Manzano Day School

I spent the first couple months my daughter went here looking for some reason to yank her out and NOT pay for her education. I couldn't find even one tiny reason not to send her here. It is a wonderful place. She thrives. We pay, but really what investment is more important?
--Submitted by a parent

Our son was at Manzano Day School last year for kindergarten and we had a wonderful experience there. We had to move this summer out of state. When we were searching for a new school in the spring, we truly realized how special MDS is. The program is not for all children but our son thrived in the structured environment and traditional education model. He absorbed so much from the enriched learning activities. We felt like the curriculum was well thought out, not only for his year but year to year. Our son loved sharing his new knowledge from school and we loved seeing the joy he had teaching us new facts. He was excited about learning and that was really important to us. His teachers were kind, smart and professional and our family had a wonderful working relationship with them. There seemed to be the right balance of traditional academics, electives and recess. MDS is expensive and that limits the families that can go there. We were pleasantly surprised at how fun and down to earth most of the families were.
--Submitted by a parent

Just to clarify, my review today listed me as a teacher, but I am a PARENT of children attending MDS.
--Submitted by a parent

First of all, let me say that if your child doesn't or hasn't attended Manzano Day School, you cannot accurately and honestly rate the school. There is no such thing as a perfect school, and MDS may not the right school for every child, but it is the right fit for our family. When my kids were little, I heard great things about the school, but I took it upon myself to look into public, private and Christian schools that were within 10 miles of our house. I didn't want to like Manzano, but I was blown away at the open house. Fourth graders were showing us around the school, and were so respectful and articulate. I didn't want to have to pay for private school tuition for my kids, but when you see the beautiful campus and all the resources the school has to offer (including the teachers of course), you have no doubt where the money goes. Yes, there are some "wealthy" families that go to this school, but there are also 2 parents working families that rely on financial aid to help them pay for school. It's the diversity among the families of this school that help make it so great. We value a well-rounded education while providing a nurturing, safe environment for our kids.
--Submitted by a teacher

I would never send my child to this school. First, the place is completely gated, and gives the impression of a prison. Second, the woman at the reception desk was extremely rude to me, commenting negatively on my dress (which was modest, but not "dressy") when I was simply inquiring whether there were any open positions I could apply for in the future. Obviously this school is elitist and judges people interested in the school on their appearance. I'm sure the children hate her, too.

There are no perfect schools, not even close to perfect schools in Albq, and Manzano is just another (more expensive) one. They do integrate the arts better than most schools, which is nice. Having required chorus is a real bonus for singers. However, the top students are competitive (rather, their families are, which trickles down to the children); many kids get outside tutoring in math to try to stay in the top; and the writing program doesn't emphasize enough grammar, punctuation or spelling. But, it's a good school for a certain type of social community. The campus is also beautiful.
--Submitted by a parent

My child just finished preKindergarten year and we are impressed beyond our expectations. Our daughter loved every day. By the end of the year she had acquired skilled in reading, Spanish, and computer. I had tried previously to get her interested in Spanish to no avail. But somehow at Manzano she was inspired to learn Spanish better than I did in high school. She now corrects my pronunciation! Also my child tends to be shy and not expressive. Her class had "Show and Tell" every week. When her day arrived each week she was too shy to "present" something to her class, yet her teacher never pressured her. Finally after a few fun poster projects, she actually got up in front of the class and talked about her topic. She progressed further than I imagined, and in a fun, nurturing environment. She loves manzano and so do we!!
--Submitted by a parent

i have essentially nothing positive to say about my child's experiences at manzano day school except that he made some good friends. my son was there for three years; he left to attend a public school and was truly unprepared for his grade level. it has taken him months to catch up, but he has caught up (finally) and is even excelling. manzano is well below average for teaching the writing skills; their math program is terrible. the kicker is that we paid an outrageous amount of money to manzano, assuming that they were at least teaching him something, but apparently not. in my opinion pretty much every other private school in albuquerque is a better place to send your kids. by the way, i read through the other reviews and suspect that people affiliated with the school or the board are padding them--blocks of reviews left on the same day?
--Submitted by a parent

When we moved to Albuquerque, we looked at many of the private schools as well as our local public options in the Northeast Heights. Manzano Day School was by far the best choice. After 5 years at the school our opinion has only grown stronger. The school's philosphy is to educate the whole child, not only excellence in academics, but also instilling the respect, responsibility and integrity expected in a person of good character. Their ability to deliver on this philosphy is evident when you interact with any MDS student. We wholeheartedly recommend this school as a great investment in your child's future.
--Submitted by a parent

This is the fourth year my son has attended Manzano Day School and he is very happy. I, also, am very pleased with the school and its numerous and varied attributes. The teachers have all been excellent, as well as the support staff, and administration. The sense of a community and caring demonstrated by all of its faculty and parents is truly unique and special. I think it is a great privilege to be part of such a wonderful and positive grade school. This is a private school and the tuition is not inexpensive, however, I believe it is a good investment. I recommend this school, with no reservations, to anyone interested in finding 'the best' grade school in the state of New Mexico.
--Submitted by a parent