My daughter is only a preschooler here, but the experience we have had at HIES has been phenomenal…read more The teachers are warm, intelligent and very enthusiastic. I have never witnessed such school pride; from the youngest toddler to the oldest senior getting ready to move on to college. The emphasis is on developing the entire character, not just churning out the next einstein. Strong both academically and athletically, HIES is a fabulous alternative to the other more obvious schools in town. It should also be noted that HIES is the largest Episcopal school in the country, but the feel is still very intimate and family-oriented.

Stuck in carpool line on Heards Rd for 20 minutes! Is a school permitted to close a road?read more

Puberty peaked for me my freshman year at Centennial High School, and my acne, braces,…read moreuncontrollable hair, and fifty pounds of excess weight did not make for a great start to the high school experience (freshman girls are not the kindest!). I decided to transfer to Riverwood to begin my sophomore year, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I owe RHS everything for giving me a great education, getting me into an incredible college, and introducing me to incredible teachers I respect and continue to keep in touch with to this day. This experience is not had by everyone, but it can be for those who make it happen. I enrolled in the IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma program, and it was so rewardingly challenging that it made college an absolute breeze. After coming form a fairly conservative, white, southern high school, I especially liked how Riverwood was extremely diverse, with a popular ESOL program and students coming in from all over different parts of the city. I definitely cannot speak for all of the teachers there, but the ones I had were unforgettable. They truly were meant to be teachers and saw teaching as their life rather than a way to pay the bills. They were also counselors and friends, and one of my teachers senior year actually took time to assist students with questions about applying to college, what schools they should consider, financial aid routes, etc. After spending 40K a year at a private university in DC, I have yet to contact or keep in touch with even one of my professors there; however, I visit Riverwood once a year and email back and forth with my old teachers every few months or so. Riverwood is far, far from perfect. There's constant chaos in the halls, and I was (and still am when I visit now) pushed around and nearly trampled on every time the bell rang. It definitely does not resemble a private school in the slightest, so don't expect that if you ever walk through the doors. My social experience there was fairly nonexistent, but everyone was awesome and friendly. I also can't speak for any non-nerdy afterschool activities like sports, but I enjoyed every club I was a part of (or presidente of, muchas gracias!). I still wear my high school class ring. 'Nuff said.

Someone found a dead raccoon in the boys bathroom. This was very disgusting. The smell was putrid,…read moreI could smell it from the upper level of the school. I would not recommend for those with hypersomia, as this school is a hotspot for rotten scents.

I went to Galloway from K-12, so this comes from a very long firsthand experience. There are…read moredefinitely positives: it is a kind, supportive environment, the teachers generally care, and the school does a good job making students feel seen as individuals. I understand why a lot of Buckhead families are drawn to it. That said, looking back as an adult, I do not feel like it prepared me especially well for real life. There was a lot of emphasis on "be your best self," which sounds good on paper, but in my experience there was less emphasis on discipline, toughness, accountability, and the kind of academic rigor that actually helps once you leave a protected school environment. It helped get me into Alabama, but I was not especially well prepared once I got there, and that became obvious pretty quickly. Now I work in residential real estate, and while I do fine, it is not exactly the kind of challenging or deeply fulfilling professional path I once thought a school like Galloway was preparing me for. It is a very relationship-driven job with long hours, and if I am being honest, a lot of where I landed had more to do with family connections than with any real edge the school gave me. That is the part I think prospective families should think about. Galloway was good at making students feel comfortable and affirmed. I am less convinced it was good at pushing them hard enough to thrive on their own later.

I've been a teacher for over 30 years and I didn't know a school as ideal as Galloway existed. It's…read morewhat education should be but usually is thought to be impossible by those who haven't seen it done. I took a job in upper learning and have been so pleased to see that Galloway does exactly what they say they do. They are still true to their mission in a time when many schools have tried to be too much, or worse, given up trying. Students are happy, supported, and empowered to advocate for their own education. The rhythm of the day is purposefully designed to help students learn and grow academically as well as socially. Teachers create conditions for each student to think deeply and participate actively according to their strengths. The day is punctuated by regular breaks allowing students to enjoy social community, lunch, and relaxation in between tutorials and class time. Students are very involved: they run weekly clubs and plan and host town meetings. There is time for sports and extracurriculars. Students can explore their interests casually as well as competitively in a welcoming atmosphere. I wish I'd known about it sooner.

Amazing K-12 institution, great family atmosphere and an Ivy league secondary education. Very…read moreexcited to be part of the school.

If your child needs any kind of auxiliary learning services, such as an IEP, good luck. The school…read moredistrict will send a "bad cop" from HQ to deny anything you're requesting that costs a dime.

I was here as a spectator this weekend. Wheeler High School hosted an AAU basketball tournament and…read moremy little cousin was here playing. The school looks really nice from the outside, the only place I really speak on is the gymnasium since that's where we spent the most time. The gym is really nice, the bleachers are the hard plastic and were the school colors and spelled out Cats in yellow. Nice touch. The auxiliary gym was hot and nothing to call home about but it served its purpose. I would say the lady they had cleaning worked her heart out because it was so many people in and out of the gym it was just overwhelming for her. She did a great job keeping everything clean.

For 12 years HSP was home away from home. The staff and families became some of my closest…read morefriends, many of which I still consider friends. It was enjoyable being part of watching this institution grow and develop, as the students grew and developed into young adults that we all could be proud of. I miss them everyday, but carry them in my heart always!

We have been part of the HSP community for over ten years. Magnificent community, superb education…read more The HSP motto "to serve, not to be served" is reinforced daily. Our children are thriving in this environment and as a result, we as parents have learned so much and grown spiritually as well.

This isn't a review of the high school itself - if you're basing where to send your kid to school,…read moreyou're gonna have to look deeper than yelp - but is just about the physical school itself. It's gargantuan! My kids had a dance competition this weekend at this high school. We were driving south on I-75 and as we were approaching the exit I could see a big corporate building and thought the school had to be close by it - I had no idea that IS the school! Apparently the building used to be an IBM complex and judging from the Brutalist design was 1960s or 1970s (ah, eventual googling says 1977). Just a massive pouring of concrete - you'd think the earth will eventually give way and this thing will collapse right into the molten core of the globe. And I doubt it'd stop there. So the building is grand and imposing from the outside, and the car drop-off area into the "lobby" is magnificent with its tiles and stairs [note: I'm not an architect, just a guy who thinks this stuff is cool, so forgive me if I speak in incorrect terminology]. If you're familiar with Marcel Breuer's Atlanta public library, you'll be reminded of it here. To go to my event, I wandered down the main hall, which is nonstop glass windows to my right giving me a look of nearby woods and a pond that the building is built atop of. Gazing into the waters in the afternoon provided a mirror image of the building, and the symmetry of it made it look like the building descended deep into the earth in repetitive iterations. In summary, this is just another one of those great hidden discoveries. Short of some press a few years ago when this building was converted into the school (at no small price, natch) you don't really find much info on the utter greatness of this campus. So now you know. You don't even have to go inside to appreciate it, though it's nice if you can. I don't wish to relive my high school years, but i imagine if I went here I'd at least have one positive memory to reflect on.

The only good teachers shine in the AP and IB classes. Other than that, standard and honors…read moreteachers are mostly a prank to the Georgia Department of Education.

I am a 1969 graduate.My parents drove me from Roswell.I had attended Morgan Falls Elementary public…read moreschool through sixth grade.I was the youngest person in my 7th grade class at Westminster.I attended Duke on a full scholarship and later UGA Law .I became a trial lawyer.Needless to say Westminster positively changed the course of my life. E.Marcus (Marc)Davis

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.