Manor High School gets 5 stars in my book!!! I have twins who will be juniors this new school year…read moreand have been attending Manor High School since 9th grade. Manor High is such a GREAT school for so many reasons but for me as a parent of 3 kids w/ 2 of them being twins the thought of college costs can be very scary!! BUT Manor High School has partnered up with the ACC in Elgin to offer a free early college program which my twins are in the first class of the Early College program & through this program students can earn an Associates degree by the time they graduate from high school & let me repeat.. This program is FREE!!! All tests, books, courses, bus rides to Elgin ACC, ect ALL FREE!! And not to mention the support for the students is awesome!! Manor ISD as a whole is really growing & I just love how the schools bring in programs for the students to be a part of & to be more supported. Now I'm not saying Manor High is perfect but I am saying as a parent my experience w/ Manor High School is that I do feel that during the times I did have an issue or concern I was heard, which means so much! As a parent of 16 year old boy/girl twins who are in 11th grade it really helps to know that if I ever need extra support or have concerns about my kids schooling that I can reach out to someone at MHS to get that support! Anyone with teenagers knows that sometimes us parents need ALL the help we can get to make sure our kids stay on the right path & to let them know that they can reach for the stars!! And to help us parents not lose our minds or strangle, I mean squeeze ;-) our kids! Happy 2016/2017 school year!! Manor High School Rocks!!!

They have their struggles for sure - but not all teachers are bad. My daughter is a teacher there…read moreand she works long hours to make the learning experience a great one. There are some that shouldn't be teaching - Just like EVERY school. Kids in general are out of control and many have no parental support. if people want to complain, step up anc volunteer, sub, mentor - these are all our kids And teachers are all way underpaid and overworked.

Caring staff and great programs!…read more Pay your teachers more money. They work so hard to prepare our children for the world. ACC now is tuition free as well.

so to start, the admin are all miserable. along with the AP's who just all seem like they hate…read morechildren and their creativity. on top of it, going to this school is like walking to the gallows. Absolutely no freedoms for the students, terrible layout. Basically half the school blocked off because of unnecessary construction and getting to class takes longer than it should. then, the teachers get and if you are late when there is thousands of students taking the same route because there's literally nowhere else to go, obviously theres traffic. in no world should it take three minutes to get inside through a door to get to a class, then have to walk across the entire school the long way because of an unnecessary barricade. Teachers have attitude, admin hate when they have to do their job, and AP's are mad at everyone just because they have a sad and miserable life.

TLE - Manor was our first daycare experience, and we genuinely had a wonderful time! Naturally,…read morethere were some growing pains, but anytime that there was an issue, TLE never hesitated to take accountability and work to resolve the issue, and dealing with their Director, Janice was always an absolute joy and was insanely helpful even with us moving on. Our little one enjoyed his time there and we could definitely see development in his sensory and social skills. The teachers genuinely got attached to him and were sad to see him leave. Of course, this is just our experience, but I would highly recommend TLE - Manor if you're looking for a safe and caring place!

I enrolled my children at The Learning Experience (TLE)-Manor in January 2025. Prior to enrollment,…read moremy children had been at a different daycare from age 3 months-4 years old, and transitioning to a new childcare environment was a daunting decision. Enrolling at TLE was the best decision for my children's development and our family. The leadership team and teachers are professional, highly communicative, understanding of child development, planful with parents to identify strategies that will yield the best outcomes for children's development, and thoughtful and intentional about the delivery of the curriculum. I cannot say enough about TLE-Manor and encourage anyone to try it for themselves - you will not be disappointed.

I have 2 grandkids at this school and I think they are fabulous! It is a loving and caring…read moreenvironment and the children are happy there. The grounds are large and the children have a lot of room to play and simply be children. The teachers are loving and kind and speak Spanish which is wonderful and the children are learning more of it everyday. This is a great place to let kids be kids.

We absolutely loved Wholesome Generation for our pre-schooler. The teachers were kind and…read morecourteous. The director is loving and nurturing. Our child's gross motor skills excelled while at Wholesome. The play learning and lots of outside time gave my child opportunities they wouldn't have had at other preschools/daycare centers to use their body and discover nature in a whole new way. Additionally, I really appreciated not having to prepare lunches and snacks for my child and that there was zero screen time while at school. At times, the school's ideas were so large and grand they were hard to capture, coming across as unorganized. The love and energy put into the school made up for that aspect. We moved on to (public) kindergarten for a more traditional academic education. I'd give Wholesome 4.5 stars if possible. No where is perfect but love and kindness goes a long way when raising children and making the best decision for them. In summary, we loved Wholesome Generation and would highly recommend it overall.

We absolutely love Kirby Hall. It has been a great fit for our child, who transferred from a strong…read morepublic school that wasn't able to meet his needs academically. He came in passionate about math, art, and sports and in the time he's been at Kirby, he's grown to love history, Spanish, and drama. He's developed deeper skills as a writer and his passion for reading and discussing diverse books has expanded tremendously. His classmates are academically curious and creative: they have the opportunity to write, perform, and build for the stage each semester. Their grade-level performance yesterday was incredibly funny and sweet, definitely exceeded my expectations! Overall, Kirby Hall is academically rigorous and welcoming, the teachers and staff are kind, accessible, and open, and the athletics are inclusive, positive, competitive, and well-run by the excellent PE teacher. The teachers and staff know each child so well and work hard to bring out the best in each-- and they chat easily with parents in the hall after school. The education has inquiry-based components, and they take multiple field trips each semester. The academic offerings for upper grades are constantly evolving as they are building a thoughtful and unique middle school. Most faculty have advanced degrees. I can't imagine a better education. I'd recommend Kirby Hall to anyone looking for a well-rounded, rigorous, inspiring education for their child.

"Mom, I love Kirby Hall School! Can I go there for 3rd grade? Can I go there all the grades? How…read moremany grades to they have?" This is a direct quote from my son will doing his reading homework recently. This is the type of school experience we as parents were hopeful for, that our son would love school and enjoy his "job" as a child of learning, growing and socializing. I have never seen a school environment where the kids literally run inside in excitement to begin the day at 8:10 I may add, and have such agency and confidence walking inside. It's gratifying to see how staff support and teach kids in ways that I was petrified of or suffered through myself in school. They're on stage in front of the whole school, they make presentations to their class, they have advisory to ask for help, they are learning to read music; I didn't learn a lot of this until after college! Everyone enjoys being there and supporting one another. It's a relaxing and engaging place to be. It's only our first year and we can't believe the difference.

Our family loves St. Francis School (SFS, a pre-K through 8th-grade private nonprofit…read moreinterdenominational school operating for 30+ years near the ACC Highland campus in north-central Austin). After a mixed but ultimately disappointing experience in 1st - 3rd grades at a crowded, overpriced, chaotic start-up foreign language immersion school, our family needed a fresh start. Our once confident and joyful learner of a child had been reduced to an overstressed student who loathed school and struggled through hours of tedious homework each night. St. Francis provided the small, truly diverse and welcoming community environment we wanted for our child, with a balance of challenging academics, ethics reinforcement, and attention to the nurturing & development of the whole child by experienced educators who really know how to differentiate instruction to many types of learners. This approach has totally turned around our child's experience of school and his learning & achievement have skyrocketed over the past 2 years. His school grades are now more in line with his always high standardized testing results, and homework no longer comes to tears! Another parent reviewer said it well when she described the diverse and "unpretentious atmosphere" at SFS. Every imaginable demographic is represented in both the student body and faculty. People are kind and friendly and welcoming, and individual differences are celebrated. Every time I'm on campus, I just feel inspired and hopeful. Because SFS keeps class size (max of 15) and total enrollment (around 400) in check and teachers love the place so much they stay for decades, the small, cohesive "neighborhood school" feel is maintained. Huge props go to the incomparable founding head of school, Barbara Porter, who has since 1985 guided SFS on its core mission of "excellence without exclusivity." SFS backs that sentiment up by supporting 25% of the student body with scholarships and charging one of the lowest private school tuition rates in the Austin area, while consistently graduating their students into the most competitive public school magnet programs and private high schools. Another wonderfully unique feature among area private schools is the SFS Learning Center, where students with special needs can receive tutoring and additional services to support their success in school. Kids with learning differences are fully integrated into SFS classrooms and are able to thrive as part of a truly diverse school community. At the same time, a large proportion of the student body would be described as "gifted & talented," demonstrating highest performance in academics, the arts, and sports. Each Friday morning, an optional hour of "chapel" is held in which the entire student body and faculty, as well as any parents & family members who wish to attend, gather together in the gym to share an uplifting community-building and/or character-building assembly or pep rally to celebrate that month's achievements. It's not actually religious (although some religious content is shared from time-to-time; the school is named for St. Francis of Assisi, after all). The 8th-grade year culminates in a transformative Spring Break trip to Italy to visit the hometown of St. Francis (among other sites), and the kids raise all of the money for the trip themselves over the course of their years at SFS. I could say much more about all the reasons we love SFS, but if you are considering private school or are just looking for a better school for your unique learner, I encourage you to take a tour and see for yourself. Curriculum and other details are available on the school website at http://www.stfrancis-school.org.

Well run institution with a great culture…read more Pro: - Long Term: with over 35 years in operation, they've had time to build a strong program that will last through economic downturns. - Culture: teachers, students and parents are fully bought-in to the schools values (see school site for details). - Student attention: lower than average student/teacher ratios plus a dedicated, free-standing tutoring building adjacent to the school. Con: - Playground: nice but not inline with the quality of the rest of the institution. - Admissions: it's a centrally located, high quality private school in a growing city, meaning demand is high Personal lessons from our school search: After spending 12 months searching for the 'best school', we realized the importance of finding the 'best school for our child'. Initially, I was too tied up in rankings to spend the time to understand what was important for our family and how that lined up with each program. In the end, we loved the goals at St. Francis of (1) excellence without exclusivity, (2) a meaningful commitment to diversity and (3) attention to the needs of every student. Covid-19 update: School is really stepping up to deliver for students in a difficult time. The teachers are really going above-and-beyond.

Our experience at Paragon did not align with the individualized, child-centered education that was…read morepresented when we enrolled. While the school offers a structured and academically rigorous environment, we found that the approach was not as personalized as we had hoped for our child's specific learning needs. The Valor program, which was described as providing additional support, functioned primarily as a quiet space for students to complete homework rather than a program focused on building executive functioning skills, learning strategies, or individualized academic support. Paragon's curriculum moves at a fast pace, with significant homework and testing expectations. For some students, especially those who require a more tailored approach, this can mean parents may need to provide additional instruction and support at home in order for their child to keep pace. We also found that the staff's experience and approach to supporting a wide range of learning profiles varied, and the level of individualized support did not meet what we had hoped to find. That being said, Paragon's main strength is its activity calendar. The school provides a wide range of activities throughout the year, and we found both the teachers and students to be kind and welcoming. For families looking for a traditional, academically challenging environment with a strong focus on homework, testing, and keeping students on pace, Paragon may be a good fit. However, for families seeking a highly individualized, child-centered experience designed around diverse learning needs, I would encourage them to ask detailed questions about the specific supports available before enrolling.

The staff at Paragon make all the difference. You can see their commitment to the school and…read morepassion for the kids. We have 2 kids attending and like the diversity, high expectations, and school culture. They both love this school and enjoy events like "roller skating week", pool parties, lots of after school sport options and overnight trips. This helps them bond with both students and teachers. Paragon offers high academic standards mixed with life skills. We like the focus on a well-rounded education with academics at least 1 grade level above the standard. In elementary, they are also developing good social skills, learning responsibilities, and planning skills for future academic success. (For example, Paragon gives kids a daily planner to track their homework assignments and get parent signatures for visibility). In middle school, there are lots of team projects, hands-on opportunities, presentations, and field trips. (Projects like running a small business during lunch and breaks.) There are many resources for parents and a great community within and around the school. We recommend this school to friends also.

I only bring my child here to keep close to children and staff that he is familiar with. Good…read morelocation for me. Needs improvement but they are working on that.