This school is amazing! My husband and his brother went here and they are the nicest people I know!…read more Amazing teachers, beautiful classrooms and inspiring child focused curriculum. When my LO grows up I hope to send her here!

HIlltop is SUCH a great school--on target, with the kindest teaching staff! This is our last year;…read morewe will miss everyone...

Excellent school with loving and caring teachers. children are often ahead of their peers…read moreacademically. Our children have been at the school for going on 5 years. The campus in breathtaking, there is an emphasis on art, nature, music, and fostering creativity. We feel supported and our children love to go to school at pre-k they already know the skeletal system. We love the teachers and can't say enough about them. I often see them working with children on big feelings. they continually train as teachers and love children. it's more than a school, it's a really great community. Reading the other review I'm wondering if they got the wrong hilltop Montessori as there are several in the country. It also seems unusual that a child that young could describe some of those situations in such detail but I wasn't part of the school until 4 years after it was written and I don't want to discount their reality.

Omg I was there in 1991! It was such an awesome time. Lifelong memories. I cannot judge about…read moretoday's classes, but being there during fall was so cool. Organized parties, Halloween, thanksgiving, Brattleboro cute town. 29 years ago.. waow

Nothing like it for graduate studies in international focus with experiential learning model…read more Foundations here propel graduates in all directions globally but the network is deep and literally changing the world. Check it out for travel education, undergrad exposure to international studies and language immersion but assuredly the graduate programs are where SIT shines.

Vermont Academy has a close-knit community of students, faculty and staff that is unique in New…read moreEngland. While the campus is far from the most fancy and up to date, it makes up for it in the caring environment for students. Students are able to pursue independent projects and teachers support students in their academic needs. The learning center is available and supportive. There are a wide range of sports available especially for a small school. Perfect place for a student seeking a small, caring environment in which to grow and be supported.

I am a graduate of Vermont Academy and a parent of a rising senior. VA had been a life altering…read moreexperience for me, but I had not planned to send my children due to the expense and wanting to keep them at home. However, my son went to VA his junior year after, thanks to Covid, spending far more time in isolation with his mother and looking at screens than any any 16 year old boy should have to. VA has been a fantastic experience for him socially, emotionally, academically, and physically. He participated in soccer, which he had never played before, and really enjoyed it. He played on the hockey team, and while he has played on southern house teams for many years, he was one of the least experienced -- and his discomfort there was probably the only negative experience. This spring he participated in climbing and really loved it. He also missed a lot of school due to the flu, mono, and a death in the family. Teachers were very supportive and, while still holding him accountable, helped him to get caught up. He recently returned home and is already looking forward to fall and all of the opportunities that the fall will bring. As a parent, I have enjoyed being involved with the VA Parent Association, and as a graduate, being involved with the very active alumni associaition.

I grew up in between NYC & southern Vermont (in South Newfane about 20 minutes from Marlboro's…read morecampus actually) so I decided I wanted to attend college in New England when the time came for me to look at colleges and universities. Ok, so, I had spent a fair amount of time on Marlboro's campus growing up: my parents (who were both CUNY Professors) had friends and colleagues who taught at Marlboro, I'd attended the Marlboro Music Festival growing up, I'd toured the campus numerous times, and had my admissions interview. I got in. I NEVER would have gone there. It's INSANELY small. Bordering on incestuously TINY. ALL the students knew each other and were up in each other's business. Brattleboro (a town I LOVE) is 20 minutes away by car, and there is literally NOTHING around Marlboro itself. I would have gone stir-crazy there. Even Bennington College was better (although not by much either), but Bennington seemed more academically credible and at least was IN the town of Bennington itself and had civilization around it. Amherst/Northampton was a BUSTLING METROPOLIS comparatively. Ergo, I chose Hampshire over Marlboro. I sometimes even found Hampshire too small and insular at 1,400+ students, so I would have found Marlboro COMPLETELY intolerable at 300. However, all that said, there were components of Marlboro's academic structure I found interesting. And the location of Marlboro is gorgeous. Vermont is gorgeous. However, Marlboro was TOO SMALL and isolated for me. Years later, a neighbor of mine in Brooklyn told me her son had gone to Marlboro and LOVED it. So, I guess it ALL depends on what you can individually put up with. I can't deal with not having culture and civilization around me, balanced out by beauty and nature and being outdoors. I need both.

here for the semester with awesome people. friendliness abounds. the place is just classic new…read moreEngland charme

Love this town!!!…read more Its an old Mill town, cute with most if the quaintness still there Perched on the water, it has many beautiful views, and a great feel Make sure to stop by the food coop for some healthy eats

December 2020: We're mid-way thru Kindergarten curriculum and I can certainly say I'm loving the…read morereview of letters, along with the activities that go along with it. My daughter is learning more with this curriculum and the work I add in than she would at any other school. Why? She gets one on one lessons. So I'm able to teach at a pace that works for her. I can push her when I need to or ease back if I have to. Working in higher education for many years, I've always been a big proponent of homeschooling. When home-schooled kids came into my office, they were extremely mature, knew exactly what courses they should take, their paths to success, clubs to join, etc. I'm curious to see how the remaining school year goes. April 2021: Okay so, at this point, there are 5 more weeks before I'm finished homeschooling and I. CAN'T. WAIT to be done. This by no means has anything to do with Oak Meadow, but my oldest is too extroverted to be homeschooled. With that said, I'm still happy that I was able to go at my own pace. Fortunately, I only took 2 weeks off from homeschooling, so to finish mid-May is pretty good. The course book pretty much lays out everything that should be completed for each subject. All that was needed was 1-2 pics of the completed work. Every 4 weeks I submitted an evaluation of some sort with additional comments written in the course book. Catie Hutchins, my daughter's.... advisor(?) offered really great suggestions in the lesson comments and was fine with me adding in additional work. My daughter is reading pretty well (thanks to The Reading Lesson) and writing (Teach Me Writing). I've also picked up some math books for 5-6 y.o. Catie would offer suggestions based on where my oldest is and not just what kids "should" be doing or learning. I also like that the last week of school wasn't as heavy with assignments cause a sistah is tied! You hear me. I would also say a good amount of the projects were a bit too much in price and work. Admittedly, I didn't know how to sew or knit before, so let's just say I really had to learn. This is definitely a homeschooling program I'd recommend... if you have the coins.

My three brothers, dad and I just finished up a week long timber framing course here at Heartwood…read more It was a pretty good experience. Pros: Michelle - She manages the business end and handles meals. She was incredibly helpful and always very pleasant. Dave - He's one of two instructors and most of what I got out of the course came from working with him one-on-one. He's super talented and all of my encounters with him were positive. I (along with most other people in the course) sought Dave out for any questions and help. The food - Michelle put together a great lunch every day. The skill set - I walked away from this week confident that I could handle basic layouts and build a structure using the skills I learned here (which is the whole point of the course). The safety - The instructors take safety very seriously and quickly react to any questionable behaviors. Cons: Class size - There were 26 people enrolled in the course including four "apprentices" which left two instructors who knew what they were doing to teach all of us. Organization - The first half day was spent sitting in a classroom watching minimally helpful overhead sheets and the second half watching demos. It would have been very easy to integrate hands on exercises on scrap wood and mix this information in over time. Barn raising - Friday was dedicated to assembling the frame we built Tuesday through Thursday. There were too many hands for too little work. Dave said you need a max of fourteen people to raise a structure like the one we built. You had to actively fight to participate. The "apprentices" - Really two of the four were actually pretty good and cared about learning. The other two seemed to cause more problems than they fixed. Ultimately I learned a lot from Dave while I was here (and Brad, another instructor who was there for one day was also great). Will was pretty impatient and not particularly helpful. The mix of people who were taking the course was about 50% carpenters (some with timber framing experience and some without) and 50% from random backgrounds (some teachers, a cobbler, some IT folk, a student, etc). Everyone was able to keep up and a carpentry background really isn't necessary. The group instruction wasn't that helpful but if you take the time to seek out knowledgable staff (or peers who have already done a piece you're working on) you can learn a lot here. It's really what you make of it. If you're looking to get a basic crash course in timber framing this is a good place to get it (despite class size and some other kinks). You can make as many mistakes as you need to (and should, this is a great way to learn) and someone will be able to show you how to correct it before you try this on your own.