The Circle School

The circle school has been an amazing place for my child to grow and her younger sibling will be attending next year. This school really cares about your child and fosters their unique talents.

This will be my child's third year at this school. This is not only a school but a community. The faculty is nuturing to the students and very accessible/approachable to the parents. My child enjoys coming to school everyday and is confident he matters in the community. I as a parent feel I have a voice and can trust my child is being educated and viewed as an individual.

When I first had children, I struggled enormously with how I would handle the time when my kids had to enter the increasingly ineffective public school system. I was not sure I could afford private school, and was adverse to the idea of a religious education anyway.

But then I came across the Circle School. They claimed to promote free learning, to build creativity while teaching the basics and beyond. They kept class sizes small and catered education to each child's strengths. They embraced education about other cultures and traditions as a way to be a bigger citizen in the world.

And you know what, I have not been disappointed. My daughter has thrived among her peers, and has had the opportunity to truly engage with students both older and younger than her. Each one of the teachers at the school engages her, and I feel like she has the opportunity to delve deeper into (and better learn) subjects than she would in a more traditional environment. The students have learned self-empowerment through RADKids, practiced Yoga, performed The Beatles, and so much more.

Each semester I sit down with my child's main teacher for a thorough review of her accomplishments. There are no grades, but this report tells me more than any report card ever could. The school appears to utilize a wide array of teaching methods and teachers try to cater to a variety of learning styles. All of the teachers seem to have a passion for education, and come through the doors enthusiastically every day.

The co-op experience can seem a bit daunting, (Every element of the school's operations is really and truly run by parents), but it is also inspiring. I enjoy being a part of the bigger plan for the school, and having my voice heard in its decisions, and getting the opportunity to work side-by-side with the parents of my kid's best friends. It's a big time commitment, and there is a big mix of personalities, but everyone does seem to keep in mind the final goals.

Is the school perfect? Of course not. It's run by parents who aren't experts at everything, and who have jobs and families to run too. It's short on funding aren't all schools. If I could add anything, it would be more technology classes for the kids to compete in today's world. The grounds could use maintenance, but as long as it is safe and engaging, I'm happy. Despite those shortcomings, the school itself has big dreams and big heart.

This school makes me want to be a better parent, stronger person, more engaged community member, and more aware citizen of the world. I can only hope that whenever we leave, my daughter leaves with the same feelings- and I can already see the seeds of that sprouting in her now.

The Circle School is a great school for those who want an affordable, nurturing, community based environment that focuses on a holistic approach to learning, using Montessori style methods, while also focusing on global and cultural awareness. The school is based on a cooperative model, which means the families oversee the school's operations and maintain the buildings and grounds.