I've had 2 children here since prek (now in 6th & 9th) and I can't imagine what life would be…read morewithout cda. The education is top notch. The teachers and staff genuinely love the students. We are so blessed to take part in this community.

The varsity coach of the girls volleyball team seams a bit shady.. she told the referee she had an…read more"important" dinner to go to so the referee made the game real quick with being bias and calling all penalties against the other team. In the rules of volleyball you cannot touch the net or go under the net. A player on CDA went under the net completely onto the other side of the court and this could have been a huge danger to the other team. She is lucky that she didn't hurt herself or anyone on the other team. This school is teaching UNSAFE sportsmanship and it needs to be shared.

This school is now deleting bad google reviews... what does that tell you? over 20 families have…read moreleft this year.. The administration is unprofessional, unresponsive, and does not practice what they preach. Administration has driven away many families and staff members. They consistently avoids parents, rarely returns phone calls or emails, and has created an environment where parents are shut out completely. You are not allowed to communicate with teachers directly, not even by email, unless you go through administration. Parents are not allowed into the building, and there are no classroom events or volunteer opportunities. It is clear they do not want parent involvement at all. At one point, it took more than two weeks and multiple attempts before anyone from administration responded to a simple email. Even teachers admitted that communication from leadership is severely lacking. What is most frustrating is the double standard. Students are held to impossibly high expectations and harshly punished for simple mistakes, yet staff and administration are not held accountable for their own failures. The hypocrisy is staggering. As paying customers, parents should be treated with respect and provided with timely, professional communication. Instead, families are ignored and dismissed. Over 20 families left this year alone, which should speak volumes. The owner chooses to look the other way rather than acknowledge these ongoing problems. It is truly unfortunate, because there are a few very sweet and caring teachers at this school, but they too are being driven away. This school is failing its students, families, and staff. Do not waste your time or money here. Now that we have left and experienced other private schools, I felt compelled to share just how unsettling our experience was in hopes of saving other parents from the same frustration.

The wrost school I saw until now after joining my kid. I am just continuing only to finish his…read moreacademic year many incidents happened in this school this year 2023-2024, teachers use bad words up on kids (4yo) especially one of the teacher I specifically wanted to mention her in this because she said "Get out" to my kid (4yo) in d play ground infront of all his friends, not only this in one academic year they changed 4 teachers for preK , poor management they just shout yell at parents no responsibility No care No love No safety to kids even though paying 1500$ per year again we have to send to tuitions and teach kids they learn nothing from this school mainly independence campus

Great school, a 3x Winner of the Blue Ribbon Award. All four of my kids graduated from St Mark's…read moreCatholic School, Plano, TX and all did well at the next level.

it's funny how they call it a "catholic school" when their morals stray far from that. starting…read moreoff, the students. elementary school was okay, in my opinion. the yearly field trips were exciting, and engaging. the curriculum was enriching, and the faculty were great. I enjoyed it, and felt welcomed. In the next few years were vastly different, however. in middle schools he kids dont have a filter. they'll start to insult you more. and more. going from small things to your deep insecurities. then they'll say a dumb insult, then they'll pull those secrets out in front of everyone and ridicule you for doing things like that. Then others would jump on that bandwagon and insult you for it, so it doesn't happen to them. it's like psychological bullying, but they're inherently doing it to themselves. i graduated eventually, as we all do, and it felt like taking a breath of fresh air. it was suffocating, you had to walk on eggshells to make sure you don't get publicly humiliated. it destroyed my self-esteem, trust, etc. It was and still is a genuinely horrible experience and something i would never wish upon anybody. it wasn't like the teachers were much better here anyway. the punishment system was so incredibly flawed that i feel like my left nut could do a better job. More times than not, the students who have spent more money on this school would be let off scott free, while relatively small issues would be blown out of proportion. not to mention the blatant favoritism within the school. They often swept things under the rug, and would shrug off serious claims (potential racists, nazis, etc). They could see a kid be ridiculed infront of them, and i wouldn't be surprised if they joined in. During the time I attended there, the state of the kitchen was somewhat satisfactory. The food and drinks was often raw or expired, and on good days, stale. Obviously, these are all my own experiences, and your child's own can vary vastly than mine. this is in no way to defame or tarnish the schools reputation in a vast way. i must admit that i have had some amazing experiences that i would not trade for the world, and maybe this is a recurring theme in all middle schools, but nonetheless, i advise you to avoid this school if possible. most stmcs alumni would tell you the same. Anonymous, class of 2019. (TLDR; the school sucked for me and many others) [via Google review that I had also posted]

Both of my children have been studying here for over a year. The teachers are very professional…read more The Montessori teaching method has cultivated in them the good habits of independence, thinking and learning from a young age.

My daughter is 7 months old, and although at first I was afraid to leave her, I am very happy to…read morehave made the right decision. All teachers are highly professional, educated and with the necessary safety standards for our children. My daughter is very happy, and has learned a lot in a very short time, the human quality characterizes this school so without a doubt I recommend it 100%..

My one year old has been attending one of the school's franchised locations. We are an…read moreEnglish-speaking household, and I drive a considerable distance for my child to attend immersion school with hopes that she will someday achieve fluency. We've been impressed with the success our one year old has already had in the Spanish immersion program. After attending approximately 16 sessions over a two month period, we noticed she requests more food by saying "más," says "azul," and can identify body parts when asked in Spanish. We already feel confident that we are making a good investment in our child's education. And, of course, she seems to really enjoy it, too.

Love this school. The diversity of skillsets can be trying but my children have done fabulously.read more

Everything you need to know about the school: the school has ongoing difficulties hiring qualified…read moreteachers, which is a critical concern. The math teacher and the IB coordinator resigned last March, and as of December, no permanent replacements have been appointed. The teacher currently covering these responsibilities reportedly has no prior IB experience. Assigning teachers without confirmed IB background to senior-level classes raises serious concerns about the quality and continuity of instruction. The chemistry teacher taught online for half a year because the school was unable to secure a visa. Another teacher was hired in the middle of the year; however, the school has not provided any information regarding her IB experience or certification. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for parents to assess whether IB standards are being met. The school's salary and benefits package appears to be uncompetitive within the local market, which may explain the hiring challenges. At the same time, the school continues to allocate funds to cosmetic updates such as repainting facilities and redesigning the website through third-party contractors. This raises reasonable questions about budget priorities. Overall, student academic outcomes do not appear to be the school's primary focus. Additionally, it is publicly known that the director's wife works in UX design; beyond this, the rationale for the recent urgency to redesign the school's website remains unclear.

Imagine, just for a second, that you live in a different world…read more In this world, when you are traveling in France or Canadá, your child can have a conversation with adults or other kids in French with such a pure Parisian accent that no local would ever suspect that he/she did not grew up in France. Imagine a world where in highschool the honors class is the entire highschool, 9th graders present the College Board "AP French" exam and every single 9th grader gets a solid 5 (max AP grade). Imagine a place where AP courses and IB (International Baccalaureate) or FB (French Baccalaureate) diplomas are not mutually exclusive and, 1370 SAT and 30 ACT scores are the average. Sounds like a familiar place? If it does not then you should consider DIS for your kids.

My daughter went to TCA and ran cross country. She started her first period during a race and it…read moreleaked badly through her shorts. She stopped running and went to her TCA coach to tell her and was given no empathy. At all. In fact, she made her finish the race. The next day my daughter got in trouble for stopping the race at school!

The absolute best staff, the most welcoming and warm families. I can't not say enough about the…read moreexperience my family has had at TCA! I'd give them 10if I could!

I am a Texas Certified Math (8-12) and Technology Applications (EC-12) Teacher and have been…read moreteaching Math in the North Dallas Area since 2001. I have taught in Private Schools to Public Charter Schools. I have taught small classes to up to 30+-40 students. I have taught at 6 different schools and all grade levels from 4th Grade to 12th Grade (Precalculus, Statistics, Math Reasoning, Math Models with Applications). I was also a former Adjunct Part Time College Professor at Collin College teaching a computer class for four years. I started teaching at Bridge Builder Academy (BBA) in Richardson, Texas in January 2022. BBA is uniquely different in that students are taught one on one with their teachers. They get 100% of their teacher's time, and focus during each one-hour lesson. Students are constantly working because there is no time to be distracted by other students, goofing off on their phones, tablets, laptops, etc. They can't just "hide" in a large classroom and get lost in the material, or be afraid to ask for help, etc. Most schools would have forced me to use a set of curricula but each BBA individual's curriculum is designed according to what is best for the student to become successful based on their unique individual learning needs, styles, etc. I was approached by parents of students I taught at BBA's Graduation in May 2022 and they were thanking me for putting in the time to know their students, working with them, and helping them to do better in math. One student hated math, but the parents told me that in my 5 short months that they learned to appreciate it and like it. Another parent thanked me for her getting her son more than well-prepared for the upcoming school year. BBA offers parents and students a chance to have teachers work directly with their students in an individual one on one relationship. I have the freedom to be able to adjust individual learning. Yes, our tuition might be higher than other Private Schools. Make sure when you compare schools you look at how big the classes are. How can your child get the individualized attention and learning in a 45 minute or 1 hour class with 10, 20 or 30 other students? Are your teachers certified by TEA in the State of Texas? Are your teachers certified in Special Education or have worked with Special Education Students in the past? Will your student get one-on-one support? Will the curriculum be developed for your child's unique skills or learning styles to be successful in life? How will it change from the other students in the class? Are your child's Principals (or in the case of Private Schools and Charter Schools or Directors) have recent certification in the classroom as a Teacher and/or Administrator? Are all of the School's Classes taught by a certified teacher or just a long term substitute who may or may not having any teaching credentials? Is your student going to get the attention they need in your school or are they just a number in the classroom? In my 22+ years of teaching at multiple schools, I have had Principals with no certification and no teaching experience. BBA was recently (2023) awarded a 1st Place GOLD MEDAL in the Dallas Morning News' People's Choice Awards for the BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL in the DFW Area! This is the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW (We also won for 2022). Some schools talk about STEM, but have your students ever participated in a NASA Sponsored Contest? During the 2021-2022 school year, students from Bridge Builder Academy participated in the NASA Hunch program. Led by Mr. Michael Hays (BBA Teacher of the Year 21-22) students designed a prototype moon shoe "Lunar Loafers". They presented their original design during an event in November 2021 where NASA scientists evaluated their ideas and presentation. At this event, it was suggested that they pursue a patent for their product. Our students were selected to participate in the "Innovation Day" event in April 2022 at the Johnson Space Center. At this final event for the school year, they were awarded 3rd place in addition to winning a National Award for Design and Prototype. BBA has recently been selected by the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) to be a 2022-2023 School of Excellence! BBA was the ONLY school in Richardson and Plano, 1 of 4 in the DFW area, 1 of 7 in the State of Texas, and just 1 of 123 in the entire United States! We are honored to receive this recognition! In 2019, Teresa A. Bronsky, Head of the School, was named a Member of the Continuing Advisory Committee for Special Education. With this appointment, she was able to help formulate the direction that Special Education would take in the state of Texas for the foreseeable future. In July, 2023, Two Teachers from BBA were selected and worked on Proclamation 2024 in Austin, TX to review and provide input for proposed new State Approved TEA Curriculum for Schools for Technology Applications and Personal Finance.

My oldest son has been going to Bridge builder academy for almost 3 years now, and it has been…read moreabsolutely amazing! The amount of growth in his mentality, confidence and especially his education has been phenomenal! Im truly beyond grateful for finding this school! All the staff have been incredible and we definitely consider them family! I highly recommend this school! You will not be disappointed thats for sure

This is a well run business. They really care about the children, and you can tell the owner has…read moredecades of experience in child care. The staff are incredibly kind, and the kids always seem happy. What I liked most about the property is there isn't an abundance of technology around ... the kids are just being kids, and there is lots of socializing and face to face interaction.

Willow Bend Learning Center offers a clean, structured environment, and many families appreciate…read morethe organization and classroom setup. Policies are clearly defined and strictly followed, which works well for some families. Parents may benefit from asking detailed questions to ensure the center aligns with their expectations and communication style. Over all it was a great learning experience.