New City School

The school really seems to have slipped, both academically and administratively, during the seven years we've been here. We are seriously thinking of leaving and regret having begun here to begin with.
--Submitted by a parent

We pulled our children out of New City School and it was the best thing we ever did. The school did not provide a challenging environment for our gifted children. Our eldest was bored. Plus, the school didn't respond when our eldest was bullied. Also, one of the teachers spoke of our child to me in a derogatory way. It was also of concern to us that there is no school nurse if there is an emergency.
--Submitted by a parent

No accountability, no follow up on bullying, weak teaching. After nearly a year of working with the alleged parent support person, a weak teacher and an indolent counselor, we left. They were more interested in redefining bullying so they and the child doing the bullying did not look bad(?!), and would only suggest ways to put the work on to us to help our child better cope with physical and verbal threats. Later spoke with a former board member and the school's recent decline is of concern to many. My advice - Stay away for a few years and see if some new and competent blood comes in before wasting time on a visit.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school, with committed teachers and is genuinely diverse. I highly recommend it to anyone living in the City of St Louis.
--Submitted by a parent

The school stressed diversity, however the choose to leave out learning disabilities as a piece of diversity, which is huge in the real world. They bragged about their learning specialist who apparently is reserved for parents who pay full tuition. My partner and I were told that they could not help our typical ADHD child, however there were students with more in depth needs that were allowed to stay because their parents paid full tuition and because they donated money to the school each year. When I talked to some of the other parents who had children like mine, I was told that I should, " kick in" some money to the annual giving and that they would take care of my child's needs. This parent was also a board member. What a waste of $$, especially since I did not get any of the tuition, I paid in advance, back after they asked my child to leave.

No accountability, no follow up on bullying, weak teachinig. After nearly a year of working with the alleged parent support person, a weak teacher and an indolent counselor, we left. They were more interested in redefining bullying so they and the child doing the bullying did not look bad(?!), and would only suggest ways to put the work on to us to help our child better cope with physical and verbal threats. Later spoke with a board member and the school's recent decline is of concern to many. My advice - Stay away for a few years and see if some new and competent blood comes in before wasting time on a visit.
--Submitted by a parent

I love and value environments where everything is not spoon fed to folks-- environments that encourage people to think an act on their own. New City School meets that standard more than any educational institutuion I've ever been involved in with the possible exception of law school! The school is grounded in excellent academics, of course but it goes so much further than that. At this school kindergardners give presentations and are taught public speaking skills! At this school Kindergardners are taught about Van Goh and Monet! My seven year old son knows about stuff that most folks who graduate from high school don't know about! Wow, this is a wonderful place. If intellectual exploration is important to you send your child to this school.
--Submitted by a parent

From the top down, New City School is a powerhouse. Both my brother and I attended from preschool through 6th grade, continued to thrive at Burroughs, and made it into top colleges & grad schools. What's more, NCS nourished my non-academic talents and fostered a love for social justice and service that has followed me into my career, first as a Teach For America corps member, and now in the non-profit world. I have read some commenters discussing "bullying," and failing to teach children to be nice to one another. I was actually quite stunned--I certainly didn't fit the "mold" of a private school kid, and always felt respected. Whenever I had a concern, I could take it to my teacher or to Tom, and it would be addressed. Great emphasis is placed on diversity and appreciation, so I would encourage you to judge for yourself!

I attended NCS for only kindergarten and first grade, back in 1992-94. I transferred to a public school in the second grade for financial reasons, and up until the 7th grade I had not learned any science I did not already learn at NCS. New City School was honestly the most important educational experience of my life, where intelligence and creativity was promoted and cherished - a value that has stuck with me for nearly 20 years now. I am currently doing a PhD at MIT, and I still drink coffee out of my New City School mug. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Looking back on all of my child's time spent in school, now that he is in high school, I can truly say that New City School was the low point in his education in all ways. We should have realized this when his teachers did not even know he could read in preschool. We pulled him out of New City School in third grade and he is now thriving at Burroughs. We would caution against falling for the hype about this school. If we could go back in time, we would have followed our instincts and left the school earlier when there was no follow through with our concerns about his boredom academically.
--Submitted by a parent