St Matthew’s Episcopal Day School

Our family has been a member of the St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School community for five years, and we couldn’t be happier. The education is outstanding due to the small class size, outstanding faculty, and superior resources. The school is led by an incredible administration, which is responsive and interactive with both parents and children alike.
The children are taught public speaking from a very early age and are exposed to almost every extracurricular activity imaginable. Together with the parents, the school helps children foster self-​confidence, empathy, manners and an orientation toward community service. Upon graduating from St. Matthew’s, the children go on to the best high schools in the area well prepared and enthusiastic about learning.

My children either currently attend or have graduated from this school and I am very satisfied with the educational experiences they have had. The faculty is top-​notch. My kids love their teachers and chat with them about science and also about their favorite tv shows. The school is not about rote learning, but about creating a love of learning, about trying new things and challenging oneself. Kids learn to speak in public, share their projects, think critically, and to reflect beyond themselves to the broader community. Graduates go on to the best high schools in the area and they are well prepared. Students also learn to get along with others, as the classes are small so all become friends eventually.

I went here from 3^rd grade to 8^th grade. I credit this school with opening my mind to the possibility of skirts as a clothing option. I had a few wonderful, amazing teachers, but I know some of them have left.
This is a really small school with around 22 kids per grade. It really allows you to get to know everyone in your class so you have lasting bonds for years. We were all sort of like a little family. It’s also really expensive for a elementary and middle school. There are plenty of sports teams, coached mainly by parent volunteers. Maybe they’ve upped the sports budget since I attended, but we usually wore uniforms that were at least 20 years old, I swear.
Even though this school pushed me off into high school a relatively sheltered individual, I wouldn’t trade my experiences here.
Highlights:
*Science with Mrs. E — we had science everyday and did lab work and dissections in fifth grade! I know this doesn’t happen at most schools.
*English with Ms. Dembo JUST because we did tons of work with analogies. Which are like algebra problems with words.
*History with Ms. Santangelo. I have had the best luck with getting amazing history teachers that make one of the dullest subjects so interesting and fun.
Low Points:
*The math program was horrendous; «Everyday Mathematics» books taught you the most roundabout ways to do multiplication and long division. If I want to learn how the ancient Egyptians worked with numbers, I’d rather it be AFTER I already know how to do it the easier way that modern mankind has developed in the last 4000 years.
*Chapel EVERY DAY. Now I am not a religious person. I credit this fact to my religious educational upbringing. Episcopal school for 6 years and then Catholic high school for 2 more will do that to you. I had the entire service memorized in middle school. The best part was singing songs every morning. This daily ritual meant we started school at 8:15 and got out at 3:30.
*The lack of diversity. One time my mom was at a meeting in which they were talking about creating more scholarships to increase the diversity of the school. One of the St. Matthew’s Mothers stood up and announced that «The lack of diversity is why I send my kids to this school.» I shit you not.

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School is a coeducational independent day school, with about 230 students in Preschool through Eighth Grade. Both of my kids attend this school and we have been delighted with the education that our children are getting here academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. The kids adore the school.
St. Matthew’s is an innovative school with a rich tradition — The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew was founded in 1865 and work building both the school and hospital (now Mills Peninsula Hospital next door) began nearly immediately. As an independent school, St. Matthew’s has a strong curriculum grounded in a commitment to an enriched academic program, but also in preparing students for success in future studies and for lives of leadership and service. Students gain the intellectual skills, moral courage, self-​confidence, and habits of heart that equip them to be leaders of positive change in their high school and in their world.
The community of 150 or so families is tightly knit and is as much a selling point for the school as the academic program itself. While this is an Episcopal Day School, less than 20% of the families come from the church and there is a diverse population of faiths in the student body. This is a school devoted to development of the mind, body and spirit and endeavors to give children the tools to develop all three throughout their lives.