The Waring School

I have been a student here for 4 years.my mental state has deteriorated severely in that time (as well as may others). the reason for this is the college level work load and lack of communication between teachers. as of this year things have gone down hill and every student has noticed. there is a new headmaster this year who frankly he has not done one beneficial thing for the school. he has shown disturbing behaviors besides utterly childish behavior such as (literaly) hiding behind trees when my father drives in with me because they got into an EMAIL argument... he has done many more disturbing things that i won't mention here, but other than this he has an utter lack of understanding of kids, and lacks the skills to be a headmaster. the teachers as well have extremely personally negative relationships with the students based on their personal attributes such as personality or style. i have been personally victimized by teachers and i no longer feel safe at this school. i will be switching schools in the fall and i've never been happier about anything in my life. this is an unsafe environment mentally and emotionally and due to the new headmaster, perhaps in other ways too.

This school is a rare find in the world of schools! I am continually impressed by what and how my child is learning and how engaged she is. The teachers encourage students to think and learn as opposed to memorize. The standards are high and students are expected to accept responsibility for their learning. Teachers, hands on activity, seminar style classes, group tutorials and upperclassmen mentors are employed to fully engage students. French language fluency is fostered and international travel is a part of the high school curriculum. All graduates go on to 4 year college or university; this is an impressive statistic on its own. The administration is available and approachable by parents and students alike. The new headmaster interacts with all the students in various ways and the school community is happy with him. My child loves school, loves the Waring school and she is going to return for another year. All of the children in her class and most of the student body are returning as well. We feel lucky to have found such a wonderfully engaging school with a proven method of educating.
—Submitted by a parent

Waring turns out graduates who are independent, thoughtful, and multi-faceted, not to mention fluent in French and comfortable with international travel! The school demands a lot from students, including not only rigorous classical academic work, but also music, and music theory, participation in sports, and in theatre. Waring asks children to perform outside their comfort zones. But it gives a lot back: the faculty nurture children in multi-age group tutorials, and support them as they try new things -- including for upperclassmen, mentoring young writers and math students, under the supervision of a faculty member. Waring asks a lot -- and in so doing, Waring produces exceptional young adults.
—Submitted by a parent

Beware of changes. The long term head of school has left and current parents are highly dissatisfied with the new administration. Parents are treated with open disdain; basic manners are a thing of the past. There is no attention whatever paid to the individual needs of the children, and children are made to feel worthless if they require any support whatever. Teachers frequently talk about how busy and over committed they are. The board seems to be turning it's back on the obvious lack of communication skills of the new administration and has not taken a single read of parent satisfaction. Tremendous pressure to conform and achieve without valuing individuality seems to lead to a very high incidence of depression. Communication recently took a frightening turn with an e-mail to parents stating that at the sole discretion of any chaperone, students at the school dance could be determined to be drunk or on drugs and sent home with further repercussions following. The memo also cited Mass laws prohibiting parents from supplying children with drugs or alcohol. $26,000 a year and I am apparently thought of as someone who is ignorant of the law and likely to give drugs to kids.
—Submitted by a parent

My husband and I are very disappointed in Waring. We relied on its past reputation as a school with a strong focus on individual creativity and the arts. Unfortunately, what we've found is a very disorganized administration, a lot of pressure on kids without support , stressed out, overworked teachers. A lot of the teachers have been kept on despite years of parental complaints, many lack teaching degrees, it is common for past students just out of college to be teaching and the inexperience shows. The music program is particularly weak in terms of the ability of the staff, the drama program is far inferior to an average public school, and my daughter had other students-- juniors-- teaching her writing classes for her first three years. The kids are often left of their own to study unattended during health class, there is no transportation support for families who live outside Beverly, the Humanities program is disproportionally skewed toward religion while basics are ignored. Nothing is coordinated in terms of events or homework, everything is last minute and the kids might have an overwhelming amount of work one day, none the next. Changing schools as are many.
—Submitted by a parent

Little known,underappreciated school. Fully competitive with the very best private schools in Boston. College matriculation is exceptional,
—Submitted by a parent

Miles River is an excellent school. We have great teachers and students here are all very good learners.
—Submitted by a student

The best school around, great for kids with a desire to become independent critical thinkers.
—Submitted by a parent

A great school. I graduated several years ago and still find myself appreciative of what I got out of Waring. The teachers are exceptionally dedicated, the coursework is rigorous, the sense of community is strong. Highly recommended.
—Submitted by a student