My son attends the Beiber Campus and I can't tell you enough how great this school is. If you want…read moreyour child to think outside the box and become a future leader this it's the school for you. The teachers all go out of their to help your child succeed. The principal Mr. Johnson is truly a great leader and you can tell that everyone at that school, staff and students respects him. I am so glad we chose to send our son here.

if i could give it 10 stars i would. my boy just graduated from SLA. the teaching style is like no…read moreother. kids are valued. opinions matter. learning and growing happens here. the kids hug their teachers and the principal is the most amazing man on earth. why isnt every school like this? we were so fortunate for this education. i have to say, im jealous my high school experience was nothing like this. the teachers act more like mentors. guiding the students on their path, where ever that may take them. you can see the mutual respect between the kids and staff. SLA is progressive. one of a kind. im excited about what the future holds for my boy and thank SLA for giving him an advantage most are not lucky enough to have. THANK YOU teachers and staff, and mostly Mr Lieman.

Advantages: * A foreign language and the great French…read moreteachers * Declamation * The small class sizes * The backup care as a flat fee (takes it off the mind about getting care for most needed days) * The school spirit activities Disadvantages: * The horrible, unorganized administration * The small class sizes Don't expect any Einsteins to come from here -- due to Einstein not speaking until he was 4, this school would have filtered him out as an inappropriate student. The fact that they post a poster that says "Everyone is welcome and accepted here" is misleading. The administration are only concerned with low maintenance children, so don't go to this school unless you are sure that your child is cookie-cutter. There is tons of busy work, which I'm not sure results in learning, as my child got 80-100% on everything, but the administration told us that our child was underperforming. The administration of the school didn't even congratulate us when our child got an external award, which left us with a cold feeling. I know that this review will not make a difference since the Philly school system is so messed up, that you're desperate to get your child ahead and will send your kid here no matter what. So, let me be honest here -- St. Peters is good until it's not (meaning that if you have a child that's out of the norm). So in most cases, you're probably OK and will have a pleasant experience. Given that most parents reading this are sending their kid to pre-k/kindergarten and have no idea what their child will be like in their academics, let me give some advice. If this school asks you to get a psycho-educational evaluation, DO NOT DO IT (or do it eventually on a long wait list at a more affordable college but refuse to give it to them). We did it, spent a fortune, and St. Peters hardly tried to accommodate the child given the evaluation. We thought that they would truly take it to heart and that the "personalized attention" that they try to imply through the small class sizes, would materialize. NOTHING. They just used it to get rid of the child. It was quite disappointing because the teachers seemed really lazy about trying new things... they would occasionally try something that worked with my child and then would stop and complain later about the child and I would have to ask "why aren't you doing X incentive that worked"? Beyond this, if they do go after your child, do not feel alone. I have heard countless stories about them getting rid of perfectly normal and especially gifted children who just cause them extra work. I feel like they create an atmosphere that parents are constantly in fear and panic because they put pressure on parents to do their heavy lifting. For me, "homey don't play that" with their large tuition. But they don't care and kick kids out all the time. Apparently, they don't need the money because of Philly's lacking schools that create desperate parents. Moral of the story: Elect officials who will build Philly's public schools, give to your public schools (even if you don't go there). Because without good competition, private schools don't have to care about every child and surely don't care that children are unique, fragile blooms. Extra negative notes: There is so much evidence of lack of organization -- some major announcements are not until the last minute, I got the initial advice to read the newsletter like a bible because there are things buried in there, and their graduation took 3 hours, with kids as young as 7 having to wait without dinner until 8:30 to get out. Extra positive note: At least they organized an afterschool program with a flat fee.

I have two sons at the school and a third will enter next year. I cannot say enough about the…read moreschool, the students, teachers, and parents. My boys thrive on the small classroom environment; although, my daughter did not, so the intimacy isn't for everyone. She opted for a larger school (Masterman) and was very well prepared for the academic rigor of that school, because of the foundation provided by St. Peter's School. The traditions (May Day, declamations, Branches of May, etc) provide families and the entire community with opportunities to share in--and support--the development of the students. I've found the teachers and administration to be responsive and a source of wisdom and support. My family has enjoyed 10 years at the school and we're looking forward to another nine years!

Contracted to perform services for an appreciation day five days before the ceremony. Connected…read morewith appropriate contact. Provided 3 estimates for services with description (free of charge) as contact had to present to Antoinette C. Dentler, Ed M. Delayed a meeting to write the estimates along with the descriptions and emailed it as the school closed promptly and contact was enrolled in a night class. Secured therapist to assist for the event. Received telephone call after 7:00 pm the night before the event stating the ECO needed changes to the contract. Called the morning of the event to inform Antoinette Dentler the disclaimer could not be removed. Accommodated her request which delayed arrival, however the therapist was on site. Dr. Dentler canceled the event after the arrival of CEO of company arrived.

A real time throwback to the 50's. This once was the high school attended by actor Michael Landon…read more I was here for my grandson's play. This was probably one of the bigger high schools in it's time, but now serves as a middle school. It could use a good face lift, but I like it as is for nostalgic reasons.

My son likes going to his new school. Everyone's nice and friendly. Helpful. He enjoys his new…read moreclassmates.

Coach Thompson is the man! Mr. Bill too!!! They helped my son Julian become the track star that…read morehe is!!!

You'd think that 8 years of school with all the same people would be way to much. You'd be right…read more Mostly. One great thing about Masterman is that you are with your fellow students day in and day out. So much that these people become your best friends and some of the friendships you make here will last longer than your can imagine. As a moderately intelligent kid with overambitious parents, I had to take and pass a test in the fourth grade to get into this premier magnet school. While I have no basis of comparison as to the quality of education at Masterman, I do know that attending this school exponentially increases your changes of going to a great IVY league college. About the top 1/3 of students here get accepted into several IVY League colleges. About half of those students go to UPenn (the IVY in your backyard). Masterman prides itself in stating that 100% of its students go to a 4 year college. The reality is that Masterman will force all its students to go to accredited 4 year colleges, whether they wish to or not (a friend who wanted to go abroad was strongly discouraged from this option). I've always thought that a preparation school would be responsible for two things: 1) getting it's kids to good colleges, which Masterman excels at; and 2) preparing the kids for college, which, sadly, Masterman did not do as good of a job at. I'm not sure if it's exactly the classes, the depth of materials taught, or the lack of emphasis on retaining what is learned, but most of my friends and acquaintances felt as I did that Masterman did not prepare them well for college. Then again, it could have been me (how many kids do you know take school seriously?) Part of the problem was the lack of funding. The only things I've dissected before going to college was an amoeba and a worm. When I got to Penn, I found that most of my fellow classmates had already done many of the labs in my basic science classes, while everything was all new to me. I've never seen most of the lab equipment, computers/programs they used at college (we had old microscopes - so I at least knew what that was), and it was mildly embarrassing for me to ask questions that most of my classmates considered to be standard knowledge. Part of it is that the school is so focused on getting everyone into the advanced courses that they sometimes forget to focus enough on the basics. This holds true for the trig through Calc 3 classes but not for algebra and geometry. Mr. Goldman (who taught algebra and geometry in 7th and 8th grade) would test us on both the advanced and basic problems - best math teacher ever. That being said, students who go to Masterman are generally very successful and pursue stable, steady, successful careers. Many have gone into law, medicine, PhD programs doing really interesting things with obscure titles. The only reason I seem critical is due to the fact that I am not sure what a preparatory school is suppose to do. Going to Masterman made it not difficult to get into a great college. However, in terms of basic skills/knowledge, I still get teased by my husband who went to a much lower ranked public school (same area) that had a LOT of funding from property tax dollars and he was able to somehow retain/learn a lot more basic knowledge than I did. He also tutored me in chemistry, back in college (although if anyone's ever had chemistry with Dr. Ranjini, they'd understand my willingness to block that part of my memories).

Despite the physical appearance of the building, this school still holds up to its reputation as…read moreone of the premiere schools in the Philadelphia area. Recently awarded Blue Ribbon School status, President Obama delivered his annual Back to School Speech to an ecstatic student body on September 14, 2010. Goosebumps! Teachers and administrative staff are top-notch for the most part. The students DO work hard and the Home and School Association works to support academic and extracurricular activities. To my knowledge, there's rarely a discipline problem or any type of bullying. Instead, there's heated classroom discussion and early morning EC activities. Who can complain?

With Pre-K through Grade 12, this is, without any doubt whatsoever, Center City's pre-eminent…read morecollege preparatory school. Its Quaker traditions of intellectual honesty, respect for the individual and service to humanity go back 325+ years. Small classes (approx. 550 students total, over 14 grades of instruction) taught by a brilliant faculty, with whom your kids will be a on first-name basis from day one. Very strong in STEM, English, foreign languages, social sciences/international relations, fine arts, music, and theater. Boasts a dynamic inter-scholastic sports program. Foreign students in attendance from every corner of the earth. Pricey--yes, but very generous aid is available for families that need it. Meaningful overseas student trips offered every year: most recently, for instance: spend a week volunteering in a Guatemalan orphanage, or check out the cultural treasures of Italy, or hike in Nepal, or study ecology in Costa Rica! Indeed, my daughter received such a fine and broad education at Friends Select that upon graduating in June 2015, she was admitted to Harvard, Yale, Penn and Georgetown. (Yes, I am a big fan of FSS!)

Still lovin' it! This is my little ones' 2nd year at Friends Select and I can't say enough great…read morethings about it. If you want to ask me any questions about the school, send me a message and ask away. It is a great place! PreK - 12, Quaker education in Center City.