Iona Grammar School

This private school has a part-time headmaster. The interim headmaster that was placed in September 2011 after the former one abruptly left in June, is only on the premises less than 3 days/ week. The lack of solid leadership is reflected in the school's inability to offer a high quality education. Research this school thoroughly before you sign anything. You may find, as we did, that you are not getting what you paid for.
--Submitted by a parent

My son transferred in last year from a local catholic school. The teachers are great, the boys are really nice (no bullying tolerated), the extra curricular programs (i.e. sports teams, chess team, debate, etc) are really good. No parents coach, the that particular bias is eliminated. The class size was 11, as compared to 30 at his old school. All in all, we paid double the previous school's price and really feel we got our money's worth!
--Submitted by a parent

I am an Alumini and had one boy graduate and still have a son there. The school continues in the tradition of the Christian Brothers and does an outstanding job of getting the boys ready for the high school level. I am glad we sent our boys to IGS. The school spirit and community atmosphere is awesome. The school continues to thrive as it did 35 years ago. It is a great place to learn Catholic values, be competitive, excell in education and sports. The parents clubs are truly wonderful and new boys that come in feel like they have been there since the begining. Iona Grammar School is truly a great school for you to consider if you have a son in K-8.
--Submitted by a parent

Pressure? Very little to none! School hours are from 8 am to 2:30 pm. After school is an additional cost of $25 per day. Fathers and mothers clubs are VERY active in fundraising activities. Very high parental involvement. School does not appear to concentrate on the latest and the greatest in academic methodologies. There are unutlized smartboards. Socializing aspect of the School is exceptional. Boys look forward to going to school each day. Materialism is non-existent at the lower grades. Overall community tends to look to Religious Schools (Fordham and Iona Prep) as the next step. It appears that most parents are content with the academic structure and average nature of the program. Overachievers must supplement education with home academic workload to be on par with other independent schools. Selectivity ratio is extremely high. it does not appear that anyone is rejected which creates a challenging environment for the teachers with kids that are below and above the mean. As a result, teachers teach at the mean. Program is far from being rigorous. Satisfactory program. Great value.
--Submitted by a parent

this school is great for sports oriented boys up till 3rd grade. after that it is very challenging environment for any kids that are not super sports centric. Leadership is lacking in connection with parents, but the parent networking is great.
--Submitted by a parent

The rating for this school may seem satisfactory, but in truth it is not. The rating is only at 4 stars because of parents who do not know what a very good school is truly like. These parents probably came from similar Catholic school environments and so Iona seems like a good school. Iona does not teach its students to go beyond their limits, only to be satisfied with mediocrity. In truth, parents who know and have experienced top-notch schools (like Hackley, Horace Mann, Riverdale, Regis, et al.) understand that Iona does not prepare its students for the challenges in life and so send their children elsewhere.
--Submitted by a parent

As many of the other reviews stated it is not for middle of the road student, even if you son needs a little help with anything the teachers depart at 3:00 pm daily so there is NO help. If your son loves sports and has his heart set on playing again this is not the school for your son. Often times boys who make the team do NOT play, they watch. If you expect this school to teach your son to be responsible this is not the school.... In other words if your son is GREAT at sports and you can donate a lot of money and he does not need any assistance then perhaps this would be a great school for your grammar school boy.

not a good school for mid range or average students. It is not set up to offer extra help.
--Submitted by a parent

I have two boys currently at the school and we are very pleased.
--Submitted by a parent

An excellent quality catholic education. A caring faculty that is committed to the overall mental and spiritual development of its students.
--Submitted by a teacher