St. Michael School

St. Michael's is both good and bad. Great in academic and religious preparation. Bad in allowing children to simply be children as there is very little play time during and after school (due to amount of homework). The interactions with parents are striated and some would say segregated. Well to do (and known) families are the focus while the average family is left in the background. Like St. Michael's parish, the focus is on funds, not families.
—Submitted by a parent

Parents are never heard at Saint Michael. Our opinions and thoughts on important matters mean nothing to them. How we, as parents feel about the negative situations and unfairness that go on is never considered. The over all attitude is, "Oh well, because we don't care, and you and your child are just going to have to deal with it!" They definitely know well the meaning of a "power trip" and they are experts at displaying it. They are surely not "A family of families" as they proudly claim to be. Speaking of families, don't expect to spend any quality time with your kids after they had a long, busy day at school. They will be to overloaded with ridiculous amounts of homework. You'd think that a Catholic school would understand the importance of family time! If your child has special needs or just needs a little extra support, look elsewhere because they will look down on him/her like they are nothing more that an inconvenience. Your child (and you) will just be harassed. Again, it's really sad for what is supposed to be a Catholic school. This ridiculous behavior by the staff is unacceptable. The high tuition price isn't worth it. To bad though, because they absolutely don't care.
—Submitted by a parent

My wife and I are amazed at this school. We have a first and kindergarten student in place and they are both earning religion and requirements of upper education. Tuition is a little high but worth it. The quality of educators staff at this school is worth the price. For more of the point...I have see Catholic teachings reach my first grader, and kindergarten child, more this year than last. We have a Catholic Parish that is strong on Catholic beliefs...this year the school seems to value the beliefs.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has definitely slipped from it's glory days. There are too many individuals and not enough community. There seems to be an almost endless priority on money, fundraising, fees, and I'm not sure all of it even goes to the school. I think some school support actually goes to the parish. Anyway, the teachers are a mixed bag. Some are very dedicated and caring while others seem to be there just to collect a paycheck. Many of the parents are involved in a wide variety of activities but it almost seems like their is different levels of parents and how we are respected, recieved, communicated to at times. Really there are a few excellent indivdiuals or programs here and there but as a whole we think this school is average. With somewhere around 10+ private school options in this area it's getting harder and harder to justify the tuition at St. Mike's. I hope things can get turned around where they need to be and St. Mike's gets back to it's faith and community roots.
—Submitted by a parent

Currently have two children attending this school and am contemplating pulling both of them out due to many things: no school counselor, bullying (non-physical) being addressed in a passive-agressive way instead of dealing with the offending children/families/teachers directly, unprofessional relationships with administration/teachers and parents creating an unapproachable environment, discovery that auction proceeds do NOT go entirely to the school, but rather are supporting the church and nothing mentioned about this in donation paperwork, children are forced to spend rainy day recess in their classrooms doing non-active tasks rather than getting exercise and letting them unwind by running outside (covered outdoor play area desperatly needed or indoor gym access should be allowed during those times), and much more. We keep our children in the school at this point for the religious education, but are seriously condsidering pulling them out to go to public school if things do not impove soon. Sad that the principal does not address the many serious issues at the school and panders to those that have the most money.
—Submitted by a parent

It is more prep school than Catholic School, in that most of the teachers and Principal accept the values of the parents rather than stand for anything more: for example, favoratism based on affluence/volunteer time of parents.Complacency is a big problem. Resting on your reputation leads to mediocrity.
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers are caring and competent at this school, but in our experience they don't offer much individualized instruction for the advanced student. Class sizes of 30+ students make this close to impossible, so I can't really blame the teachers for this. As stated by others, the main focus of the principal seems to be how much money each family can provide. There are a lot of cliques and social bullying going on here that seem to be accepted by staff if the tormentors belong to families who bring in a lot of money or whose parents are able to commit a lot of volunteer hours. Science and math are slightly below public school level. Other subjects seem to be on par with public school level.
—Submitted by a parent

Although the education is good, this school is only concerned with how much more money you can provide, and with what the students are forced to do without due to 'the economic downturn', such as no longer giving the children apple juice and animal crackers during standardized testing, and no longer participating in the Kris Kringles at Christmas which the kids loved! The school sending home a letter last year about how much money (or lack thereof) paid to the parish was outrageous as well!
—Submitted by a parent

ST Mike's has a dedicated staff but the loss of the schools counselor (funding) really has lead to an overall drop in the christian atmosphere of the school. The teachers are tops but the leadership is not willing to deal with the more difficult problems.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great catholic school. Parents are very involved and the teachers welcome you into the classroom. The principal is visble and involved. Relgion is not just a subject to be learned but incorporated throughout everyday all year long. The class sizes are large but the teachers and staff deal with it very well.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has really gone downhill in the past two years. The emphasis has gone from quality education in a caring environment to 'How much money can we bring in?' Wealthy families are pandered to, and discipline issues with their children are overlooked. Academics are strong, teachers are caring and committed, but this wasn't enough. Class sizes are also ridiculously large for a private school.
—Submitted by a parent

For the most part, we have been very happy with this school. The parent involvement and sense of unity is terrific. Academically, the school is wonderful for an average to slightly above average student. It doesn't offer much to challenge the advanced student, or to help the struggling ones. Language arts, math and music are strong while science, art and foreign language are weak. It also seems to be very slightly lacking in the area of discipline. There are behaviors tolerated in the primary grades that I wouldn't expect to see in a private parochial school. Overall, though, the teachers and learning environment are wonderful and we are very happy with the school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have three children enrolled in the primary grades and have had nothing but a positve experinece. The teachers show large amounts of concern not only for the child's learning experience but also for the child's well being. Parent involvment is very high and very positive. Academics are good but more pronounced in reading and writing than in math and science. This is a wonderful school.
—Submitted by a parent

Our family has really enjoyed our learning experience at St. Michaels. Not only has my son received a sound academic start, but more importantly he has grown spiritually. The teachers are caring and inspiring. Parent involvement is high with the school motto reading, 'A family of families.' I could not agree more.
—Submitted by a parent