From the moment we joined in 2020, St. Edward School has been such a blessing for our family. The…read moreteachers are dedicated, caring, and truly invested in every child's growth. The sense of community here is so special; in my experience, families are welcoming, supportive, and the school creates many opportunities to come together. Academically, the program is strong and well balanced, with a focus on both academics and character. My two kids come home excited to share what they've learned, which says so much. The campus is safe, welcoming, and offers great extracurriculars, too. I couldn't recommend St. Edward more!

I'm writing this as a frustrated parent who transferred to St. Edward School after Our Lady of…read moreGuadalupe (OLG) closed. We were hopeful for a fresh start in a supportive Catholic community. What we got instead was an unwelcoming, cold, and often dismissive environment -- one that ultimately failed my child and our family. From Day One, We Were Treated Like Outsiders Right away, we were labeled "former OLG families" in group emails, constantly reminded that we weren't "really" part of the St. Edward community. We paid tuition just like everyone else, but it was clear we weren't seen the same. Leadership That Doesn't Listen The principal, Tina Cruz, was cold and condescending. As a single mother, I often felt judged and ignored. When I voiced concerns, I was met with copy-pasted quotes from the school handbook instead of actual dialogue. Trying to engage with the administration was like talking to a wall. There was never a sense that they cared about our concerns -- only that they wanted us to stop bringing them up. A Lack of Support for Kids with ADHD My child has ADHD, and it was clear the staff had very little understanding or training around it. Instead of working with us to meet my child's needs, the school treated them like a discipline problem. No empathy was shown. They expect all students to conform, regardless of how they learn or what challenges they face. Overuse of Petty Infractions The school hands out behavior infractions for the tiniest things. My child once received one just for making a classmate laugh. The kids are expected to act like silent robots -- there's no room for personality, joy, or normal child behavior. Favoritism and Bias There's a clear culture of favoritism at St. Edward. Certain families -- mostly those who are close with the principal -- are treated much better than others. Their kids seem to avoid consequences that other children receive for the same actions. It's demoralizing to see this kind of inequity, especially in a school that claims to value community and inclusion. We always felt like we were on the outside, being judged instead of welcomed. Overly Strict Spanish Teacher The Spanish teacher is infamously strict and borderline unreasonable. Parents even refer to her as the "tardy police." One-minute delays are treated like major offenses. My child was once scolded for returning late from the bathroom. This teacher seemed more concerned with enforcing rules than building a supportive classroom. Poor Handling of Bullying When my friend's child was bullied, the school had them fill out incident forms--but did nothing meaningful to stop it. The bullying continued, and the response from staff was minimal at best. Even worse, after speaking up, the child felt even more isolated and afraid of retaliation. It was heartbreaking to watch. The school's handling of the situation felt more focused on creating a paper trail than actually protecting the child or addressing the problem. Final Thoughts We came to St. Edward looking for community and care. Instead, we were met with exclusion, indifference, and rigid systems that do not support children who are different. We're no longer at this school -- and we're relieved. But I'm sharing our experience to warn other families: if your child needs compassion, support, or a fair environment, you will not find it here. This was our honest experience as a paying family who was never made to feel like we belonged. I wish someone had warned me before we enrolled. I hope this serves as that warning for you. EDIT: The response below contains a false version of events that try to reflect negatively on me. Unfortunately, I have not been given an opportunity to respond directly, so I am adding clarification here. I want to make it clear that I communicated to Tina Cruz that, as a full-time working single mother of 2, I do not have the flexibility to attend in person meetings. Using that reality as justification to shift blame or suggest I have been uncooperative is both unfair and misleading. I will not tolerate being mischaracterized or intimidated into silence.

Challenger Ardenwood has provided an incredible academic foundation for my daughter, putting her…read morewell ahead of grade level in both reading and math. The structured curriculum and dedicated teachers have helped her develop strong study habits and discipline from an early age. I have noticed significant improvements in my daughter's confidence through the school's emphasis on public speaking skills. Overall, it is a rigorous environment that delivers tangible results, and we are very happy with her progress.

Our older child is starting his 3rd year at Challenger and our younger one her 2nd, and we couldn't…read morebe happier with the experience. The kids have learned so much and, just as importantly, have grown in confidence. The teachers and staff are incredibly supportive and caring. Our older child has a medical condition, and the school has gone above and beyond to make sure he is safe and supported. We have never once felt like it was an inconvenience to call for help when needed. Thanks to the amazing teachers and staff for always being so supportive. The hours are great for working parents, and often when we pick up the kids early, they want to stay just to finish the activity they're doing. They truly love school, and we are so grateful for the caring environment Challenger provides.

We've had a wonderful experience with the preschool program at Stratford, especially in Room 3. Ms…read more Sipra and Ms. Vaishali are incredibly caring, patient, and attentive teachers who create such a warm and nurturing environment for the kids. Our child has grown so much socially, emotionally, and academically since joining their class. The teachers do a great job balancing learning with fun activities, and it's clear they genuinely care about each child's development and happiness. Room 3 has been such a positive and enriching experience for our family, and we're truly grateful to Ms. Sipra and Ms. Vaishali for all their dedication and hard work!

Ms. Gopa and Ms. Sehr are incredibly kind, caring, and dedicated to the children; they consistently…read morego above and beyond to ensure our young ones feel supported. The monthly activities are thoughtfully planned, introducing children to diverse topics that foster language development and fine motor skills in a fun, safe, and engaging environment. Furthermore, Ms. Gopa and Ms. Sehr are meticulous in organizing cultural celebrations throughout the year, helping to instill meaningful values in the children. They are always prompt in communicating with parents and diligent in following through on any requests or concerns. Overall, Stratford provides a truly safe, secure, and nurturing environment, and we highly recommend it to any family seeking exceptional care for their children.

Nice environment, cool place, nice place friendly people staff are very nice, I worked here for one…read moreyear with a student, Mr. Lovano's class..

Ms. Young.where do I start she is the mca director and over her long legacy she is severely old…read morefashioned and instead of bringing mca to its potential she is severely holds it back . She picks favorites and she doesn't try to hide it to anyone. If she doesn't like you have fun because you will be assigned more work than the other kids and if you miss any assignments they won't be graded til the end of the quarter. She cusses at the class and at kids. She had an another bad review last year and she freaked out because she cares about her image so much and asked every kids about it. MCA is a great program and it has taught me many things but Ms.young severely holds it back.

staff is terrible always complaints from my kids of how dirty and half-way things are done here…read more Really small campus and head of school is never around, someone else should be running school for improvements because as of now it's pretty bad. Seems to be very male dominated and not a good environment for children. my daughters friends go here and they feel as if this private school is off putting and some teachers have no experience in teaching. play ground is really small, no room for kids to play and cafeteria even smaller. Great experience with smaller staff but head of school needs to change. very rude. they take all your money for no good outcome in your childs learning. cheap, rude and expensive they really get the parents with an experience they can't uphold. put your kids in a better school with better teachers, staff and curriculum and to the head of school 'wagner' do better.

If you're looking for academics, this is the place to be. The school offers Pre-Calculus in eighth…read moregrade for the people who are more skilled in math than other students.It also offers Economics which is a college level course in eighth grade the school is going to open a high school next year, but if you are interested in sending your kid here next year, read this review before you think about anything. First of all, this year, we had a temporary campus for a new campus that was still in construction. The quality was terrible. We could hear the construction from inside and when we were outside we were exposed to the dust that came from the construction it was a nightmare we also had to eat our lunch outside in the sun although they had picnic tables in PE was outside in the grass they gave many people many allergic reactions. And the grass had potholes. Many, many potholes. They have divided the MPR into five classrooms and it was really noisy. It was hard for any students there to focus at all. We were all desperately waiting for the new campus. Oh, and if you think that's bad enough, that was only this year. Last year, three teachers left the school midway two of them fired. And when they had to fire the first teacher they blamed it on the students at the school, even though they specified that they did not want the teacher fired, but they just wanted her to change her teaching habits in a way that would suit all of the students at the school. I mean, are the students not allowed to voice their concerns about the school and make it a better environment for the new students? And they're paying money to go to the school. Which brings me to my next point, the tuition. The year that the school opened, the tuition was twenty four thousand dollars. The tuition kept on increasing over the years, from twenty four thousand dollars to twenty five thousand dollars to twenty six thousand dollars and now twenty seven thousand dollars. The tuition has just been skyrocketing since the school opened. But there are upsides. And when I say upsides, I mean a lot of upsides. First of all, there are only 150 kids at the upper school. That gives teachers a lot more time to communicate with the students at the school and help them with any concepts that they do not understand. Teachers also have office hours after school to help students with any questions they may have. The teachers want the students to learn, and that's what makes this environment important. Everyone works together like one big happy family. The friendships that students make here are everlasting. If you make a friend one year, that friend will never leave your side and will always have your back. The students have such great memories of their past years, and they reminisce one their past experiences at the school. Overall, I would recommend the school for people who are committed to academics and don't care much about extracurricular activities. As BASIS grows there are more and more extracurricular activities that are emerging such as cross country basketball, volleyball, soccer, and flag football, as well as clubs that are offered by the school. Thanks for reading! Edit: After four amazing years, I have decided to transfer to another high school.

My daughter attended Challenger Newark for two years and absolutely loved it. It has been amazing…read moreto watch her grow both academically and socially during her time there. She is now entering kindergarten reading independently and with a strong foundation in math. The teachers and staff are incredibly caring, attentive, and genuinely invested in each child's growth and happiness. We've loved every teacher she's had--Ms. Danae, Ms. Nancy, Ms. Harshali, and Ms. Sri! In addition, the Director, Mrs. Michelle, has always been responsive, thoughtful, and supportive. It's clear that she has built an exceptional team and a positive learning environment. We are so grateful for the experience our daughter had at Challenger Newark and would highly recommend it to other families.

Our experience with this Ms Soniya, Ms Namita and challenger - Newark campus has been wonderful. My…read morechild has learned so much and has become noticeably more confident since joining. She not only learned how to read, but also understands the concepts behind phonics, which has helped her read bigger and more complex words with confidence. We've also seen a huge improvement in her math skills and overall confidence in learning. The science concepts are taught in such an engaging and interesting way that she genuinely enjoys exploring and learning new things every day. We are very grateful for the care, patience, and dedication of the teachers. The principal Ms Michelle and admin teacher Ms Phaily are also incredibly supportive, caring, and always approachable, which creates such a warm and positive environment for both kids and parents. Thank you!

My son attended private preschool and I was skeptical about sending my son to public school. I am…read moreso happy that things worked out the way they did. My son's kindergarten teacher is great. He comes up with ways to keep my son and all other little ones occupied. The principal is enthusiastic and very knowledgeable in the way she runs the school. The school is nicely kept up and the office staff goes the extra mile to answer all your questions and/or concerns. I couldn't be happier and my son is getting a great education here.

Ever since my children began school, my husband and I have always had Fremont Christian in the back…read moreof our minds as we love that the school teaches the bible, which is very important to us. Additionally, we know how great of a school FCS is since my husband is a FCS Alumni and I was a substitute Teacher at the school for a year a while back. We thought that we would give public school a try, to save some money, and if we didn't like it or it didn't work out for our kids, we would re-evaluate our options.  This year when schools transitioned to distanced learning, due to COVID, our worlds were turned upside down, along with the rest of the world.  Our kids were struggling not being in the classroom and not being able to socialize with children their age, so when we heard that FCS was bringing back kids safely on campus we jumped on the opportunity to transfer them and have never once regretted that decision!  The Teachers, Principal and Staff at FCS have been AMAZING to say the least.  When we drove on campus to drop the kids off to school on their "first day" we immediately felt that our kids would be well taken care of, which was not a confident feeling for us at our previous school. The organization, care and seamless process to get the kids safely on and off of campus puts our minds at ease.  The Teachers do a wonderful job with communication and my kids immediately loved their new school and look forward to Chapel every week, which was also not an option at our previous school.  We appreciate and love our new FCS home and are so glad we transferred our kids to this school when we did. Thank you FCS!

I'm now in my 30s, but I attended Fremont Christian School from 5th through 12th grade. The best…read moreway I can describe my experience there is that it felt like a living nightmare. Everyday it felt like I was drowning. Looking back, that period of my life was when I first started developing severe anxiety and depression. I was naturally a shy kid but the environment at the school made things significantly worse. I experienced ongoing bullying throughout my time there...not only from classmates but also from teachers and even the school principal (Tricia Meyer) It created an atmosphere where I constantly felt unsafe, unsupported, and isolated. The only reason I remained at the school for so long was because my parents were hesitant to transfer me. By the time they fully understood how serious the situation was, I only had two years left of high school, so I stayed until graduation. Even now, I could write pages about the experiences and the people who contributed to the bullying I endured during those years. From an academic and developmental standpoint, I also do not feel the school prepared me well for life after graduation. When I entered college, I realized how unprepared I was socially and academically compared to peers from other schools. The environment at FCS felt extremely conservative and insulated, almost like living in a bubble. It wasn't until I graduated and left that environment that I felt like I could finally start living my life and growing as a person. One additional observation: the business manager who responds to reviews on Yelp, was actually a student in my class. Given the culture and bullying that existed during our time at the school, it feels somewhat hypocritical to see someone from that same environment representing the school without acknowledging the issues that many of us experienced. Everyone's experience will be different, but based on my time there, I personally would not recommend this school.