My two granddaughters attend The Clifton School. Every time I've pick up one or both, I'm welcomed…read moreinto the classroom. There are always multiple activities going, and each time I've seen teachers directly interacting with children. As an early childhood professional, I'm impressed with the curriculum and philosophy of Clifton. I'm delighted with the variety of neat activities they do with INFANTS! Who knew so much could be done with babies who can't do more than lie there? It's also impressive & quite unusual that most teachers have been there for YEARS! In a profession with high turnover, that's key. It's readily apparent that the teachers genuinely love those children. I, too, have seen them shed tears when one leaves, or on the last day of their class's time with them. Most importantly, every time I'm there, I see HAPPY kids everywhere. This is a GREAT little school.

As of the writing of this review, there is no listing for The Clifton School at Clairmont. I…read moredidn't realize how good Clifton School was for my son until I moved to another state. Clifton School is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. Things I loved: 1)Smaller class sizes- My son was first in one of the infant classrooms and then transitioned to a toddler classroom. There were about 8 kids per one AM or PM teacher and an additional assistant. 2)Reggio Emilia approach to teaching- You can check out a better definition on Wikipedia. -Basically, the approach believes in discovery learning through exploration and creativity. Each child is allowed his or her own learning style. Group learning is important too (my son at 20 months could say the names of his classmates). There is a curriculum coordinator who goes classroom to classroom to see how the kids are learning. At a point in the year, the coordinator/team calls you to let you know how your child is doing. Also, there are sit down meetings with teachers. -It's actually much bigger than just a way of learning. The approach also believes in an open curriculum so that teachers can change plans based on children learning. -The physical environment is important too. Reggio schools have open areas with piazzas. Kids aren't just shuttled between a small classroom and an outdoor playground. The infant classrooms, for example, are clustered together into a "village" with an open indoor gross motor play area called a piazza. Each village has an outdoor play area as well. This is very unique. I've toured multiple daycares in Kentucky and most are not this open with natural lighting. You might not think this is important but if you were in a small classroom day in an day out you would start feeling cramped too. -The approach believes in parent involvement. Clifton School has a PTA that meets on a regular basis and generates money through fundraising. Each class has at least one class rep. Parents for each classroom are put on an email list, so concerns can be addressed. There are multiple ways in which you can submit concerns from the classroom to the administrative level. This is unique too. Again, multiple daycares in Georgia and Kentucky DO NOT allow this level of parent involvement (eg kindercare, primrose, clarian place). 3)Great use of resources -Each classroom has a digital camera. The teachers take pictures of the kids during the day and write a small one slide powerpoint that goes out to the parents' email list. You really feel connected to what the kids are doing that day. It gave me a smile at the end of my day to see an email with a picture of my son playing a drum. I used to send the email attachments to grandparents to let them know how my little one was doing. -The Clairmont Campus now has access to fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farm. Parents place orders and pick up their produce at the Clairmont location. This is a great sustainable living initiative. -They hire real photographers from the community to come take pictures of kids for class picture day. They have a music teacher who sits down with individual classes. My son got to see someone play a harpsichord when he was 18 months old. 4)Great teachers- great education backgrounds and they love the kids. When my son was about to move, tears were shed by teachers and administration. I really felt like I lost a second family. What I didn't like: 1)It's been mentioned on Google Reviews that the administration isn't responsive to parent concerns. I did have an issue with the closure-due-to weather policy and didn't get feedback. I'm not a pushy parent and ended up not caring. The truth is that there are multiple ways to communicate with the administration, unlike other day cares. If I were pushy enough, I could've brought it up at a PTA meeting. I remember the parents got upset that the teachers were only sending out daily word ppts instead of ppts with pictures, and someone posted a complaint to the parent email listserv. The problem was resolved that week. 2)Clifton School is only open to Emory and CDC employees. I'm not entirely sure of all the reasons for this but it's really not fair to keep this great school confined to a small group of people. Clifton School will now be receiving a Georgia lottery funded pre-K and enrollment has to be open to the community. Maybe this will change their opinions. 3)The price! This school is expensive and I'd like to believe it's worth it. The school grounds, technologies, and equipment are really kept up nicely. Parents of infants have Similac available as an optional part of the program. We cut down on formula costs after the switch to Similac. 4)Long wait list- I applied in late Summer of 2012, delivered Sept 2012, and my son didn't come off the wait list until May 2013. Boy, I could write more but it looks like Yelp won't allow it. I hope this gives a little more info than the angry reviews out there.

I'm so heartbroken to see how this school has went downhill so badly. I used to love sending my…read moreyounger sister to school knowing I once went there. I saw one of the pre-k teachers miss treating my sister. The teacher was leaving her out of the group because of her skin tone!

Nice school nestled in the neighborhood. Nice teachers and an excellent program. I would recommend…read morethis school to anyone living in the district. It has one the best teacher/ student ratios in the area. The school offers bus service and has a car pool lane. This great for area residents and parents alike.

short version: My…read moreson was not emotionally safe at Arbor Montessori School. We started Primary 8/2021. Soon after, a member of the lead teacher's immediate family became ill requiring unexpected & sometimes long absences. Though the situation caused lots of inconsistency and concern about how our kids would be affected, we all sojourned with the teacher and supported her as best we could. Sadly, after ~2 years, the family member died. The teacher left for a period & returned 2/2023. In 4/2023, our son started being afraid to do things he'd done prior & extremely afraid to be away from me/mom. Over the summer, he was extremely terrified of going to camps. We ended up keeping him home because drop-off seemed like such a traumatic experience for him. We had no clue what brought on his fear. When school started in 8/2023, he was still afraid to go to school & his behavior escalated. Arbor recommended several therapists since they didn't have support staff within the school. From their list of recommendations, we chose the therapist who was familiar with our particular class as well as Montessori education. This therapist is widely known and respected in the Arbor community and among other notable schools in the Atlanta area. The therapist stated our son likely learned of the teacher's loss & was afraid of himself & me dying. Arbor rejected the therapist's opinion. Instead, the Head of School stated that perhaps "Montessori was not for him" and that the "school's business model doesn't allow for one-on-one support." They began taking steps to withdraw & refuse emotional support to our son, e.g., the Head of School and Director told us they didn't know what to do or how to handle the situation, however, they told us we needed to leave the school within 5 minutes although my son was not secured in the classroom or with the teacher and he was not yet comfortable to stay. We coordinated a meeting with the therapist & Arbor to make a plan to help our son feel comfortable at school. Arbor sabotaged the meeting. The Director wouldn't let the therapist speak, kept interrupting her, and had a reason for not being able to implement any of the therapist's suggestions. After that meeting, I knew our son was not safe there. We emailed the president of Arbor's Board of Directors detailing what happened to us and requested a meeting. She responded that she would investigate and get back with us. The next day, the Head of School sent an email terminating us because of what we wrote to the Board.

Our youngest daughter attended Arbor in grades pre thru 8th grade. We have always thought of Arbor…read moreas a special place. It's always been very accepting and welcoming. It was like an extension of our family. Now our daughter has moved on to a public magnet high school. She is thriving in her first experience outside of Arbor. I trace her early success to how well Arbor prepared her to meet the next round of academic challenges. I unequivocally recommend Arbor to any parent looking for a quality educational environment for their children.

Love this school! All three of my children are at higher than grade level performance! Christ…read morefocused school that brings everything to the table for examination and allows for debate on even sensitive issues such as faith and creation. The school has five continents of students present and does not use common core!!!!! The class sizes are small at 7-15 students per class. A true gem of a private faith based school unlike any others.

What an awesome school! It has been a neighborhood school for over 50+ years. The building still…read morelooks like the original. It is a small school with some of the most amazing teachers. They have a great program for children who need a little extra help too. The drop off/pick up here is simple. They are very involved in the community too. They have an edible garden that they grow veggies in. This school needs an updated playground and at one time, Lowe's and 11Alive said that they were upgrading it, but I am not sure why they have not as of yet. Hmmm.... I highly recommend this school!

Okay. I don't go to this school lolz =P And I don't even have kids yet…read more But, I live in the area and my sister, who does have a lil girl, is looking to move closer to me (Yay! =)), and wanted to check out some of the elementary schools in the local area. She's not looking to move til the end of summer, but getting her ducks in a row early. :) Anyway, I went with her on a tour of the school to check it out. It's pretty nice. It's definitely an older school, but I kinda like that - it gives it a nice old-world feel of the days when innocence was a bit more the norm. All of the teachers and staff seemed so nice and friendly and they were all very knowledgeable. The way it's built, there's a cute little courtyard in the middle of the school and that's really neat. They have a big cafeteria, with one of those stages up front :) A nice big gym in its own building for the kiddies to play their games and exercise. A very nice little library. The outside is pretty huge out back, with some basketball courts and a nice wooded area. The playground was pretty lacking though. But when I asked about it, they said that actually they are building a new, better and bigger one this very month! They have a dedicated system for disadvantaged children and they do participate in the pre-K lottery thing, which my sis was really excited about =P. It's literally right in the middle of a big neighborhood (it borders on mine), so it's REALLY convenient if you live in the area. And of course being Asian, we were concerned about racial diversity - but no need - walking around we saw students from everywhere, so that's really nice too.

We love the Waldorf school! We moved and it's to far to drive. Any child who gets the opportunity…read moreto experience such a nurturing environment will have such a different perspective and appreciation of their environment and the world.

The Waldorf School has been a magical experience for our daughter, especially during such uncertain…read moretimes. The quality of teachers and administration is beyond amazing. The community is open-hearted and the education and social setting has allowed our daughter to transform her anxiety into confidence and joy. Simply put, she LOVES school and begs me to let her stay as long as possible in aftercare. The way the administration has reinvented in-person learning during the pandemic is nothing short of inspirational. The outdoor classrooms are located on 6-acre, wooded campus that is buzzing with excitement, music and laughter. As an adult what I've discovered in my career (and life) is that I'm happiest during moments of being creative. This being said, the most significant thing I've witnessed in our daughter's journey at Waldorf is a blossoming of her inherent creativity which translates into more moments of happiness. As a mother I couldn't want anything more for my child. If you're looking for a heart-centered school that will nurture child's hunger to learn, grow and be be happy, I strongly encourage you to schedule a tour and whiteness the beauty of this education and school!

1,000. Days? Meals?…read moreFriends? . . . Reviews?? How to mark a relatively minor yet personally important milestone? I didn't want to just do an *average* review, nor did I want to be so aggrandizing as to create a new "listing" of my own Yelp life. [I did think about that one, though...]. Then it hit me: where it all began. Sure, I didn't start at Westminster til 6th grade (that little spurt in Chatt for preschool then another Atlanta private school came before) but it is the most formative educational experience of my life. Even - I think - more than UVA. What I learned, from the "Christian preparatory school for boys and girls" [Note: the specifically Christian part has changed since I was there in the 80s and 90s] is . . . hard to concisely explain [there are some negatives, which I will also mention]. Highlights: *How to think. My parents planted this seed early and they wisely knew I should be in a place where I was challenged, motivated, and importantly - intrigued. *How to create. So many friends have gone on to do amazingly creative, artistically or otherwise, things [see John Pringle http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=john+pringle+wednesday+with+steve+mcqueen&FORM=VRMATS&mmalsid=&mmsosid=385bcb7f-e962-3d3d-e30d-9cf6536fea31&crslsl=0 and Rob Lathan - http://www.roblathan.com/ Zach Hanks http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1189565/bio, just to name three . . .] *The dynamics of social hierarchy: put a lot of bright kids together - and I assure you not all rich WASPy kids - and you've got to learn some social skills, life tactics, motivation . . . [negatives: much like any JH and HS environments, cliques, snottiness, general *rivalries* exist] *Exposure to language and travel. From JH language classes and my first real foray abroad with my French class in 8th grade (I ultimately ended up with enough scores and credits to place out of any college requirements) to trips like Young Life's Western Tour that took us to TX, CO, Mexico, CA and back, with lots of stops in between (Have you climbed Half Dome? Pretty awesome). *The advantages to having so many interests at your use (and waiting or required, depending) - language! science! theater! oh my . . . *An athletic environment par none in Atlanta at my time, and amazingly even better now (and, frankly all "extra-curricular" outlets are as well- have you ever been forced to do a swing jump then safety catch as part of your high school curriculum? Didn't think so - oh, and I had to do mine in a cheerleading skirt). *Simply outstanding teachers (97.2% of the time) [Some pretty stern faculty members-in-charge could use a reset] *Wayyyy big preparation for college - I (and many of my classmates) say Westminster was more challenging than college (and we went to places like UVA, UNC, Dartmouth, Princeton, etc...) Negatives, so to speak, other than I have noted above? Intense competition and pressure; example: a typical weeknight for me as a high school sophomore was two hours of [cross country/cheerleading/tennis] practice, then homework from 8-11 pm, back up at 630 am. Varsity athletes who were also striving to keep being honor students did this every day, every week. Even Type As like me were . . . working hard and beyond. Social pressure - the flip side of acquiring those adult social skills. It's going to be in any Jr High or High School world, but it is amplified in such a brilliant environment. The Type Bs, so to speak - there for family reasons, because it is a phenomenal school, because . . .a really tough place to be as a kid and teen. Super spendy. A smart kid can learn well and go on to do well, regardless of their surroundings, but this kind comes at a price, which I believe is worth it, but it's a pretty big one in terms of dollars. Bottom line? I wouldn't trade it - the experience, the education, the whole shebang - for anything. As much as this smart, Type A, blonde cheerleading captain, WASP girl might have "fit in" and "excelled" - despite the expectations and challenges, on many levels, it is a privilege to go to a place like Westminster for education and way more. And a lot of other kids, different than me - can feel the exact same way. My parents didn't do everything right for sure, but they are the ones who made sure my hide was in that chair in Mrs. Norman's 6th grade English class, and taught me all about diagramming sentences. Part of why I get to write my 1,000th review. Exit, Stage Left.

The Westminster Schools is a private K-12 Christian school in the heart of Atlanta's Buckhead…read moreneighborhood. If you go on their website, you can find the facts that almost speak for themselves: stellar college placements, consistent state champions on a variety of teams, and a campus that rivals many liberal arts colleges. Beyond all of that, however, this is where I learned to study hard and grow as a human being. The religious nature of the school allowed me to gain a comprehensive education in Christianity, and the teachers here are second to none. Even five years out, I still keep in touch with many of them. The price tag is steep, and the social and academic pressure is high, but Westminster gave me a middle school and high school education that made me who I am today. For that, I thank you. Five stars cannot cover what I learned here.

I am a proud parent of two young children that attend Cliff Valley School. I find the pre-K…read moreprogram to be a warm and loving environment that is fully entrenched in the child directed learning approach. This thoroughly researched approach is a wonderful advantage because although there is a curriculum, it's nice to have freedom to expand upon something that is important to the students, which in turn, excite their learning even more. My son, in the pre-K program for two years, is moving on to Kindergarten this year with happy anticipation. I believe the success of any school can be measured when a child truly wants to go to school to find what subjects he or she will learn that day and in turn, can't wait to share their learning successes with me, the parent. At an early learning stage, I believe you cannot ask of any school for more than instilling a desire to learn which hopefully will follow them throughout their education. I noticed the previous reviewer mentioning the age range of students in Pre-K as a negative. Actually, a mixed age classroom of 3.5-5 years old is advantageous as it fosters leadership in the older children and allows the younger children to model behaviors and learn some skills at a faster pace from the older children. This is a learning method that many successful schools have incorporated into their preschool programs and many Montessori programs offer the same design as well. I am happy with the efforts put forth by Cliff Valley School and the results seen in my children; therefore, I would encourage any parent to consider Cliff Valley for their child's education

This school is more concerned about money than the students. They purchase a gym before a school…read morenurse or counselor and are constantly hitting you up for money. The teachers are great, for the most part, but the principal's ego is entirely too inflated.