My three children have been at Paragon for the majority of their school careers. I respect and…read moreappreciate the teachers, staff, and administration. We have had a great experience with Paragon overall.
I read the previous review of Paragon and I have some thoughts. I agree their high academic standards do not necessarily make for a perfect classroom setting for hyperactive children. Or even active children. Honestly, if I had my way, Paragon would follow more of a Montessori-style structure and would allow for kids to have more hands-on learning and less time in their seats. However, most of the teachers my kids have had have been fairly creative in their approaches to dealing with students' needs. For example, many teachers incorporate dance breaks or allow students non-traditional seating, like a big exercise ball so they can bounce their wiggles out. Many of the teachers offset the boring (but necessary) lessons with learning games and engaging activities.
One of my favorite things about Paragon is the people. Along with having caring, patient teachers and administration, the other parents and students are overall respectful, kind, and helpful. Prior to Covid, Paragon held frequent school-wide events, which were usually very well-attended, indicating an unusually high level of parent involvement.
There is also a high emphasis on moral character. Each month (or maybe trimester?) has a different moral focus emphasizing that month's virtue (perseverance, encouragement, kindness, integrity, responsibility, etc.). I love this so much! More than being successful academically or professionally, I believe today's kids need to learn these moral virtues. What good is it if your child is the highest paid, most awarded pigglegiggologist if he's also a selfish butthole who cheated on his wife and left his kids for the nanny and yells and humiliates waiters because they get his order wrong?
Also, I have to say just a random snippet about the principal, Mr. Kriesch. I happened to be in the office one day last year when I heard Mr. Kriesch's voice from his office. Clearly, a kid had been acting out in his class and had to go see the principal. I didn't see or hear the kid but overheard Mr. Kriesch explaining to the student the importance of allowing the teacher to teach and the other students to learn. It wasn't necessarily the words he was saying, but the respectful way he addressed the student. It was as if he fully expected the student to rise to the level of maturity with which he was being treated. I have no idea if the kid actually started right, but I know he probably left feeling heard and like Mr. Kriesch believed the best of him.
Also, during the virtual learning this past year, I have appreciated the lengths the teachers have gone to to make things as clear and as smooth as possible in a less-than-ideal scenario. I have also appreciated their grace. As a parent of three, it was pretty overwhelming trying to keep up with all the emails and assignments and so I didn't. Not well, anyway. There were dozens of announcements and emails I didn't read, phone calls I didn't listen to and I know my kids missed assignments and missed out on quite a few other things because of this. I dreaded parent/teacher conferences because I figured I would be parent-shamed for my parental laziness. On the contrary, I felt encouraged by each teacher and each seemed to focus on positive attributes, while still addressing my kids' personal challenges. I was pretty grateful for their seemingly non-judgmental feedback.
