St. Michael School

Awesome School! One of the best schools I have ever seen. The staff is warm and caring. The principal is active and engaged and an excellent role model. It is a shame that some people with their own agenda seek to downgrade an exceptional Catholic School.

We are new to this school since our child is in kindergarden. However, seeing the kids flock to the teacher to give her hugs at the beginning of the school day has brought more than one tear to my eye. The kids love their teacher and after talking to my son they respect her. The principle is known by all the kids and the parish priest knows all the children under their control. We, newbies, have only had a few minor problems of short term assignments but that can be excused by the love the kids have for their teacher. Both the wife and I can see the difference of the newbies and those that have had children there for years; however, all of the regulars are friendly and accomodating. The regulars are easy to accept others and offer opportunties to gain more experience as parents of the school. The schools price is just a little bit more than the public school system for full time kindergarten. My wife and I made the right choice in sending our child to this school. Personally, I enjoy each morning when the I spot the kids running up to their teacher to give her a hug. What a wonderful way to start each day.
--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