Its pretty sad how a few people end up giving Newtown a bad name. Now I have to be honest when I…read moregot into this school had the opportunity of going into on of the specialized high school but I just didn't want to make the commute everyday. I can truly say that Newtown has teachers that care. Even after graduation I have teachers that I'm still in touch with. Heck I'm always going back to the school every once in a while. Now there are teachers who obviously don't care about the students - but you find people like that everywhere. There were fights but what school doesn't. Honestly I can say in my four years there I only witnessed two fights and when I heard about fights it wasn't even an everyday thing. The one problem that the school has is the security guards. I don't know if it was just my luck but they would always make my life harder walking in the hallways - with a pass... and yet I would see people who would cut everyday and were so familiar with the guards the the guards would walk with them. If you get the right teachers (there are plenty - don't want to name any because I don't want to leave anyone out) and do what you are supposed to do Newtown is pretty good school. Newtown Class of 2011!

During my time (2000-2004) in Newtown High School, it was a very diverse, mostly immigrant…read morecommunity, and many families were struggling with economic and educational issues. Diversity is a blessing but it can also bring struggles such as misunderstanding and unequal treatment. In that environment I often felt discriminated against, unsafe, overlooked, judged and unsupported, especially as a person with a disability. During my time there, the student body was approximately 35% Asian, 50% Hispanic, 10% African American, and 5% White. Around 70% had moved to the U.S. after age 11, 80% came from less-educated families, and 70% were from low-income households. About 65% of the students' parents worked cash-paying jobs. The graduation rate was about 55% and Ivy League acceptance was around 20%. Newtown High School has not been in a good school district and did not feel like a well-resourced environment during that time, and it felt like the system became so focused on its reputation that students with disabilities were often overlooked. There seemed to be more emphasis on increasing graduation rates and Ivy League acceptance rates than on supporting students who needed help, which I find deeply wrong. It was more difficult for me, because I thought I would get support from Mrs. Chen (Guidance Counselor) and Mrs. Wang (Assistant Principal of Guidance). I thought they would understand my situation, especially because we were from the same cultural background (Chinese). Instead, I often felt dismissed, discriminated against and misunderstood, and it was painful and confusing. It made me realize that bias and lack of support can show up anywhere, even where you hope it wouldn't. Over the years, I've noticed that Asians and my Asian classmates are the same. Whenever there's a problem, they're very passive and don't speak up no matter how angry they are about the problem. They just talk about it amongst themselves. I have lived in the USA for nearly 40 years, China for 5 years, and am close to most of them and I get upset when they just accept things that they know are wrong. When I ask them why they don't ever speak up, they say they don't want to stir up trouble and they don't trust management. It actually connects to something that happened to me back in 2003 at Newtown High School. I accidentally got locked in a girls' locker room one Saturday afternoon at 1pm on a summer of 75 degrees after class . What I thought would be a quick trip turned into being stuck there for about two hours. I was shouting for help through a small open window, getting weaker, and at one point I honestly thought I might pass out. "Help! I am stuck at the girl's gym on the 5th floor!" I didn't have a cell phone and my water. Just when I was close to passing out, two students (an African American boy and a Spanish girl) heard me and immediately got security. Their quick action prevented a much worse outcome, and I've always remembered their courage and responsiveness. As the security guard was walking us to the main entrance, we ran into Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Wang right outside of the Guidance counselor's office on the 2nd Floor. I was told that this was also near where my calls for help had been heard. What struck me just as much, though, was realizing that Mrs. Chen (guidance counselor) and Mrs. Wang (Assistant Principal of Guidance) had heard me but didn't act, and later treated the situation lightly. That experience made me feel dismissed and unsafe. What's most shocking is that the next few days, I heard some Chinese students, who lived across Newtown High School, had heard me, joked about it, and wished something bad upon me. Not only they didn't bother to call for help or report it, but they ignored it and treated the whole situation lightly. Even though my enemy shouts out for help, I would call for help or report it to authorities. Moreover, Mrs. Chen, who consistently belittled me, didn't refer me to proper support and services, and discouraged me from attending college, believing that people with disabilities are incapable of completing higher education. As a person with a degree, I wouldn't recommend this high school nor would I want my child to go here based on my experience.

This is considered one of the best school in Queens. The teachers and principle are very friendly…read moreand the best about this school is the diversity of students that you see. This area is one of the most diverse place in the world.

I went to this school 10 years ago. During nap time, I vividly remember a teacher pinching me…read morebecause I couldn't sleep. Overall experience was pretty good tho.

the school is strict and the students are not allowed to go to the bathroom…read morepast lunch and the the teachers rili on the book instead of explaining it

My two daughters go to this school,very clean school,very safe,kids who go here are all very…read morerespectable,sister Kathleen the principal runs a tight ship,my kids are getting a great education there,and they met friends that they will know the rest of there lives.just want to thank sister Kathleen and the teachers there for running a great school.

My daughter has attended Magic Years since she was 3 months old, and when it came time to enroll…read moreher in UPK, the choice to keep her there was an obvious one. She'll be graduating and moving on to kindergarten next fall, and we're all so sad about it! Magic Years has been an amazing environment for her, and she's absolutely flourished. The teachers and the director are all kind and loving and so great with kids. A huge added bonus is that almost all of them speak Mandarin to the kids, so my little 4-year-old is now at least partially fluent in Mandarin with a flawless accent. They have regular Chinese lessons and celebrate Chinese holidays, which is has been a really cool cultural experience to participate in. They also have a yoga teacher, a ballet teacher, and a piano teacher come in for various enrichment classes with the kids. The piano lessons are a small incremental fee but totally worth it. The teachers take the older kids to the nearby playground when the weather's nice, and sometimes they have little field trips (to the Elmhurst library, around the neighborhood to identify plants, to the train station to learn about transportation). They've also had guest speakers come in--a firefighter came in to talk to the kids about fire safety during a section on community helpers. The education has really been top notch. My kid is only 4, and recently she came home and recited the entire water cycle (complete with 3-syllable words) to me: "Mommy, do you know about evaporation - condensation - precipitation?" Another time, during a section about light, she pronounced and defined the words transparent, translucent, and opaque, and then proceeded to walk around the apartment identifying things that were transparent, translucent, and opaque. I nearly fell over! These teachers rock. They also basically did 100% of the work of potty training, which is fantastic. The school does early drop-off (7:30 a.m.) and late pick-up (6 p.m. or later). On most of the days that UPK is not in session, the daycare part of the school is open, so I'm rarely in a childcare bind. They feed the kids breakfast (if you do early drop-off) and lunch and snack. They also have discounts for siblings! The only challenge is that there's a bit of a language barrier (some of the teachers speak better English than others), but with a bit of patience you can make yourself understood and vice versa. Absolutely add Magic Years to the consideration set of daycares/pre-K's for your child!

Lots of careless behavior - I called to ask how my daughter was doing and the woman on the phone…read moresaid "who?" My sister picked up my daughter and the person Handed her over and said "have a good day mommy". They didn't even know it was someone else. Not to mention the director called her staff unreliable. That is extremely scary, she's hiring people she knows are unreliable.

Great faith based school of excellence. Educating in grades K - 8 for over 50 years. Enrollment is…read moreabout 80 students with a staff of 7. Certified with the North America Division of SDA as well as the NYS non-public schools. Check out affordable tuition rates.

Fantastic School! Not many children and all welled behaved children. They have a uniform policy…read morethat children must follow. Button down shirts with navy pants. It truly is an extravagant school.

Could not possibly ask for a better home away from home for both of my kids (ages 3 and 7). We have…read morebeen with them for 5 years and we are so incredibly grateful to have found them. Their hours (7-630) are very rare, they are incredible educators, have a ton of activities, feed the kids multiple meals, and go until end of elementary school. All this without an ounce of pretention or any issue in all these years, just generosity and kindness. A true treasure!

I googled Little Friends to find a daycare for my 2 year old and boy am I glad that I did. The…read moreplace has been in operation for about 50 years and they have current staff members that used to be my daughters aged that also attended the school. What I enjoy about here (aside from their competitive tuition costs) are how much they build a sense of community with the families of the school. From their parent teacher conferences, to the evening activities like gingerbread house making, the really try to include families as a part of the school. I have a few friends that also send their children there and they enjoy it as well.

Changes at Resurrection Church in Rego Park. It's now officially merged with Our Lady of the…read moreAngelus under the leadership of Father Tom Petty, and the transition has brought a renewed sense of energy to the parish. The space itself has gotten a general facelift--brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming overall. What really stands out now is the music. With Steven as the new musical director and Patricia as cantor, the liturgy feels more uplifting and engaging than ever. The community is still warm and familiar, but there's a fresh spirit here that's worth experiencing. If you haven't been in a while, it's worth a visit.

Few weeks ago I obtained an email from my son's teacher that my 7 years old son would not receive…read morethe sacrament of the first communion as he missed two classes of religious education. I was extremely upset and immediately contacted the director of the religious education. Sister Xaveriana called me promptly and assured me that it was a misunderstanding that my son will receive the communion additionally she offered her help with my personal issues as I am struggling with many health problems being a single mom with two children. Sister Xaveriana is amazing, true person that follows Jesus teachings- she makes sure that children learn and also takes care of those in need.

This is the most wonderful school I could have ever hoped to find for my child. The wonderful,…read morenurturing environment has helped my daughter to thrive and I couldn't be happier with my choice of school.

We couldn't be more thrilled with our son's experiences at Kew-Forest. Coming from the overcrowded…read moreNYC public school system, it's great for him to be in an environment which looks at each student as an individual and caters to their specific learning needs and learning styles. This is all due to an incredible mission statement, visionary leadership, the great student/teacher ratio (small classroom sizes), curriculum, and their amazing faculty.