Mustard Seed School

imaginative, creative, strikes me as the best way to learn--and such a great atmosphere--if I had children I'd send them here. I loved it!

While I am not a parent at the school (I don't have any children), I am a community member who is a supporter and fan of the Mustard Seed School program. After having been introduced to MSS years ago, I continue to be amazed by this school's unique, innovative, and rich approach to education. The school has found a way to incorporate into their daily routines a wide variety of learning experiences, such as establishing an "I Love Math Day," offering children choice and freedom as they work on their art projects, giving a book to each child on their birthday, matching younger and older students for mutual learning and mentoring, and providing worship times that highlight a variety of faith traditions. Community is fostered amongst children of diverse backgrounds which enhances their shared learning. I appreciate that financial scholarships are provided to fifty percent of the student body, enabling all families the opportunity to participate in this outstanding educational experience.

This school is a small school that seems to be run like a club for kids of board members and faculty. If you are not a part of this exclusive club, as we found out, your child will not be treated equally. The academic standards are quite low, and extra curricular activities are minimal. There are very few reasons to send your child to this school, unless you are offered some kind of financial aid.
--Submitted by a parent

I have three kids spread out across the different programs at MSS. The school has a very challenging curriculum and places every year their students in the best high schools in the area. Moreover, the learning takes place in a broad multidisciplinary setting, providing the kids with the ability not only to learn the material, but to constantly find it in different areas. Equally important to me, the school community instills in my kids the kind of values we teach them at home, helping in a significant way to turn them into happy, responsible, hard-working, curious kids, that are confident to shape the world around them. All good schools are able to make good students learn math. Only great schools makes them resourceful in the way they approach these and other problems they will face in life. It is great to see how my kid on 6th grade perseveres over hard math problems this work ethics will be invaluable in his future. I strongly recommend MSS for families looking for a great school and community.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of three Mustard Seed alumni.They are three very different children and each received an excellent education,suited to individual style and needs. They all reported feeling very well prepared for competitive high school work. I think that in addition to a good academic program, they benefited from emphasis on time management, management of materials and study skills. In addition, they experienced a loving diverse community and couldn't imagine life being any other way.
--Submitted by a parent

My husband and I are Mustard Seed School parents. Our daughter is an alum currently attending a most selective college; our son is in the 6th grade. Our daughter was accepted at each of the 6 High Schools she applied to which included the area s best private and public magnet schools. We chose MSS because of its academic excellence and its ability to prepare children for the rigors of a college preparatory High School. Here we found a curriculum that challenged our children with both conventional and innovative programs including its award winning shared-space in the lower school and its Student Exhibitions in the Junior High. As important to us as academics however, and what I believe distinguishes MSS from other area schools, is what it teaches children about character. The school views each student as having inherent value and they are treated as such and soon grow to see
--Submitted by a parent

I m a parent and all three of my children went to Mustard Seed from K through 8th grade. All three were accepted into highly regarded Manhattan independent high schools. All three have been accepted at top 20 research universities for their college studies focusing on mathematics, statistics, engineering or economics. Any claim that the school is somehow inadequate in math and science education does not ring true when I look at my children. There is more to Mustard Seed than the academics, though. They really work on developing the child as a complete person socially, emotionally and religiously. I can very honestly say that I found it very comforting to know that the values I tried to teach my children at home (hard work, discipline, courtesy, inquisitiveness, etc.) were supported by the School.
--Submitted by a parent

I attended the school from K-8th grade and have been impressed at how the school has grown since I went there. I follow the success of the students each year and see that they are regularly accepted into the top high schools in the area including St. Peter's Prep and McNair in Jersey City, and dozens of fantastic schools in NYC. Mustard Seed alum have or are attending top universites including Harvard, Boston College, Rice, Brown etc... I personally know of alum who are educators, researchers, artists, business owners and members of our military. Each of them would say that Mustard Seed directly impacted their sucess today. The teachers care about the personal development of each child and do a wonderful job creating the leaders that our world will need in the upcoming years.

My daughter attended MSS from 1st-8th grade. The school taught her to be a discipled scholar, a community leader, and to be a compassionate person who can articulate her faith. The arts and music rounded out her experience. Every teacher knew her by name (and they knew me as well!). She was loved and challenged by a team of nurturing, well qualified teachers who make huge sacrifices to work at a school they love. She went on to High Tech High School and just graduated after 4 years on an academic scholarship from Drew University! Thank you Mustard Seed School for the many ways you built this foundation for my child!
--Submitted by a parent

This school has a very high student turnover rate. This year in fourth grade alone over 25% of the students are leaving, with a majoriy of them switching to other local schools such as St. Francis or Hudson. I would have to agree with some of the other parents' comments that the academic standards at this school are just not at par with others in the area. This is the main reason we made the difficult decision of pulling our child out of this school.
--Submitted by a parent