St. Peter's Lutheran School

What a disappointment. Unhappy to find the bare minimum of resources (and the fund-raising never ends) were re-invested in the students. Two preschool classes crammed into one room separated by a partition made for a noisy, uncomfortable environment. Expected to find a no-nonsense focus on academics. Found that socializing and fund-raising was the priority. One of our children was identified as a problem student so we sought professional academic testing. Turned out the only problem was our child was under-challenged and bored silly. Very few teachers are credentialed and way too many have, or once had, their own children at this school. They are clearly in no position to change anything. Unfortunately, the School Fellowship (PTA) and school board exist only to carry out top-down directives from the principal, a stiff-necked woman closed off to every opinion but her own. There little avenue for ground up communication, so parents have no real voice here, nothing can change or improve.
--Submitted by a parent

Positives: Fairly small class sizes. Updated campus (library and computer lab). Student body much more diverse than noted in online profiles. Negatives: Textbooks and curricula nearly identical to public school with a few *parent driven* additions implemented as homework and a little religion thrown in. Unsophisticated, unreliably skilled teachers selected mostly for their involvement in the church rather than educational accomplishments or p rofessional competence. Rigid, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching geared toward average performers. Accelerated learners not particularly challenged, struggling students promoted despite minimum mastery achieved. This is an unsophisticated, countrified school that makes a virtue of being average. Granted, their average is better than most public schools average, but that s not really saying much, is it? We were hoping for so much more emphasis on problem solving and creative thinking. The last straw was our child s teacher discussing a classmate s ADHD diagnosis as an explanation for the chaotic classroom environment. Fortunately our plans to move out of state spared us from having to switch schools.
--Submitted by a parent

Our son started in the preschool program this year. We have been so impressed with the teachers and the school that we decided to place him in the Kindergarten class next school year.
--Submitted by a parent

Our son has had an amazing year at this school! The teachers and administration are excellent and provide a very strong values-based eduation. What a blessing! We could never imagine enrolling him anywhere else.
--Submitted by a parent

We have had 4 kids at this school for the past 10 years. We have experienced every grade and each year the teachers top themselves in how they motivate, inspire, educate and love our children. This is a small school, one class per grade. The kids in every grade are friends. The principal is a no-nonsense, caring, firm woman. She leads by example and as this is a Christian School, there is a lot of love combined with high expectations for all behavior. Education of the mind is equal in importance to developing the souls of the children. Our decision to have our kids at this private school affirms itself every year as we watch independent, self-assured, well spoken 8th graders move on to be top performers at high school and college.
--Submitted by Karen White, a parent