I attended this school for 13 years, from my first day in Prima to graduation. It is the only…read moreschool I ever knew, and because of that, I feel I can offer a perspective that balances both the praise and criticism found in many reviews. This has always been a demanding school. Its purpose is to prepare students for college, and that preparation begins long before high school. For some students and families, that level of rigor can feel overwhelming. However, I have also seen tremendous growth occur when both students and parents commit themselves to the challenge. There often comes a point where students either learn to thrive within those expectations or struggle to keep pace. The potential for growth is there, but it requires effort from everyone involved. That said, rigor alone does not make a school perfect. My least favorite period was Logic (middle school). During those years, I often felt less like an individual and more like a number. The environment sometimes felt focused on monitoring, correcting, and containing students rather than understanding them. Discipline was extremely strict--even something as small as chewing gum in class was prohibited--yet Logic was still the least well-behaved division in my experience. While the curriculum was strong and prepared students well for high school, it was also the least enjoyable stage of my education. Rhetoric (high school) felt like a more refined, though sometimes stranger, version of Logic. Freshmen and sophomores were often treated similarly to middle school students, while juniors and seniors were given considerably more freedom. In my graduating class, nearly everyone already knew each other, which made it difficult to form new friendships. I also noticed a sharp difference in how students were treated as they got older. Students who were trusted more often behaved better, while those who felt heavily policed tended to push back. That dynamic sometimes created tension between grade levels. As for special education services, my experience varied depending on the year. During my time at the school, education as a whole was experiencing significant staffing challenges, and several teachers either left or were removed from their positions. My experiences in Grammar and Rhetoric were very positive, while Logic was more turbulent. The staff members I worked with were caring people with good intentions. While I cannot speak for every student's experience, my needs in high school were met and often exceeded. Overall, this is a strong school. If your primary goal is a rigorous education that prepares students well for college, it delivers. However, the social environment can sometimes create unnecessary stress for students who are already facing significant academic demands. It is neither a perfect school nor a deeply flawed one. More than anything, it is a lifestyle choice--a decision about how you want your children to be educated and influenced during the years when you are not around.

It's decent but it can be horrible sometimes. They don't always make decisions that make the most…read moresense but it's decent otherwise. There are some fights that take place sometimes, so if you're a goody- two shoes, don't come here. But if you want to have better relationships with black people/the African race, you'll be fine. There are some really good teachers here so it's an overall decent school. They just need to make rules that work for everyone.

Not only is Sarah a blast to be around, but she will also go above and beyond to make sure you are…read morecomfortable. She is not afraid to try anything once (thanks for the sparklers!) and they lead to some fantastic shots. She is extremely capable of getting even the toughest critic to smile and look natural, not pained. I highly recommend booking your next photo session with Sarah. As she says, if it's worth a thought, it's worth a shot. She makes sure to capture those shots perfectly.

I asked Sarah to photograph my whole team. She was courteous and polite. we were at my office,…read morewhich is not the most photogenic, but she made it work exceptionally well! Sarah is very friendly. I didn't plan perfectly, so we were in a time crunch, but she was still chatting and making us all laugh, even though she was setting up the lighting. I think she really connects with her clients so she can better direct us. I was truly impressed by the quality of the photographs Sarah took of my group. I own a professional services consulting firm.

Awesome place. My son does a week of art class in the summer and he loves it. Great prices and…read morefriendly staff. Oh and the cutest doggy!

We love Rum River Art Center! My girls have been attending classes off and on for several years…read more The classes are informative, fun and reasonably priced. As someone with a background in early childhood education I am a bit picky and critical. I have high standards of educational programs and how to relate to children. This program not only meets but exceeds my expectations for quality. The girls have learned a lot and Larry is wonderful, patient, kind and knowledgeable. My girls always look forward to returning. I would highly recommend this to any family interested in art education.

This was our first visit and they were incredibly welcoming and helpful. I don't know much about…read moresewing and my 8 year old daughter has done a handful of classes. We were gifted an older machine that I wasn't sure was in working order. They so kindly inspected it and taught me about oiling since it's an older machine. I was able to pick up the supplies I needed to maintain it there as well! Really appreciated the time they took to show my daughter how to thread it as well. Will for sure be back! They also have folks on site that offer sewing classes, so we may check that out in the future as well.

I've purchased two machines here and love the selection available. Their service is top notch!…read more I've benefited from the free lessons and have learned so much. Bill and Kay were so patient explaining things to me. I feel I have a much better understanding of my machine now and feel confident to try some features I've not explored before.

I found Costello safety to be a real forklift instructor for safe operation in the logistics and…read morewarehouse world.......... great training by a instructor with 30 year experience. You can tell he knows what he's talking about. I would highly recommend

From the owner: Costello Safety specializes in forklift certification and forklift training.read more

We went to a class today at the Andover Y. It was a painting class. We didn't know what we would be…read moredoing till we got there. This is a big Y. It is part of Andover Community Center too. I look forward to trying some other classes at this Y.

I popped here this past weekend for working out. I used one of my guest passes with a friend. The…read moreprocess was very smooth and easy. Bonita at the front desk who helped was so helpful and friendly. I know some Y locations have some lockers that have code locks on them and you don't need a personal lock. This location did not. I didn't realize that till I was in the locker room. I did go back up to the front desk and Bonita was able to borrow me a lock with me just giving my car keys in exchange. There is huge amount of various machines here for anyone and everyone to get a workout in. They have numerous squat racks as well. It was definitely busy on a Saturday morning but I was able to get a workout in without having to wait for a machine. Definitely an awesome Y location!

I would not recommend Doug and his driving school. The Brooklyn Park school is next to a marial…read morearts school and everything echos. You are only given nine months to get your three behind the wheel lessons in. Doug had my child stop so he could get coffee on each of their lessons, he would answer calls, didn't instruct while driving just gave them a sheet at the end of what to work on but didn't explain much during the lesson.

I got my license here, and my daughter just did 2 hours of driving with Heather, and she was…read moreamazing! She took my daughter around a neighborhood, then on a street, down a few highways, and even on roundabouts! She taught her all the basics and I'm grateful she was so thorough with her driving. They even had a lovely conversation where my daughter felt more at ease to drive. 10/10

Northland School of Dance is literally our second home!! After my daughter's previous studio had…read moreto close we found Northland and we're welcomed with open arms! My daughter has created so many new, happy, memories and feels safe and loved there. She was even able to be a buddy to an amazing special needs dancer The teachers and owners are so incredibly amazing and the parents are so supportive of ALL of the dancers there

5/30/2023 I think its time for a quick update here. My…read moreoldest daughter (with special needs) still dances here. I would have pulled her out but she has a real hard time with change. We have been trying to contact the owners about tickets to her dance recital but they have not returned our messages. We have been trying for over a week. We only want the tickets because we were required to buy them with our contract. And we would not miss her dancing for anything. (BTW, they charged us $25.00 per ticket. And we were required to purchase 5). When they finally answered their phone, we were informed that we were not welcome there, as they had read my first review, And we would not be getting our tickets. So I went down there in person. They did give me the tickets, and then proceeded to kick me off the premises. They also stated that they were going to call all other studios in the area and (I'm paraphrasing) basically have my youngest daughter blackballed. They also told me that they looked up my business and were going to write bad reviews in an attempt to put me out of business. I think that right there is proof of my earlier statement of them becoming the bullies. After all of this I think it needs to be said again. Do yourself a favor. There are LOTS & LOTS of dance studios in town. And most of them are higher quality than this one. Do your homework. You definitely want to steer clear of this one. One last thing. I see 2 - 5 star reviews after this from other "supposed" mothers that love this place. I will say that I'm glad they are happy there. We were happy as well. but once things go wrong, those reviews will change. I will update again after the recital.