We are still so VERY happy with St Columbkille School. Our kids are thriving academically and…read moresocially and they are happy at school. We are so thankful for the amazing staff and the school leadership is exceptional.

I have mixed feelings about St. Columbkille Partnership School. On the surface, the school presents…read moreas warm, community-oriented, and supportive, and many of the teachers and families are wonderful. I personally gave a great deal of time and energy to the school community this year, volunteering more than 140 hours in various capacities. However, I was deeply disappointed by my experience with school leadership when an issue arose regarding a school trip. What concerned me most was not simply the financial issue itself, but the lack of transparency and flexibility in how it was handled. A significant cancellation policy affecting families financially was never disclosed in the enrollment materials we signed, and school leadership did not appear familiar with the applicable policy when questions first arose. Despite repeated requests, we were only provided with the policy after the trip had already concluded. At no point were families provided with clear information regarding illness-related cancellations, reimbursement timelines, or whether trip insurance was recommended or available. In hindsight, that information was critically important. In my experience, leadership was pleasant and collaborative when things were going smoothly, but far less flexible or solution-oriented when a genuine concern arose. Despite our family's significant involvement and goodwill toward the school, there was no willingness to consider even a partial compromise. Parents should make sure they carefully ask questions about financial policies, trip terms, cancellation rules, and how disputes are handled before committing to programs or payments.

i got bullied here. i liked the place but the children where horrible. im now in middle school and…read moremoved away from this nonsense. mrs maza and mrs clark where my favorites. abby was my bully btw. i lwft in 3rd grade thankfully. im very disappointed that the school had done nothing even when my mom called everyone i. a meeting to address the situation. abby would kick and punch and yell and no one ever would expel or suspend her.

When my son turned 3 years in 2001 I didn't look to far mount alvernia academy was the only place…read morethat we felt comfortable to send him and to trust them with his education Long story shot we are so glad that we did he graduated 2 years ago and went to a very good high school and my daughter is graduating this year We will miss MAA Thank you for all the good memories

Amazing school with a lot of amazing teachers would definitely recommend this school for everyone…read morewho wants there kids to learn and be successful

GISB is not only our three kids' school, but it is also our family's cultural home. All our…read morechildren started in GISB preschool, and by now, our oldest daughter is studying neuroscience at Boston University, our son is writing his "Abitur" right now and will decide if he wants to study in the US or in Europe, and our 8th grader can't stop talking about how excited she is to go for a school exchange with Oslo next school year. Over the 16 years at GISB, our kids have always been taken care of, both emotionally and academically. The teachers are young and committed, the principal is competent and visionary, the parent community is strong and supportive. The German International School Boston has that name for a reason. The curriculum is German based but also covers the American highschool curriculum, and our families are international. Last year we had 39 different nationalities at our school. The annual turnover is hard, many families come for a predefined amount of time to Boston and then leave (some also stay!). But that also means that you have friends all over the world since GISB by now has a worldwide network of families who help each other. Our graduates finish school with the International Abitur and the Massachusetts High School diploma, opening doors all over the US and Europe. If you want your child grow up in a warm, nurturing setting where he/she will be raised with excellent academics and a strong focus on character-building, then you should consider this truly wonderful school!

My children attended GISB for four years. Below is an honest review of our experience. I wish I…read morehad an honest review of the school before we had decided to enroll there. Hopefully this will help parents who are considering GISB make an informed decision. Location: The traffic in Allston is bad now and will only get worse as Harvard opens its new Engineering Campus in 2020. Facilities: Upper campus is an old Catholic school that is quite shabby in areas. There is no air conditioning in the summer. The heat fails in the winter. The paint is worn out in the stairwells. The parking lot has rusty twisted broken fences. Some specific spaces such as the library have been renovated recently and are OK. Lower Campus, where the pre-K and K grades are located, is a recently converted office building. The lower campus space turns out to be quite cramped when it is full of students. If you have a young active child that needs to move and get their wiggles out over the course of the day this will be a challenging environment for them. Tuition: The German International School of Boston (GISB) demands all the tuition upfront for the school year and there are no refunds for any reason. Buyers beware of any service that demands all the money up front and puts "no refunds for any reason" in the fine print. There are also a lot of various extra fees for the after school classes, ski week, vacation week camp, etc. School Calendar: The GISB academic calendar follows the German academic calendar rather than the American academic calendar. This means that there are two week breaks in February and April where parents must scramble for childcare. Teacher turn over: In the four years that my kids attended GISB they lost teachers every year (sometimes even mid-year) for a variety of reasons (disputes over pay with the administration, visa issues, pregnancy, health problems, etc.). There is no substitute teacher pool to draw on so when a teacher is sick it is a mad scramble to cover the classroom. Even when there is plenty of advance warning of a teacher's departure. (This teacher is pregnant. She will be going out on maternity leave in 4 months.) There was no planning on the part of the administration on how to cover the class room and it was an ad hoc assortment of people covering the class which was very detrimental to the students. Teacher's Credentials: Being a private school the teachers are not subject to the same credentialing criteria as public-school teachers. When I asked the administration if I could see the credentials of my kid's teachers, I was told no. What are they hiding? Why won't they share their teaching staff's credentials? Teaching style: Modern pedagogy acknowledges that students have a variety of learning styles and that teachers need to craft their lesson plans to cover different types of learners. GISB seems firmly stuck in the 19th century with one method of teaching and if your kid doesn't get it too bad. It obviously must be the kid's fault. My older child entered public school a full year behind in reading skills than his peers after we left GISB. Thankfully he was immediately identified as someone who needed some extra help with learning to read and after just one semester in public-school, he was up to grade level. Clearly there was no learning disability on my child's part. My child just hadn't been taught to read. I have talked to other parents who have left GISB for public-school and they have related similar experiences. If a school can't do something as basic as effectively teach kids to read... Social Environment: The small classes mean that the social environment is somewhat stifling. If you kid doesn't make a friend in the handful of other kids in their class, it will be a long lonely year. If your kid becomes the target of a bully, there is no avoiding the bully. The bully is right there all the time. The teachers seem at a complete loss of what to do when bullying is brought to their attention. The teachers and school administration at GISB clearly view the student's behavioral, emotional, and social development as not their responsibility. My experience so far in the public-school system is the complete opposite. The public-school system views its mandate as helping children grow as a whole person and this includes the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development. Addressing of Concerns and Grievances: The GISB administration, parent council, and GISB board have no interest is addressing issues that are brought to their attention. There is a constant shirking of responsibility. The standard excuse they all give is "But you have to understand GISB is a young school." GISB has been around for 18 years and there are plenty of resources available on how to effectively run a school. The public-school principal of my children's current school has a clear "The buck stops here." attitude which is so refreshing after GISB.

**TL;DR:** This place is not a safe environment for children of color and is filled with…read moremicroaggressions. **Full:** Enrolling my daughter in Mandarin camp turned out to be a major mistake. On the very first day, her teacher, Qiaoling, snapped at me, saying, "I sent you 2 text messages and an email yesterday! You didn't respond!" I replied, "What number did you text? I haven't received anything, and I don't check email on Sundays." It was clear she didn't speak to other parents in this manner, and after observing I was the only Black parent in the class it became apparent what was going on. Despite a conversation with the director after my daughter reported being yelled at by Qaioling (after we exchanged contentious emails), things seemed to improve for a day or two, but I should have expected more issues. Qiaoling refused to update me about out of the ordinary classroom changes that affected how I needed to dress my daughter for activities like water play or nature walks, which caused my daughter distress because she was unable to participate and felt I was dropping the ball. Additionally, she didn't inform me about an assembly performance on the last day. During the drive after pick up, my daughter was in tears after feeling isolated because the other children had their parents present at the assembly and she didn't. It's heartbreaking to think of an adult intentionally causing a child to feel neglected/alone and that their parent isn't doing their job. This was flat out cruel. She's an all around spiteful/wicked woman. Lesson learned.

We went to French camp here and within three weeks my son was trying out new French vocabulary and…read morein love with the place. Joel and Hafsa were stupendous devoted teachers.

Harvard Yard Child Care Center was founded in 1971 to serve Harvard employees and the community at…read morea time when women were just beginning to enter academia in larger numbers. It's an amazing place that was recently completely renovated. The classrooms for younger kids tend to fill up quickly, but the older classrooms usually have openings. It's a parent co-op, and parents are expected to be present in the classrooms on a regular basis (once a week, generally, but they're flexible). Student:teacher ratios can't be beat. The whole place has a child-centered approach that makes every kid happy. Also a great playground, lots of excursions, creative and loving children.

This is a great child care center and school for infants and toddlers. There is typically a wait…read morelist, with priority going to Harvard affliated parents. They only have 7 spaces in their infant class room, so apply early if you are interested. The teachers there are simply lovely: everyone is so friendly and cheerful even when the children pass around the flu or stomach virus. They love to sing and get the children all excited about playtime and activities. Parents are expected to volunteer 2 hours weekly, but like the previous reviewer said, the schedules are flexible, and the time is mostly spent tending to your own child. The classrooms are well equipped with toys, cribs, furniture, feeding and diaper stations, and have a homely feeling with lots of light, even though the center occupies the basement of a Harvard building. There is parking for drop off and pick up, though spots are limited, and very often, parents picking up their kids have to do illegal parking in Harvard Universitys parking lot or do street parking. Harvard seems to be pretty lax about enforcing parking during pick up time. HYCCC only have slots for full-day care from 8:30am to 5:30pm. The fees are about $2300 per month for younger kids and it lowers to about $1600 for older kids. If your child is offered a spot there, but can't attend due to age (e.g. before 3 months) or any other reason, they can hold a spot for your child if you pay the monthly fees. Early dropoff (before 8:30am) or Late pickup (until 6:30pm) can be arranged for extra. They do close on snow days if 3 out of the 4 neighboring towns all have snow days for their public schools. Based on our child's progress and happiness level in the school, we rate it a thumbs up experience, totally worth the price.

Great place for kids and families! We came in a Saturday in July and it was not packed!! There was…read morea sign at the parking lot saying the water park was closed but it wasn't, maybe the sun kept the crowds away....? There are bathrooms here, as well! Clean ones!!!! Plenty of shades areas and play areas for each age group (toddlers and 5-12).

I had a very bad experience with Soule and I had to withdraw my toddler daughter after 3 days. In…read moreshort, the problem is management and, perhaps, its culture. Before I explain what happened, I should note that Soule was the only school that did in-person tours in the peak of the pandemic in February whereas every single school/daycare was doing it remotely. I think that says something... After I enrolled my child, I was told that a week before the official start day, she will come in everyday for an hour with me accompanying her in the classroom. Third day of that transition week, I was told to wait outside as she seemed to be doing fine alone. I left briefly to go to Starbucks to pick up a cup of coffee. When I returned, I found her crying, and I was told that I should stick around because it is the transition period. At week 2, which is the official start week, on Monday I did stick around whole day, because that is what I assumed I was supposed to be doing. Nobody gave me any instructions or explained me any plan. At 10am, they took her out since she was crying asking me to take her home. That did not sound right to me, because she will never get used to the place if I take her home after each cry. So, I gave her some food and I let her go inside again. They had a tendency to say goodbye throughout the day, eager to send us home. I stayed and assisted her to nap there. I thought this was weird as I cannot spend my days like that sticking around whole day, so I asked them to come up with a plan. They said I should leave her in the morning and go home because when she knows that I am outside, she will try to go out and cry. I agreed. The plan was that I was going to leave her half a day for two days and on the third day we would try full day. This plan was reasonable to me, because she was not doing terribly bad at all: she loved the toys and the school, but she needed to learn to stay there without me. Btw, I should note that I did not even do sleep training with her since I am not ok letting her cry for long periods of time. But, our original plan was good, because she seemed to be doing fine. An hour later, the director calls me and says, they decided to switch her enrollment to half day for that month because it is too stressful for her. When I said let me think about it, she says, no, that is what we decided! So, they are making a decision by themselves without thinking about my personal circumstances. I am a single mom who needs to return to her full time job. This was very disturbing for me. I talked to some friends with kids. They all found this whole thing very strange. They all thought that it is their job to entertain/distract her so that she does not cry; they thought that it should not be up to them to make a decision unilaterally. I needed them to do their part so that she gets used to the place as soon as possible. "She cried, take her home" is not a solution. Plus, this created extreme anxiety for me as I could not rely on them to organize my life. I decided to try one-two more days. I found myself calling/texting them to see how she is doing. The second day, nobody even replied to my texts. Somebody should have explained me how the communication was going to work (e.g., they would check with me in mid day, or just reach out to me only if there is an issue). None of that. No explanation of the processes. I talked to the director and explained her all my thoughts. (Oh, btw, the director also said the center is getting rid of all the Covid rules which prompted her to resign.) She kept saying that I am right. But, I don't think that she cares, as she is leaving anyways. Where does the process break? I think the lead teacher has as much responsibility as the director in making sure that there is proper communication with the parent, educating the parent, and setting the expectations of the parent. After we made a plan together, what did she say to the director which made her call me and tell me that they are changing her enrollment without my consent? Plans, of course, can change. I was not going to torment my child if she was not adjusting well, but it should not be up to the school to make a decision without my consent. I am the customer. I eventually decided to cancel her enrollment (which the director offered me), because I could not trust what kind of uncertainty and unreliability was waiting for me in the future. I need reliable care. I do not recommend this place. The core of the problem perhaps is that they have a state institution mentality, which they are. They are employees of the city of Brookline. Private daycares care so much about customer satisfaction and their ratings; the directors seem to be hovering around to make sure that the place is functioning properly. I got the impression that the director of Soule was jaded. Not sure if the new one can change the culture because incentives most likely are there to stay.