I have seen Rivendell School almost every week when I drive by to deposit my recycling. They have a…read morebrightly colored playground and a huge peacock statue that was once was covered in CD's which was very very creative! It reminded me of a real peacock! It has since lost the CD's and is now dressed Hawaiian style. About a week ago I saw that Rivendell has signs up for a book sale. The prices looked very reasonable. About 50 cents to 2 dollars, depending upon what type of book. I went in and looked around the place. I was very impressed! The school is fairly small and the main room is covered in books. A very impressive library! I bought about four or five books all for a very good price and the ladies that were working there were all very nice and sweet. After going to the book sale I decided to investigate more about what Rivendell School was about. I saw that they have been around Fort Collins since 1976. They are a nonprofit, secular private school. They have a huge emphasis on respect. They teach children how to respect the teachers and each other no matter how different you may be. In other words they don't let the cliche's run wild like at regular public schools. Their curriculum is less 'goal oriented' meaning they don't primarily focus on test scores and make things so directional. If a child needs a little extra attention then they can get that extra attention because of the small class size. Wow! How I wish I could have gone to a school like Rivendell! I was not impressed or amused overall with my public school experience and think I would have done much better in a place like this. While I don't have children I would highly recommend this place to friends that have children that are about to start school. I think they could greatly benefit from it. I also will be keeping tabs on the school's events and would love to continue to support this place! There really, really needs to be more schools like this!

Both of my children attend or attend here. The teachers are wonderful, caring, and highly…read morequalified. The curriculum allows students to progress at their own pace. The low teacher/student ratio provides a wealth of time for individual instruction in literacy, math, foreign language, science, and social studies. The school has a tight-knit community that fosters a life-long love of learning,, a trait that is more than worth the cost of tuition.

We've been to a few different preschools between our two kids and a move - no other school holds a…read morecandle to Harmony. It was such a warm, inviting, FUN, environment for my child's first school experience. We stayed for two years and I was beyond bummed when we had to move because my younger one missed out. The school has all sorts of fun extras - a Mother's Tea, a school carnival, lots of fun stuff for the kiddos and the tuition cannot be beat. It is hands down the best preschool in the Fort in my opinion. And for those nonreligious parents - like my husband - while the school does teach about Jesus and celebrates Christian holidays - it does so in a way that emphasizes the positive character traits and not in any way in an exclusionary way that keep many people away from some schools of faith. My husband loved the school as well. I can't say enough good things about the staff, the director, and of course the teachers. Thanks for the fantastic start, Harmony!!!

This school is fantastic!!!! So well run! Their Kid Kapers program (comparable to moms day out) is…read moremy daughters highlight each week and it's so convenient as you can pick and choose the days that work best for your schedule each month (do it early, they fill up fast!) They do arts and crafts, story time, tons of hands on play, lots of movement in the gym and playground, early preschool academic learning.... the list goes on and on. Mrs Brown is one of my daughters favorite people on earth. We are grateful for this schools influence in her life. Don't wait! Go check it out today!

If you are a parent looking for a school that communicates openly, takes accountability, and truly…read moreprioritizes student well-being, I would strongly recommend exploring other options. Our experience at Academy of Arts & Knowledge was very disappointing. Communication was poor, incidents were misrepresented, and my child was even punished for reporting bullying. Promised support plans and accommodations were delayed or ignored, and meetings felt endless with no real progress. The environment caused unnecessary stress and emotional harm. I've since filed a formal grievance with the school board and CSI. Families deserve transparency, safety, and accountability -- we did not find that here.

The two years at the school left us very frustrated and disappointed. While there were kind…read moreteachers and creative projects, our daughter fell very behind in reading, spelling and math. Repeated efforts to communicate this to her teacher were ignored, as well as wanting to volunteer in the classroom. Our daughter went back to public school being one of the lowest in her grade and needed tutoring. While the school has good intentions, they cannot offer the resources our amazing public schools do, had constant changing and lack of staff and our family regrets our time there.

We have been there for 1 year now and we never have any problem. My daughter loves it here, Tasha…read moreand Laura (director and assistant director) are both wonderful.

My husband and I were in the market for childcare and we decided to check this place out as it is…read moreon my way to work. We walked in and it is decorated in a really poorly designed nautical theme. It took awhile, but the Asst. Director finally realized we were there and came to greet us. She was pleasant enough and was excited to talk about their programs. The infant room is through the toddler room. As we were walking past the toddlers I couldn't help but notice the dirt covered baby dolls that lay strewn across the floor. That's right I could see the caked on dirt from 5'7" away. GROSS. As we entered the infant room, my husband nearly hit a little girl with the door because she sitting directly in front of it. When asked if they keep the kids away from there we were told "oh they know not to sit there." Really? A 7 month baby "knows" where to sit and where not to sit? Moving on, we met the Director in the infant room. I try really hard not to judge people by the way they look but seriously? This woman looked as though she hadn't combed her hair in a week and had slept in the cheap-o ill fitting suit she was wearing. And the Pièce de résistance...she had a little boy in her arms and was letting him chew on her finger! Eww. Now as a mom, my baby will get my finger into her mouth, but I am her mother. Who knows where this lady's finger's been! This woman is basically a stranger and supposed to be a professional. We were totally skeeved out by this place and left as soon as we could.

When I was searching for a school for my children, I didn't just consider the curriculum, the…read morecommute, or the demographics. I asked myself a bigger question: What kind of adults do I want my children to become? With that in mind, I chose a school that would teach them integrity, resilience, and the ability to accomplish and create in every stage of life. Ridgeview offers more than an education--it offers education for life. As they often say, "At Ridgeview, we do hard things." These challenges aren't for their own sake, but to help every child discover and develop their full potential.

I went here from 9th grade until I graduated high school. I made great friends and had a few truly…read moreexcellent, inspirational teachers, but I also had multiple teachers (particularly ones that taught history and government related classes) who were overwhelmingly biased and even frequently told blatant lies or made up stories to further their own narratives about our world. I would frequently come home after history class and feel a need to fact check my teachers; more often than not I would find that they were thoroughly wrong on the topics I had researched myself. Also at Ridgeview there is a culture of conformity. Self expression often seems discouraged and students can be severely punished for "disrespecting teachers" when in truth all that happened were mere disagreements. And, although respect towards teachers is a paramount rule within this school, teachers frequently disrespect and make fun of students; the principal himself has presented ad hominem attacks against students during debates about things like paternity leave, the black lives matter movement, or the wage gap. I have nothing against tongue and cheek banter, but what I'm talking about here is beyond that. Student council at this school is for all intents and purposes run by the administration. As such students have no real say in the frequent changes that come to the school. The current principal seems to want the school to be a place for deeply conservative minded young people to become even more staunch in their views, rather than a place for real discourse, debate, and discussion. Also this place abstains from teaching any kind of sex-ed, which I believe leads to a deeply misinformed student body when it comes to sex and sexual identity. The school claims to be a place for students who like a challenge or enjoy difficult and truly stimulating classes and conversation. If that describes your student however, the IB program at Poudre, or the AP programs at Fossil or Rocky would be better, in my opinion, and would probably set up your student to be more likely to get into top colleges with top scholarships. DISCLAIMER: I did not attend Ridgeview in middle school or in the lower grades. My review is based in my experiences predominantly in the high school. Please do not judge their middle school based on what I've said. Students typically seem pretty satisfied with their middle school experience here.

My 7 year old grandson goes to this school. He likes his school from what I can tell, however, he…read moreis not reading well. He is now in the 2nd grade and is barely able to read. He struggles and it takes some time to convince him to read a couple of sentences. He gets frustrated when he's reading (outloud) and a couple of words challenge him. This is a kid who is very sharp in all other areas. I personally wonder what the teachers are doing for the children during school hours. Why don't they spend time working with the students in reading more, because that's the foundation of learning anything. Without knowing how to read, kids will miss so much and it will affect them all through their lives. Please, rethink your teaching methods.

Just graduated from here.... Class of 2015. It's amazing how things grow on you here. My freshman…read moreyear I thought the school was too big or classes were too hard or whatever. But as the years went bye I have come to really adore fossil. I also did swim on the guys swim team all four years, and that really helped me make friends. But I'm also happy I had a lot of non swimming friends the same. People seem to get along pretty well at fossil. I'll miss it for sure.