The Little School

We are on our third year at the Little School and truly feel like we found our perfect match. We have two kids– ages 8 and 5 now– and both of them have had such stellar experiences here. Today as we were leaving school– I had to laugh and shake my head as my 5 year old son had to stop and talk with every single adult staff member he ran into. He had a different conversation with each one– recognizing who it was and how to change the conversation based upon the person. Every single staff member knows every single kid.
He’s especially had his struggles– he’s all boy– rough and tumble– and the educators here are so incredibly skilled at figuring him out and ways to work with him and direct him properly. He’s truly blossomed under their watchful eyes!
My daughter has also had the same type of experience– although very uniquely her. She first attended a public kindergarten for a year– and that was such a rough experience– having 22+ kids in the class, with nightly homework and alot of testing done weekly. She lost her love for learning– and for her first few months at Little School– she had to learn that learning is in fact awesome– and learn to trust her educators. Learning is such a natural process here– not one day is about memorization– but its about understanding and appreciating the answers and how to get there.

Dear Fellow Parents, you should be aware that if your child has any learning difficulties or diagnoses such as ADHD, autism, SPD, OCD, etc., your child is NOT welcome at The Little School.
My child has an autism diagnosis (very mild). She is highly verbal and good natured. She is not aggressive, disruptive nor loud. She responds well but only needed some extra guidance and attention with her learning. Isn’t that why most people put their child in private school? I chose to apply to The Little School due to the low teacher student ratio. Foolishly, I disclosed her diagnosis thinking honesty is always best. But The Little School only saw the diagnosis, the scarlet «A», if you will. And they told me that she «wouldn’t be a good fit», the ultimate diss-​off. They said they didn’t have «the resources she needed». That is utter b.s. We never asked for, expected, or needed extra resources. We only wanted a small class size. They didn’t even bother to meet her.
The Little School says it’s all about «Progressive Education» and prides itself on being inclusive with a wide range of people from different backgrounds. They say they let the child develop at their own pace. Last time I checked, people with disabilities, learning difficulties and autism are a part of our community and deserve to be included in your $ 19,000+ annual tuition cost.
I write this in complete truth. It is discrimination. Shame on you The Little School. Parents beware.

My daughter had a less than positive experience in our local public school, and The Little School was recommended to me as an environment which might be more positive for a bright, musical, energetic — but at the time, very discouraged — child. I toured the superb, tree-​filled campus and knew it was the right place for her.
The teaching staff is superb, and there are enough of them that children are able to receive the individual attention that they need. The art program was a source of much pride, allowing her to explore and express herself in a multitude of media. The library is just fantastic, with a large clawfoot bathtub filled with pillows for kids to climb into and read, and a pile of books that the children have written themselves, that other children can check out — a source of much pride for budding authors.
After three years there, my daughter was accepted to her first-​choice middle school, and all the kids who graduated with her seemed to head off to other excellent schools as well. Her time there was joyous and truly built her confidence and sense of self, and she has kept the friends she made there even though they are all off at different schools now. It was a fantastic experience and one of the best parenting choices I feel I could have made for her.