Westchester Fairfield Hebrew Academy

Our kids have had a wonderful educational experience at the school. Our son had some learning challenges, which the school identified and corrected with a well-conceived plan. Our daughter loves the school, particularly Hebrew classes, and at age 9, her accent and fluency are amazing. I have found the teachers to be well-trained and amazingly caring. Thank you for such a good experience for our kids.
--Submitted by a parent

We took our children out last year and put them in Schechter in White Plains. Best parenting decision that we ever made. I agree with the last poster that one of the biggest problems with this school is the administration's refusal to listen to suggestions and the attitude that anyone who disagrees is bad mouthing the school. We had also been told not to say anything critical about the school. The place is like a cult and the community building is limited to the individuals who follow the party line. They desparately need a new administration.
--Submitted by a parent

Now Carmel Academy, the school does not live up to its mission for children who fall in the middle of the bell curve. Although they recognized my daughter's issues, the procedures put in place to work with her were the polar opposite of what they should have been. The head of school was insulted when I suggested the wrong tack had been followed. We are changing to another school next year. I have literally been told not to "bad mouth" the school. And for a school that prides itself on community building - I am treated as a leper when I go on campus with teachers turning their backs on me. So now I have no problem with stating that they are in need of a great number of changes to be a top rated school.
--Submitted by a parent

Disappointing. Our hopes and expectations for your kids education were, generally, not met at WFHA. While the lower school education is competent, and runs smoothly, the upper school was a major disappointment. With a couple of notable exceptions, the teachers were incompetent, and correspondingly, there is a high turnover rate. For whatever reason, there is a consistent failure to attract and retain quality teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

Our daughter was one of the only nine students who graduated last year. Overall, we were happy with the school while she was there. She brought home very good grade and was considered a strong student. Unfortunately, over the last couple of months we had to spend a lot of time and money on tutoring in order for her to catch up. It was clear from the first day of this school year that academically she was very deficient and was not prepared for high school.
--Submitted by a parent

Look if you are interested in WFHA, come see it for yourself. If you want to speak with parents at the school to learn about what they like best, just ask. If you want to talk to a teacher to hear about their experience, just ask. If you want names of families who left the school to find out why they did, just ask. WFHA has been nothing but open and honest and living up to the values it teaches.
--Submitted by a parent

The midot (good- values) that WFHA teaches is second to none. Kol Yisrael Aravim zeh ba zeh (all Jews are responsible for each other) is lived and breathed here. Every minute is a teaching point for students and parents to understand the importance of accepting all people, not just those that are like them. In this day and age where bullying is on the rise, terrorism continues to haunt the world, this is something I am so happy WFHA is taking so seriously. In addition, the school has a rigorous academic education where students are consistently being accepted into Hopkins gifted program, the school has won E2K and continues to be invited to academic competitions. WFHA was the ONLY day school in the region to view Race to Nowhere with a Q/A with the director following! Amazing school!!!
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children at this school and couldn't be happier. My children are as different as night and day and both have had their academic and social needs met in different ways. The teachers love their students and love what they are doing. The administration works hard to ensure we have the best curriculum, best teachers, and low teacher-student ratios. We feel blessed to have found this school.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a school where there are no incident reports, so if or when your child is injured, it is dismissed as child's play. Some children have suffered serious physical injuries. Academically, it was a mixed bag, but bizarre behavior was tolerated, such as teachers who routinely gave out candy, and overtly picked class pets. Standardized tests were given, but the results never reviewed. Class trips were cancelled beccause they forgot to send out permission slips. The list goes on. Too bad, this was a school that was started with high hopes. Running into other former parents in the grocery store is like being part of a recovering addicts program.
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children in the lower school. We have been with the school for 4 years. Overall, we are very happy. There have been teachers that were not up to par, and the school did not waste time "cleaning house". My children are VERY different and both have had their needs met - both academically and behaviorally. I have seen a change in the curriculum from year to year. This shows me that the administration has been responsive to parents feedback. We are not wed to a jewish dayschool education and have many excellent options where we live -both public and private. Education is a first priority for our family, and we choose to stick with WFHA.
--Submitted by a parent