Families are looking to find schools that their child think it's best for them and for their safety…read moretoo. Parents should definitely do what's best for their children by attending them to one of the best schools in the state, not only is Lower Merion High School one of the best, but also the best at welcoming new students who move or transferred from a different school. Here at Lower Merion High school, kids and teens should be welcomed and not come in nervous or feeling like they don't belong here at all. Lower Merion High School is not all about that, but to make your children feel like they belong here and that they should have the confidence to waking up knowing it's going to be a great day at their new school!

I've called the high school several times this year just to find out information for my current 8th…read moregrader soon going into high school for 2022. No one at the school had any real customer service demeanor. The front desk lady never said her name, nor was she inviting or nice. I was then transferred to the guidance counselor and she had no customer service either. I understand that people have a bad day, but as a customer service person, you have to put those things aside and treat people accordingly. I really have to consider whether Lower Merion High School will be my son's choice of school.

If you've followed my reviews, or if you search them now, you will understand that the NMT has…read morestruggled with his emotional wellness over the past few years. One of his biggest struggles has been with school-based anxiety, to the point of being unable to get into the school building. His local, award-winning, nationally recognized public school worked mightily but ultimately could not provide him with an environment in which he could learn. We cycled through a couple of other independent schools that work with anxious kids with various levels of success, but ultimately did not work out. I learned about Fusion via a newspaper article in November of 2017, while the NMT was inpatient for the second time to keep him safe. I spoke with their school director, hoping to be able to send him there at discharge. Alas, they would not be open until late spring. NMT enrolled elsewhere for spring semester, did OK but by the end of summer clearly needed something else. So we went off to Fusion, where they met so warmly with him and us. I admit, I was skeptical, a bit, as was the boy's therapist. Could they really handle this kid? Deep breath. The NMT cautiously agreed to enroll. The first days were ROUGH. Really rough. He doesn't transition well, and he was anxious and terrified and angry. I was waiting for the "I'm sorry, we can't help him" call. Except...they handled him, well, beautifully. Better than the award winning nationally recognized public school or the two independent schools who work with anxious teens. They just...got him. Gave him space but kept him engaged. Slowly, he started to trust, first one teacher, then others. He started to think it wasn't so awful. Then, that it was OK. Now, 10 months later, he voluntarily enrolled in summer programming so he could avoid re-entry stress and keep moving and because he loves his time there. Recently he was angry with me over something teenager-y. He shouted "You know what? I'M GOING TO SCHOOL AND I'M NOT COMING BACK." I had to turn my back to keep from showing him the little happy dance I did with my arms. This is a kid who hated school. The bright, above average testing boy who was anxious and angry and felt he was stupid and it was a waste of time. I can't say that they could teach any kid, or that every parent will have the experience that we have. There are a lot of factors that go into his success, one of which was him making different choices, his clinical team making some medication changes that helped him, and a measure of emotional maturity kicking in, or just being weary of being in trouble all the time. I can say that Fusion's team were a significant part of that though, meeting him where he was, building the relationship first, building trust, and yes, holding him to standards and teaching too. Yeah, they really get it, how to reach the anxious school refusing kid, and they are doing great work with him. I could not be more grateful.

My kid gets stressed so I thought this would be a good fit but there are no rules there's two…read morehours break you can go out to eat you can sit on the floor in a class there are no other students in the room and the teachers they are just so rude to the parents they literally let the kids take naps at school and guess how much it is it's over 50k a year for my kid to take naps and there only in middle school and there aloud to walk out of the building by them selves and walk a mile down the roads for Wawa were just by them selves they could get kidnaped

Most teachers are very nice and seem to really care about the kids. It was a better place before…read morethey switched principals. Watch out for the parents... They're very cliquey and catty!!! Car line is terrible in the afternoon. Cars start lining up around 3:10.

The Haverford School is one of the premier educational organizations anywhere, providing its…read morestudents with a top notch education and emphasizing the importance of being a strong writer.

Class of '95 here…read more What can I say about this place? A decade plus removed from it, I don't keep in touch with many of the people, though not for their own fault or mine. I value the education I got here tremendously - from Mr Duffany's excruciating but valuable sentence diagram the the late Señor Laserna's Spanish, which lasts with me still. I loved rowing crew and Doc Kinney's art class/introspective therapy sessions, could have done without some of the cookie-cutter jackasses and senses of entitlement. But all in all it was a good school for the area, one I think of with mostly fond memories, and I wish only the best for this place.

terrible awful place with terrible awful administration. at least the old principle cared about the…read morekids recently there has been 0 concern for student well being. it's sad how they shape the kids and how they come out of that school.

I heard really high ratings about this place! I was doing a painting gig with others for an open…read morehouse event and the kids were cool! I see a very active sports soccer team in the parking lot. Their campus was gorgeous! Makes me wish I knew about them instead of going to Central High school freshmen year when I was younger! I would have gotten in on full scholarship just based on my top notch city wide scores test where I was like 95-98% then! Oh so proud of the good old beainy days! Lol! Oh I think I heard it was a scholarship or tuition based school. What it takes to qualify I don't know. You gotta do some research! My advice to scholars: straight A's, state standard testing and extracurricular activities and hobbies and travel when young are the way to go! All the best luck to the kids who do go here! I heard like a third of class for accepted to Harvard or an Ivy League! Kuddos to the Brainiacs!!!

Excellent private school. Easily the best on the Main Line. The reviewer that says "it is no…read moreBaldwin" probably did not get in. The teachers are dedicated and know every student. The curriculum is challenging. Also, if you are looking at Yelp to decide where your kid should go?... shame on you.

FANTASTIC school and community with dedicated and remarkably engaging faculty. The kids at Friends…read moreCentral School (FCS) are kind and caring, humble and free of elitism! You (kids or parents) don't have to be beautiful, wealthy of wear expensive sneakers to feel valued here. And the parents are a thousand times friendlier than the ones at Gladwyne Elementary. If you read "Battle hymn of the tiger mom," Baldwin is more like the mom and FCS is more like the dad. They both end up as Ivy League professors but take different paths to get there. So, it depends what you are looking for. FCS is intentional in teaching excellent academics (just look at the list of colleges the kids attend), critical thinking, intellectual risk taking and compassion. The school uses various strategies to foster psychological and social well being and the result is that kids are not bogged down by loneliness, depression, anxiety, etc. Sports are in perspective alongside drama and music, and other co-educational activities. The curriculum integrates concepts with interesting experiences, such as going to the Rennaisance Faire as part of the social studies lesson on societal structures or examining cheek cells through microscopes for a biology lesson in cell structure. No wonder the school makes kids eager to learn and study! Our child has attended three schools and is by far the happiest at FCS. . Check it out for yourself: Friendscentral.org OPEN HOUSE Sat. Oct. 15, 2016

Turn to the Light, of Westtown School. Hands-down, best school culture anywhere.read more

I spent only my freshman year in upper school here, as a day student. My family has sent a lot of…read morerelatives to 'Town, back to Hannah Hunt, 1799 (a founding student). My dad didn't want me joining the cool group at public school, ripped me away from my friends, & plopped me at W-town! It was framed as a punishment, which did not set me up for success. AT THE TIME I WAS THERE, this is how it was (may be different now, years later): - Very diverse student body, all over the world, all over the country, all religions (or lack thereof), several diplomats' kids - No prom b/c it's tacky - Good college advisor program - 600-acre campus is breathtaking! - Lots of tradition, joining a community, sense of continuity through many years - Boarding was mandatory for Juniors & Seniors, but not Freshmen & Sophomores (busses from local school dists transport day students for free) - Mandatory Meeting for Worship every Wed (mandatory on Sun, as well, for boarders) - Mandatory Quakerism classes - Academics taught like college courses (at a small liberal arts school, at least) - Westtown is not brash & obnoxious like many Main Line private schools. It is ranked well nationally, but it's for down-to-earth people, not snobs. It's not very Quakerly to be a snob. - Students have mandatory community service. They have outreach programs, from which you can choose, but it's part of your education to learn how to give to your community. - There were monthly assemblies with various messages, & speakers. Westtown is very politically & socially liberal, so this will always be the tone of their morals & missions. It was definitely preparatory for college with the lectures & talks we got. - Field Trips & outings are more sophisticated, like college - Sports mandatory all year b/c they do not have gym class. Underclassmen had to play 2 team sports out of the 3 seasons, +1 club sport, IF you got in before all the spaces filled up, otherwise, it was 3 team sports. - No football b/c a student had died from it before use of helmets - Stealing among boarders? Yes - Drug culture? Yes - Sneaking to co-ed's dorm for sex? Yes - Bullying? Yes PERSONAL REFLECTIONS Where Westtown benefited me: It is mandatory to have UNPAID campus jobs. Yup, Mom & Dad will pay tens of thou for you to go be a janitor. At the time I went, these jobs included everything from vacuuming classrooms, to doing dishes in the dining room. Humility is part of being a well-rounded, decent human being. W-town will teach it to you. I had a classmate who tried to pay off our advisor to get himself out of his work job. Guess what that got him? The crappiest job available. I had a hard time donning the bright yellow gloves & a rubber apron, & I whined & "ewwwww"-ed my way through it, but the kids who took it in stride, & did a good job, were the ones everyone liked. You learned a lot about how to grow the heck up, & take care of yourself & others at this school. I had a drama class, that made a huge impression on me. My art class introduced me to acid etching when I was a mere 14 years old! We did some amazing projects, with equipment I never would have had access to at public school. Going deeper... I met a lot of really cool people here. The international students were AMAZING people, for the most part. I was fascinated by their worldliness & chutzpah. My two close freshman friends by the end of the year were from Manhattan & Tanzania. I also really related to upperclassmen tennis teammates from China & VA. A great mix of kids! I was exposed to diversity & culture (literature & arts) that I would not have been at public school (although my AP ps education was exceptional), & I am forever grateful. I was on a step squad, & I sucked, but I still know my routine! Where W-town failed me: - Faculty brats in my class were mean & entitled. The daily putdowns (making fun of me for being a priss), were ironic/hypocritical at Quaker school, & a HUGE factor in making me not return. - A number of kids there were expelled from other schools, & had a lot of problems, which some of them took out on others. I had a really bad incident with one of these kids, which was a trauma I had to deal with in years of therapy. - Faculty was hit or miss. Some teachers did not have teaching certs, just majored in that subject. For example, my history teacher was so awesome, I still remember his lectures, but my French teacher was TERRIBLE & had no teaching skills or certs! Also, I could not take two languages in my schedule (but did at ps with no prob). The kids who'd been there a while knew which teachers to request, & got them, while others suffered. ------- In the end, the bad apple faculty & students spoiled things for me, & the trauma event I endured (which I did NOT report to the school), sent my OCD out of control. I returned to ps, for better & worse, but dealt with it. FUN FACT: Famous alums? Bob Marley's daughter attended (you can look up all the famous alums on Wiki).

What a beautiful setting. This would be a dream to send my future grandchildren here. Hope for…read morescholarships I have never seen a more clean beautiful and well organized middle school

This is a great establishment creating Greta young men and women. It challenges but also nurtures…read morethem into growing to their full potential. Whether it is through athletics or academics it not only allows but helps them succeed: