By sixth grade, my daughter had become deeply depressed at NGFS, and we were genuinely concerned…read morefor her mental health. Her early years were positive--she loved the Rainbow program, and we are especially grateful to Beth, who helped her develop a love of reading despite auditory processing challenges.
Unfortunately, things changed significantly as she got older. In fourth grade, a tick bite during the week-long school trip was egregiously mishandled--whether due to a lack of protocol or a failure to follow one, the result is that she now lives with chronic Lyme disease. Our family has paid nearly $30,000 out-of-pocket for medical treatment, in addition to the high tuition we had already invested in the school.
Academically, she was ahead in math, but when we advocated for her to take Math 1 in seventh grade, NGFS flat-out refused to consider it. After transferring to Greensboro Montessori, she was placed in Math 1 and earned a 96. She went on to earn As in each subsequent math course and is now in a senior-level math class as a 10th grader. Clearly, she was more than capable--she just needed a school willing to meet her where she was.
My daughter ultimately asked to leave because she felt isolated and alienated. Although the school promotes inclusivity, she quickly realized this didn't seem to apply to students like her. When she tried to assert healthy boundaries with peers, she was often reprimanded--not for what happened, but for how she expressed herself. Ongoing micro-bullying from peers was never meaningfully addressed, even after I raised concerns.
She thrived at Greensboro Montessori in 7th and 8th grade, where we found the environment far more supportive and attentive to real inclusivity. She is now thriving at Grimsley High School, where she has a 504 plan in place to support her health.
To be fair, NGFS has a strong writing curriculum in the later elementary years, and my daughter's writing skills like owe much to those foundational years. But it's hard to reconcile that benefit with the emotional and physical toll she experienced. If I had to do it all over again, I would have moved her by third grade.