We love the Christian values promoted here, and the family atmosphere of this school…read more Not a great place for athiests!

So so so good the learning is good my teacher miss Jensen is so good at teaching so great really…read moregood and good principal too t out to 5eh school I'm a student

Here's a review from a someone who actually attended Peruvian Park, some insight for ya :)…read more So, I went to this elementary school only for 6th grade. My friends and I had all been at Ridgecrest Elementary the previous years, but their Advanced Learning Program (ALP's) was ending so we all moved to Peruvian Park to continue our advanced learning, but with a different program called SALTA. I had a teacher named Mrs. Alexander. From what I remember, I liked her as my teacher; however, when I look back at the yearbook packet I made for school, apparently I put "the teachers were mean". I actually went back to Peruvian Park three years ago to visit with her and ask her a few questions about a story book we made during the school year (I was doing the same concept for a competition in high school), and she was so helpful. I really did enjoy my time in her class (I know I'm weird, I actually used to enjoy school when I was younger). One of my best memories were the 6th grade dances. I remember getting all excited for them and learning class dances for them. We also did a Thriller performance for the parents for Halloween, which was really fun! We performed a Charlie Brown play and a recorder performance. I, also, learned how to play the ukulele; Learning how to play the ukulele at a public school is pretty impressive. During the school year, we had a couple big project. We had to crochet/knit hats for newborn babies in the hospital or something like that. We could also keep a few hats for ourselves. I really enjoyed making the hats and I actually used the hats I made for a couple years as well. We made huge candy bar posters. Also, we made actual binded story books. I remember spending a lot of class time on it; we drew pictures and made the story line and everything. The teachers laminated the covers to create a nice book with clean binding and sharp covers. Near the end of the school year, we made a yearbook packet. I still have mine and look at it every once in a while. I'm still friends with some of the people I went to school with in 6th grade and actually I met my best friend, Vivian, in 6th grade. We're still best friends to this day. One of the most memorable things about Peruvian Park and my time there were the friends I made and the events that happened. Out of all of my years in elementary school that was my most "drama filled year (on an elementary school level)". This might have been because I was in 6th grade and kids around that age are prone to be more into that stuff, but it was my most eventful year. The environment at Peruvian Park did seem a bit more "wild", but of course it was not crazy, it was just more eventful... The people who attend a school always set the type of environment, so it can change year-by-year. The people at Peruvian Park were kind of different than the people I met in my other elementary schools. There was greater diversity. At my previous elementary school, the "white" population was more prominent; for example, I was usually the only Asian in that class. However, when I attended Peruvian Park, there were a couple Asians other than me and I was even shocked to see them the first day of school. Peruvian Park had a greater mix of races and ethnicities when I went there. I enjoyed the diversity because I did want to find more friends who were other races to expand my horizons instead of just Caucasian friends. Overall, 6th grade was my best elementary school year. We did lots of fun projects in class, as I mentioned before. My education was advanced, even as an elementary student; I took advanced math ever since 4th grade and this accumulated over the years, so by the end of high school I took Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB/BC and AP Statistics. I, also, did orchestra in the mornings starting from 4th grade, continuing through 6th grade, and accumulating over the years, I became the concert master of my orchestra by 10th grade. The diversity in students was a lot greater than the other elementary schools I had been to. The friends I made at Peruvian Park stayed with me throughout the years and I met one of my most valuable friends there, my best friend. The memories I've made have stuck with me because they created an impact on my life. I have only Peruvian Park to thank and especially my teacher, Mrs. Alexander.

Very disappointing experience. Instead of communicating with a parent to clarify a misunderstanding…read moreinvolving a 4-year-old child, the school immediately escalated the situation to DCFS. Parents deserve communication and transparency before assumptions are made. I expected better judgment and professionalism from an elementary school.

Waterford was great for us in one way. My daughter became mysteriously ill pretty much for an…read moreamount of time in junior/senior year. It affected her cognitive abilities and she was forced to miss a good amount of school as well as special events of senior year. The kind, discreet response of the teachers and administrative staff blew us all away. They were fiercely protective of her. My daughter is pretty private but the students and their parents who knew were equally as amazing! Character was high with the kids (they didn't gossip much like you might find at another school, held her confidences and, as a result, feel like the school will forever be in my heart. The only issue that holds me back is that I feel it can be very rules heavy, a bit punitive (kids were expelled and punished for little). It lacks a vibrant social scene, can be a bit provincial in its academic and enriching offerings and can tend to mute students from sharing thoughts and expressing themselves. The last thing is that students don't really head committees or initiatives in junior or senior year... they really should and parents should be nowhere to be found. High school is the time to try new things and fail. Prom committee, the school store, a real school newspaper...They really aren't encouraged to as the parent body leads all. This proved tougher when my daughter went off to high school. Other than that, great school with great classes and teachers, special kids and- for the most part- a wonderful, warm parent body. Thank you Waterford!

After 4 years of sending our kids here, we have learned enough about the ultra-private and…read moreconservative ways in which the Board of Directors, and the Head of School run the school. It is so far reaching that kids can be expelled because of their parents behavior (reference the Waterford Code of Conduct). We are seriously thinking of moving our kids to Rowland Hall.

Very concerning experience attempting to tour Challenger School in Sandy for preschool…read more We arrived on time for our scheduled tour and were handed a values-based questionnaire that no one had previously explained was mandatory. 10+ min later, the director informed us we couldn't even tour unless it was completed first. When I calmly asked whether we could simply tour before filling out a philosophical questionnaire for a school we knew very little about, I was met with repeated pushback from both the director & headmaster and repeatedly told it was "school policy," despite my inability to locate such a policy online. The director later stated she only had 15-20 minutes before the next tour while simultaneously expecting us to complete the unexpected questionnaire after the school itself had already run late. Neither my spouse nor I, both doctors, have encountered anything remotely similar in educational or professional settings. The interaction ultimately ended with the headmaster abruptly stating, "This is not going to be a good fit," and walked off. Overall, the interaction felt rude, dismissive, and heavily compliance-focused for what should have been a simple preschool tour inquiry.

Challenger has probably been one of the worst schools I've ever gone to. Not only are the teachers…read moretrained poorly, but the blatant favoritism. Firstly, many of the teachers are unqualified for their position. For instance, one of the extended teachers will purposely select students to move seats for no given reason. When someone asks why the student is getting moved, the teacher will just laugh and then tell them to move. She's also highly impatient and has been arrested, which, in my opinion, seems like a valid reason to not hire someone. Next, Mrs, Gourgeon is very fake to parents and puts on a facade to everyone. When someone gets sent to the office, she doesn't let the person explain their side of the story and will get mad at people if they don't answer exactly what she asked. A few teachers very noticeably favor some students over others, asking some students questions more questions than others or only listening to students they like. Overall, Challenger has a lot of discrimination towards to different students - whether it's between actual teaching or after school, there's a lot of prejudice.

They do not handle bullying at all besides a whole class lecture yearly about how "Bullying is bad…read morefor the water inside of you," (We did actually get that lecture.) except for thee few times they do by suspending the kids and doing nothing else about it unless it's a rare case. They managed to make pop-tarts rock hard. They have very few things going for them (Mr. Morris, Ms. Bolman, Ms. Cody, Crime Lab, Ms. Rugino, Mr. J, Ms. Cardon, Ms. Lund, and the fifth grade teachers), but the goods are only worth one star. Otherwise, it would be a zero star review. Beware Mr. Ellsworth's assignments. I would not wish attending ascent on my worst enemy. My brother has many friends, most of whom left the school, and those who left ascent say their new school is better. I am incredibly excited for ninth grade, because then I can leave. This school nearly made me do something I cannot say in this review. I would literally rather eat rotten for ten years than attend this school. Granted, that is because rotten food is pretty much something that I already get from Ascent (Visibly rotten apple, anyone?). And they have run out of food and made me lose recess (Yes, they have recess in Jr. High) on three seperate occasions this semester. Also, Mr. Ellsworth states conspiracies daily. And the Jr High PE teacher has incredibly sexist grading standards: about 100 laps on the pacer for guys and like 20 for girls, as well as about 20 pull ups for guys and seven seconds of holding onto the bar for girls. I could keep going all day, but I don't remember all of it. (Edit: I was sent to the principal's office today because of this. So, this school cares more about its precious little ego than it does bullying to the point where its students consider something that is often a byproduct of depression.)

My two children have been going to Challenger for almost a year, and I thought it would improve…read more First, my children have ADHD, and it seems no one in this facility is trained to teach or handle children with learning disabilities. Not only are they not trained, they are not tolerant. If you have a child with ADD or ADHD, you should go somewhere else. I have been called into the office many times for the same issues when they could easily make the situations better by learning more about how children with ADHD function. When contacting me when my child is physically hurt or having an emotionally challenging day, I do not get any phone calls. The headmistress has even made me, as a parent, feel shame and guilt. My daughter repeatedly is reprimanded for not tucking in her shirt and other silly things for a 6-year-old to comply with. She cries almost daily because of these comments, and I have asked the school to talk to ME about them and not her. I understand the standards at Challenger are higher than most, but we also have to remember that they are still children at the end of the day.

Mrs. Natalee is truly the most incredible teacher. My son has excelled at writing, number, and…read morealphabet recognition. She has taught him a love for art and comes home with the cutest projects. Mrs. Natalee has the perfect balance of learning and play, I'm truly so grateful I found her this year!

Mrs. Natalee is the most awesome preschool teacher every. I'm so sad that my child only had her for…read moreone year, If I only know that she was going to be so great I would have had my child with her much longer. But with in this year my son has learned so much and his so beyond kindergarten ready. I love the caring and compassion she has for these children and the enthusiasm she gets this kids about learning. It is so great we all need a Mrs. Natalee in our lifes!