Ann Arbor Learning Community

We have had an excellent experience at this school. Our daughter has blossomed in confidence since she started her third year, making friends and taking a leadership role among her peers. The school has mixed age classrooms, a grading system that focuses on skills learned (meet expectations, exceeds, etc.) rather than alphabet letters (A, B, etc.), and project based learning which enables children to pursue their individual interests within an academic framework. The kids go on field trips regularly, enjoy recess outside and in the many school garden areas, and participate in art, music, and physical education. They get to bring home books from the school library. They participate in enrichment activities taught by parents and staff including themes such as "paper snowflakes" and "fall bulbs and winter seeds." The school utilizes peer mentors to encourage older children to help younger children. I cannot recommend this school enough.

I pulled my kids out due to almost non-existant academic standards. The report cards were useless and I could never figure out how the student's abilities were assessed. It seemed based on the teacher's feelings and intuition more than scientific measures.