaven.

My son has attended Magellan since the age of three years old-- he is now in second and we have…read morealready registered him for third grade. Hands down, my husband and I feel it is best decision we have made for his education. Although it can be a bit pricey, we have felt that it has been worth every dollar. He is growing up to be a well spoken, well thought, caring little human. I love that he is bilingual, but I really love his open minded views and his eagerness to learn. The teachers... the teachers have all been so amazing. They are loving, caring and really take each student's personalities and abilities into consideration as they grow from year to year. As I said, it's not the cheapest option and we do discuss yearly if we will be renewing his tuition-- and, with each year this answer comes easier and easier with an astounding "YES". We love the school, the community, the parents and look forward to many more years at Magellan!

Phenomenal learning institution. The investment in the children here is top notch. 100% graduation…read morerate. And best of all kids are prepared for college. Love this school .

Wonderful school with amazing opportunities and a kind, inclusive community. We are so pleased.read more

My experience at Parkside was challenging. The admin was changing over and there was little…read morecommunication, and more than a bit of aggressive interactions with admin. We had a new teacher who was enthusiastic when the students were perfect, and utterly overwhelmed and clueless when the students had challenges. My son has ADHD, and despite telling me they has experience with 2E kids, the teacher thought my son had severe emotional problems when my son would self sooth by going in a corner to be alone for a bit. They also did not communicate in any way the depth of the problems my son was having in school. I finally realized the extent of his issues when I began attending daily to see for myself. They were often rude and childish in response to issues or complaints. They had a history of keeping teachers even after multiple complaints of abusive behavior. Their insistence on parent interaction was amazing, and the singalongs were fabu. But it doesn't make up for the severely subpar teaching, the reusing of the same curriculum every year, the nasty admin, and the overall confusion of vision with a high price tag. Do not recommend this school beyond kindergarten at all!

Our daughter is three and a half, and she just finished her first year of preschool (Primary) at…read moreParkside. We couldn't be more pleased to have her attending this special school. From top to bottom, it's an excellent program with marvelous staff and leadership, and a wonderful community. Some of things we love most about Parkside: it's uniquely and authentically Montessori, which was important to us when we were looking at schools. The teachers (called guides) are loving, creative, and thorough in their teaching methods. We were blown away when barely a month in, our daughter came home singing about all the continents of the world! The 12-acre campus is beautiful and well maintained. The kids get lots of outdoor time and often take hikes together as a class. They learn to value and sing about nature, including our new favorite song, "Chlorophyll" written by the founders. Music is a big part of Parkside life, and at least 1-2 events a week are organized around it (parents are invited to participate as well). We've enjoyed all the opportunities for families to get involved at Parkside and we've made some great friends already. Even through the craziness of the pandemic, Parkside staff led the way with through health protocols and regular communication with Austin Public Health to keep the kids safe and allow school to continue. In short, we've found Parkside to be an amazing, friendly, beautiful place that is nurturing our daughter to her full potential. We highly recommend it!

An absolutely beautiful school with a well laid out curriculum and intense attention to detail. I…read moreknew I wanted to send my son here after touring dozens of pre-k's. This was the cleanest and safest ( private security ) option in Austin. The teachers genuinely care and the gym class/new inclosed playground is amazing for busy little bodies. The low student to teacher ratio is key, and they even bring in authors from the local book store for story time. Ashley is incredibly thoughtful and the care and love that has gone into the school is visible from day one.

There could never be words to describe how incredible Wonderwell is. Before having children, I used…read moreto think people who cared so much about preschool were silly. But now having two young kids, and knowing the importance of education at this important developmental stage, I know that there really is so much young children need to thrive. Wonderwell is not only the best preschool in Austin, but in the country in my opinion. My son went there for three years and my daughter for a year before we had to move out of state. Leaving this school was the hardest part. My son started when he was 2, he could barely speak and was SO shy. When we left, he was so confident, a true leader, and LOVED school. The teachers, the staff, the other families, are all above and beyond. I couldn't love or recommend Wonderwell more!