My updated review reflects our family's experience at Ren from grades 1-8. Our child is now a…read moreFreshman at St Mary's Academy and is on the honor roll despite having some learning differences. Ren prepared our daughter for a rigorous college prep program. Although she had some nervousness about final exams and needed a primer on letter grades and GPA, she was academically well-prepared. The girls who attend St Mary's after Ren School seem to excel. Most importantly, Ren was instrumental in helping my daughter develop a strong sense of herself. Ren's holistic approach to education, with a focus on social and emotional development, is stellar. It mattered to me that our daughter's education encompassed far more than just book learning. Over the years, she was nurtured and went from a timid and anxious child to a confident and creative young woman. As a college professor, I recognize the importance of academic preparedness. I also know that social and emotional stressors can make it challenging to learn. Being in a safe community where she was known and cared for by all the teachers meant the world to our family. Thank you, Ren!

Ren is still a really magical place, as per my previous review. Like at most smaller schools,…read morespecific experiences and accommodations will vary by grade and teacher, which means it can be a bit of a roll of the dice year to year. My experiences thus far are still all with the lower school, which has a noticeably different feel than the upper, though there's abundant mingling in all the good ways. Reading through a bunch of other more recent reviews I'm updating mine to reflect reality on some points that others have found frustrating in theirs: * The school does not have specific services, expertise or accommodations for neurodiverse kids. There is no counselor or administrator with specific training or credentials for helping ND scholars, and the overall body of staff lacks up-to-date pedagogy and training on the most current and effective ways to help these students, though there are *plenty* of well-meaning, helpful adults on the team, who do their very best. That said, the open, creative and varied nature of the environment *can* make it a much better fit for some ND kids than a standard classroom, and as such there are many ND kids in the student body who are thriving. But it's important to make sure that your kiddo will fit within the (not super explicit) boundaries when deciding if Ren is a good fit. Be open and clear about any special needs/quirks/features of your child to make sure it'll be a good fit, and if your visit day leaves you with open questions, ask for another one! Everyone wants everyone to succeed and no one is helped by accepting a student who won't flourish. * The school is not well organized, in terms of paperwork, documentation, administrivia, follow-up, etc. If you're looking for the well-oiled accountable machine of larger or more established environments, you may find this very frustrating. Everything takes a while, and you generally have to bring things up a bunch of times before things start moving. It's a worthwhile trade for a space where your kid can feel safe and happy, but one you need to decide to make so it doesn't irk you along the way. * While the kids form solid and important relationships in school, that does not extend out to the parent-body, which can leave some families feeling isolated. No PTA or parent interest groups, and minimal volunteer participation, though there is a core of very willing and available parents who show up if an effort can be organized for a specific issue or by a specific class. I remain an enthusiastic parent of multiple scholars, and am grateful that a welcoming and creative space like Ren exists, even if it does have rough edges to keep working on. If you find me in a local parent group or some such thing, I'm always happy to talk about Ren and answer questions. Good luck!

Full-day Kindergarden for 4 & 5 year olds. Program based around children's literature with daily…read moreart adventures. Great curriculum. Wonderful alternative to crowded public school K's!

Excellent School & Wonderful Teachers :) Love the small class sizes in the Dayton Junior High. At…read morethis school it isn't a bad thing when the office knows your child by their first name :)

Excellent school with dedicated teachers in a caring environment. We have attended since…read morekindergarten and my children have thrived. Small class sizes, full time specialists in PE, Art, Spanish, Stem and Library and multiple extras make this school a special place.

we transfered our son in the middle of the school year from a larger Catholic school, and I must…read moresay, the only regret we have is not joining St. Matthew School earlier! The principal and teachers are warm and welcoming, and our son finally felt he is cared for! hE IS IN 5TH gradeThere are 17 students in the classroom , and he thrives, he retains more information, now that he is able to interact with his teachers and get his questions answered. He adapted from the first day and made friends easily, I strongly recommend this school beyond other private schools!

My kid went here. Unless you donate a bunch of money to the new principle your kid won't be…read morechallenged nor helped. Only a small portion of the donated money goes to helping parents with tuition the other amount goes in the principals pocket. My kid was never challenged and always told me their group would not get help when their hands were raised and the teachers only paid attention to the donator's kid. No hot lunches are served. Highly disappointed in this school. On top of tuition, do note that they expect a donation of X amount of dollars per school year. The educational system of a private school is failing.

We have always known a Montessori would be very beneficial to our children's learning experience…read morebut we were not prepared for how fast our child would be learning. She is always coming home with a new word or experience from school and we are always amazed with what her teacher has to say at the parent-teacher conferences. We are so grateful to have a great school with extraordinary teachers. Thank you MCH!

MCH is a wonderful school with caring, dedicated staff. We have sent three kids here, spanning…read morenearly seven years. The negative review from 2014 makes me crack up--anyone else had trouble getting their toddler to dress appropriately for weather?! :)

My son has been sending this school for about a month and it has been a very positive experience…read moreoverall. The staff is absolutely wonderful and the school itself is clean and well organized. Communication is beyond excellent! I feel very informed as a parent, and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved if you feel compelled. I've never felt pressured in any way. Huge shout out to Joelle and Camille, who are amazing and patient teachers! I am beyond grateful for all of the care and time they give to the kids I'm still waiting to determine the efficacy of the French immersion aspect of the education so I'll post more of an update later. Otherwise, the pedagogy for a preschooler seems more than adequate.

In general we were happy at L'Etoile, but we had very different experiences with each child. These…read moreexperiences were influenced by of course their unique dispositions, the different families in their classes, their teachers, and notably the school being sold to a private equity group (Spring Education). Being owned by a for-profit private equity group shifted some aspects of the school, some for the better, but other aspects declined. Things that felt reasonable before, such as after-care costs, sky-rocketed in price. A primary concern of ours after learning the school was sold to a private equity group (Primavera Capital Group Owns Spring Education) was the protection of our data and what data specifically the non-US based Primavera Group had access to which was not specifically disclosed to parents. We wished we had been given more notice regarding the sale - we had already signed up for the next school year and paid non-refundable deposits. In our experience, neurotypical children thrive at L'Etoile. Our friends with neurodivergent children had many difficulties and the school really struggled to adequately respond. As always, it greatly depends on the specific needs of the child. Children in both Kindergarten and 1st grade were sent to 'the principal's office' as a regular course of action when reoccurring issues arose. We didn't love being part of a community where this was the common response for 5 and 6 year olds. The school did bring in an outside expert and this outside expert helped train new incoming teachers on effective discipline and also worked with parents as needed. Another area that was of concern for us is that the school uses interns in each class from France, ages 19 to 23 for supplemental staffing. In the 2024/2025 school year, two of the classes had assistant teachers that were brought over as interns completing their Master's programs, one in the TPS class and one in the MS class. This should have been disclosed to parents in advance when signing up for the new year, but it was not. There were many playground issues which parents frequently brought up to administration and we felt strongly that the cultural differences/expectations and the intern's general lack of experience with behavior issues at this stage of life did not serve as a help in resolving playground dynamics which frequently involved unkind behavior between children and physical boundary issues from some of the children (hitting, shoving, hair pulling, etc). The interns also serve as the primary staff for the after-care program. Many of the teachers at L'Etoile are outstanding and truly have a love for teaching and working with children. The upper school uses the French curriculum which is fine, but has drawbacks for children ahead or behind. One of our children ahead in math was left bored/unchallenged. Parents at the school whose children are behind in reading often hire private tutors as the school's reading specialists can't help with issues of dyslexia or reading delays in English. The school has a strong parent community and as I said before, neurotypical children without academic challenges thrive here. Amazing field trips, teachers that care, a beautiful setting, and an environment where children between grades have the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other. As with all schools there are both positives and negatives. Overall, we would choose L'Etoile again.

You're not really going to make a choice about schools based on a review from Yelp, right? Go…read morevisit the school, check out their website, attend a game or play or lecture. Even a monthly parent-school meeting will show you the possibilities and opportunities that your child could glean from OES. The summer program offerings are a great place to start--look into it. While you're at it, sign your child up for an enrichment learning activity. We loved meeting the middle school drama teacher and the varsity basketball coach through summer camps. Want to see inspired teaching and learning? Make an appointment to visit classrooms and chat with teachers and students. It will be worth your effort. Maybe you've heard the cliche about schools and teachers and fellow students that help children discover and envision themselves in new, amazing ways. In our experience, that movie cliche holds true. Our son loves his learning experiences here. Even with a minimum of a 90 minute round trip commute to and from school, he looks forward to school every day and leaves at year's end with a deeper understanding of himself, his responsibilities as a human, and of a deep respect for others around him.

This School is The best The teachers are so kind. And they teach you about kindness…read moreYou should definitely go to school