The Banner School

We enrolled our child at The Banner School for 1st grade for the 2025-2026 school year at a tuition cost of $15,950. At the start of the 2025-2026 school year, we had two children enrolled at The Banner School. The school's first day was August 25, 2025. On August 17, 2025, just one week before the start of the school year, the school notified us that the established 1st grade teacher, who had years of teaching experience, was being moved to 2nd grade and would be replaced by a new hire with no prior teaching experience. We were given no recourse regarding this decision. We met with school administration on August 20, 2025 to discuss our concerns regarding the new hire, and withdrew our 1st grade child on August 22, 2025, three days before the school year began. He did not attend a single day of the 2025-2026 school year. Due to the timing of this change, we were forced to find alternative schooling after the school year had already begun. We decided to keep our younger child enrolled in pre-K4, as our concerns were specific to the 1st grade classroom change.
This was not the first time the school made a significant decision with little notice to families. When we first enrolled our child for the 2023-2024 school year, we toured the school's campus, which featured ample outdoor green space. At no point during the tour were we informed of any plans to relocate. In early August 2023, just weeks before the start of the school year, the school notified parents that it would be moving to a downtown building, leaving the campus and its outdoor space behind. When parents were invited to tour the new facility, the building had no air conditioning and was visibly in need of significant work and repairs. The school relied heavily on parent volunteers, donations of supplies, and parent funding to prepare the building for the start of the school year. The tuition for the Banner School is close to $16,000 per year and we expected a certain level of communication and school facilities, based on the price we were paying.
We withdrew our child prior to the first day of the 2025-2026 school year. We were not able to reach a resolution with the school regarding the amount we would pay on the contract, as they were seeking that we pay the majority of the tuition, even though our child did not attend a single day of class. The school filed suit for the full tuition amount, plus attorney fees and interest on the unpaid balance. Rather than work with us as a family who still had an actively enrolled child in pre-K4 and years of involvement in their school community, the school chose litigation. Throughout the year, the school regularly solicits donations from parents through letters sent home and emails. Based on our experience, it is our opinion that the school's actions prioritize financial collection over the wellbeing of the families and children they serve.
We have a third child who we had planned to enroll at The Banner School. Based on our experience with the school and their priorities, we will not be re-enrolling our pre-K4 child, nor will we be enrolling our third child at The Banner School.
Over our years at The Banner School, our contributions to the school community extended well beyond tuition payments. We donated hundreds of hours of our time, personally funded and conducted activities in the classroom, and covered the cost of all associated supplies out of pocket, never once requesting reimbursement from the school. We also donated a vacation package to the school's annual gala, which the school auctioned for thousands of dollars. These were financial contributions made freely and in good faith, on top of the tuition we paid each year. It is our opinion that this level of community and financial investment was not reflected in how the school chose to handle our situation.
If you are considering enrolling your child or children in The Banner School, you may want to reevaluate the decision, as education does not appear to be the primary focus.

The Banner School encourages the triangle for learning. Teacher, student and parents. The communication with teachers, Head of School and staff is wonderful, warm and inviting. We see my child's teacher every day. The class sizes are small and this gives the children room to grow, learn and get special attention if necessary. My child has been going to Banner since Kindergarten and excells in reading and math. What a great investment!