My kids are developing into the kind of little people I had always worked and hoped they would…read morebecome. SMCDS is a major reason. The top flight staff, location and community are evident the moment you land on campus. As for a high level academic oriented-challenging environment, SMCDS is all that. As a major part of our lives for many years, starting in Pre-K, I am proud to be a part of the SMCDS community and grateful for each member of the team at SMCDS that have helped develop each of my children into competent, curios and independent thinkers. Recommended without reservation.

We started our child at St. Michael's for 5th grade. Wish we would have made the move sooner. After…read moretouring the school by myself, I left knowing this was going to be a great fit for our child. Their two day visit was their favorite of all of the schools they checked out because 'They actually teach you things and the kids want to learn.' The campus is beautiful, but beyond that, a few things stood out. 1. The head of middle school was great. She was engaging and immediately handed me two business cards. She asked me to please pass one on to my child and let them know that they could contact her with any questions they may have. My child felt like the head of middle school genuinely cared about them and proceeded to send an email asking a few questions/concerns they had. This was huge for my child. 2. All of the students played together. We watched a huge divide occur in 2nd grade at our previous school. Boys played football and soccer, and girls stood around. At St. Michael's the main playground equipment is built to accommodate all ages. Kids all played together and had fun. There was no division between boys and girls. I really liked how the middle schoolers came together so much. 3. The depth of learning going on, the number of options for a smaller school, and the responsibility placed, taught and expected from the middle school students was something that I knew my child would appreciate and could learn from. My child loves learning and wants to be challenged. I knew they would be challenged on many different levels. Things that we have loved since attending: * I love the Harry Potter'esque' houses that each student gets placed in at the beginning of their school year. This is a good way to bring together the 3 year olds up to 8th graders to cheer on their houses at different events. * I love the fact that field trips still happen through 8th grade. * I love the after school sports programs and how students are introduced to different sports even if they aren't overly sporty. * I love the fact that my child can stay after school for extra homework help and I can pick them up at the end of my work day. * I love how the school is a STEAM based school with amazing opportunities to explore including using the maker space to create solutions to problems and as a creative outlet to design things. * I love how there is lots of project based learning allowing students to have a deeper understanding of what they are learning about. The choices of how they will present and share their learning have been equally impressive and have forced my child to try new skills like sewing, stop motion and green screen technology. * I love the diversity of students that comes from the numerous military families attending from all over the globe. My child has learned about different cultures and languages because of this. * I love how the Choose Love program isn't just a bunch of sayings slapped on a wall as it sometimes is in other schools. The curriculum is used along with mindfulness, meditation, and self reflection and the students really practice what they learn. * I love how mistakes are encouraged as part of the process of learning and improving. * I love how the school has great community activities such as back to school picnics, ice skating days, parent get togethers, and opportunities to help support the community at large through volunteer projects. The parent's association is active and inclusive. * I love that foreign language is 4 hours a week starting in 5th grade with exposure in elementary school. * I love the science lab, PE and Heath classes and the focus on arts. So many schools are cutting arts and music programs. At St. Michael's you are exposed to chorus, band, studio arts, stage craft, cos-play and actor's studio. * I love how the teachers are engaging and so wonderful in their enthusiasm. They have a great pulse on their students and are really working hard to make students become better students and better contributors to society. * I love the administrative team and how they communicate with families and really get to know the students. * I love how encouraging the student body as a whole is. They genuinely care about other students. This was the best jump we ever made and so grateful to have found such a wonderful place to land, grow and learn.

I can not say enough about Cadence Academy. We are so grateful that we found such a loving group of…read moreteachers to care for and teach our children. We started our daughter at Cadence during the pandemic. Cadence was so welcoming and facilitated me being able to meet my daughter's teachers via Zoom before we started. Although we were not able to enter the building to send our daughter off, they made it feel as though we could with their awesome report app that they use to send you updates and pictures of your child throughout the day. Through the last few years we have grown to know and love the teachers at Cadence. When we had our second child, we started him in daycare even sooner than we did our first because we had that trust in Cadence. We are so happy with our Cadence family, and would strongly recommend them to anyone searching for care and education for their children.

My 2 toddlers have been enrolled in cadence since 2017, and in that time I have never worried once…read moreabout their health or wellness. All of the teachers there are very warm, loving, and nurturing. The environment is safe, clean, and spacious. There were some staffing retainment issues at one point, but there has recently been a drastic shift in management which has been received favorably by all parents and staff. The food included in the tuition is thoughtfully prepared, selected, and of very good quality. The playground areas are segregated by age and are very spacious. The daily note system they use gives parents a huge piece of mind of their children's daily activities. They also do progress reports on the children which are not at all generic. They are very personable and well critiqued. The additional activities offered through Cadence are cohesive and engaging. Events like parents nights, pajama parties, and arts and crafts parties offer even more opportunities for both education and social interaction. The teachers there love and accept all children with graceful patience like they are their own. They are very creative with their daily activities and classroom routines. Cadence, for my family, has allowed my wife and I to focus on our jobs while at work knowing that our children are nurtured and loved during the day.

If I lived on Martha's Vineyard I would like to live in Edgartown. The community is quaint,…read morehistorical, and very well maintained. There are wonderful restaurants and shops. Just outside of downtown are convenient markets and residential conveniences. Spent a day visiting Edgartown and neighboring areas. Had a nice brunch at a cozy yet popular eatery. Walked around the very accessible downtown. Contemplated renting bicycles as the area is quite flat...up until the easy laidback lifestyle of Martha's Vineyard set in and we quickly abandoned that idea. We did see others riding rental bicycles so know its possible. And after we circled the island and saw most of it, we contemplated going back to Edgartown for dinner. Almost... Highly recommend either staying in Edgartown or at the very least visiting it while on the island.

I just went back to work and was obviously somewhat worried about how my 10 month old would adjust…read moreto daycare. He absolutely loves it. He came home on his first day smiling and had learned to clap something which I had been trying to teach him for a while. Tammy does an amazing job of running Little Kids and the teachers are great. We just moved back to the area but our older son went there when he was three and had an amazing time. I would recommend Little Kids to any parent looking for a safe, fun and educational place to take your child.

From the owner: Early Childhood Education! Serving families with children ages 1 month to 6 years. We are a…read morefamily built, owned, and operated business since 1982. We are licensed by The Department of Early Education and Care, and are considered a Large Group child care, with a maximum enrollment of 57 children per day. We have 2 infant toddler classrooms, a preschool classroom, and a Pre-K classroom. More than half of our teachers have been employed here for over 5 years, some as many as 17! We have a low turnover rate, and a consistent set of teachers in each classroom. We feel that children learn best in a comfortable "home like" atmosphere, while still focusing on education in all areas; social studies, math, science, literacy, fine/gross motor skills, etc. The entire school is run by Tammy Inman who has not only came here herself, but has worked here for 17 years. Tammy's parents built and owned the school for 30 years. We pride ourselves in our work, and love each&every family the same.