I've read a few of these poor reviews and I am shocked as I have never experienced a better…read morelearning environment where all of the kids want to come to school and learn. I have never observed chaos or poor classroom management and the teachers are nothing less than dedicated to student success. I would hate to see someone pass up this school based on a few bad apples that are trying to degrade the school. Like other entity reviews, it is usually only the complainers that take the time to write a review. Come interview 99% of the students and parents and you will hear nothing but rave reviews.

Chaos is the best word to describe this school. If the academics and student behavior were on…read morepoint, some chaos would be tolerable. Test scores are poor, many teachers struggle with classroom management and kids with behavior issues are left in the classroom to disrupt 20 other students, rather than being sent to the office, which means 21 kids aren't learning. Definitely not the school it was 2, 3, 4 years ago. Many unsatisfied families are leaving after the 2021-2022 school year to seek better educations for their children.

An absolutely amazing elementary school. When I was in 2nd grade, I was in a total of 4 elementary…read moreschools with Duncan being the last. I got moved around because we were in the middle of moving. Duncan accepted me with open arms near April. I was a really quiet kid at first, and scared to talk to anyone. I wasn't sure if I was staying long. My 2nd grade teacher was amazing and loved my progress and growth. She wanted me to skip 2 grades because of how advanced I was in all areas. I decided not to because I had finally gotten comfortable near the end. I was asked the next years to join their ATG program at Duncan for the gifted and talented kids. My academics were important to me. Duncan made it their goal to stay close with my parents and our family. My parents didn't have the best English, so they tried to keep them involved. My mom had 3 other kids go through Duncan, with the last now in 6th grade. My siblings had a lot of the same teachers and many different. They all know my mom and us, and love us. I know the staff really well in the office. I'll call in for something and they already know who I am. They make an effort to know you. Mr. Potter was one of my absolute favorites. He remembered me even when I came in years and years later. When he retired, I was happy my siblings got to at least experience his greatness. This school is really safe. They have a new system where you page the front desk and need an id. You also need permission of course to see a student or take one out. When I came here recently, I wasn't here for a long while actually. We just happened to get locked out of the house because my parents were away due to my grandfathers death. My brother had an extra key, so I made a call. I came and told them who I was at the intercom. They already knew me and said I was alright. His teacher was in the office making copies and knew me because I had her as well. They were all so friendly and welcoming, like family. The process was fast and still safe. They have all kinds of different programs set up for parents. The school is always very helpful. My brother and sister didn't have their accounts set up in the beginning of the year one year, and had no money for lunch. My mom was all the way in West Bloomfield when they called her from the office. She asked if there was anyway the office could give them money, and that she would bring it for them tomorrow. I thought it was awesome of them to allow her to do this. They wouldn't want any students to starve and go without lunch. They understand that things happen. They are always helpful when one of my siblings is ever sick or forgets something. One of the best schools, and I am glad I got to experience it. I will also say that the Principal Sharon Coil is absolutely amazing. She makes it her mission to treat all parents and students as a family. She aims to get parents involved. She remembers us. She knows who I am, and my sisters. She saw as at a Mom to Mom sale and asked how my mom was doing. It is her goal to connect with the community and she definetely achieves it.

What can I say, I love Utica community schools! My twins attend the pre-school program here 3 days…read morea week, for 3 hours a day and I could be happier with the program. This is not our home school, as our home school doesn't offer a pre-K program but it's just another great school in the Utica district. Their teacher are friendly, patient and have been teaching at Utica for a number of years. Mrs. Pizzamenti and Mrs. Hirschmann and wonderful teachers, I'll be sad to say good bye to them come the end of the school year. I'll be honest, we were late registering our twins last fall, as all the classes will officially filled by the time I sent in the registration paper work. I made a few phone calls and they were very understanding. I was able to pick the time and days I wanted, and keep my twins in the same class together, which was obviously a big deal. I couldn't imagine having them separated their first year of school. To be honest, until they are older, I'll probably request that they be in the same class together. The school has a great security system where you have to buzz to get in, and show your ID to the camera. Once in the building you have to stop at the office to sign in. Upon leaving to must also stop at the office to sign out. It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but I know it's for the protection of all our children so it's completely acceptable. The school is clean and well kept, bathrooms included. I My son not only attends pre-K here, but he also takes speech classes 2 days a week with the speech therapist Mrs. May. Mrs. May is a very knowledgeable speech therapist with 17 years under her belt in the Utica district. She is patient, kind and thorough with her one-on-one work, as much as she is with group work. I highly recommend her if you're looking for a speech therapist counselor. My son has made so much progress in such a short amount of time! I can also vouch for the school lunches provided within the Utica district, they are a good value for your money with fresh and plentiful options. One day I had forgotten to bring a light lunch for the twins, which they eat before my son goes to speech. So we walked down to the lunch room and I purchased a hot lunch for them to split. It just so happened to be "Minion Day" which consisted of popcorn chicken, dipping sauce of choice, a bag of minion cookies, a side salad with a separate cup of fresh cut mixed veggies and ranch, a fresh fruit cup, choice of 3 milks, a banana and a bag of dried edamame. It was a really big lunch for only $2.75. We currently have our 5 kids enrolled in 3 different schools within the Utica district (2 at Beck elementary, 1 at Shelby Junior High, and 2 at Duncan) and I can honestly say that we love Utica and we wouldn't want our kids at any other district. I feel confident that they are, and will continue to receive the best education possible. As a parent, who's experience reaches across 3 different schools I highly recommend the Utica Community school district.

My daughter has been attending the prechool for over two years now. The teachers and the director…read moreare nice and very caring. I know she is in good hands and she is learning so much. Every few days she mentions some scientific facts and when I aks her " how do you know that?", she says "oh, I learned that in school". :) I highly recommend Schoolhouse Montessori.

Great school , great staff, my son is super happy with his school and he is leatning a lot .i…read morehighly recommend

We were initially excited to get our daughter back into a Montessori setting. Upon enrollment the…read moreschool tried to overcharge us on the tuition rate. I'm not sure why they would do that. We saw the amount of the tuition multiple times. They asked us to wait as they printed us a new paper with multiple errors and wrote a higher tuition amount. We almost agreed to it because our daughter is sad at her current school. But we gave the thought some more time and consideration. We spoke to the staff and they said they would adjust their information by end of March/April to reflect the new amount. We gave them a few months to update their info because something felt slightly off. It looks like they selected us to be the family to get overcharged.

I have two daughters that attend Montessori since they were infants. The oldest is now 7. This…read moreschool is amazing and the teachers really care about all of them. Small class sizes and immersive learning styles teach them how to be engaged in what they are doing. We recently were able to sit in on a class for an hour and it's so cute seeing them all get to work on projects that they decide to do and having a snack when they want to. The are very independent while getting valuable lessons. The style in which they teach reading and math has my oldest daughter reading in a much higher level and even doing multiplication and division. They still teach cursive which I believe is a fundamental lesson that is being lost in other places. The children are so much more independent and really show care and compassion towards their fellow classmates.

Teachers fun great funny sweet, perfect singing, lovely happy sweet, kind perfect andread more

The head of school is very kind and welcoming, staff is very polite as well. I love this school and…read moreyou will too!

I love this pre-school SO much!! Mrs. Mann & all her teacher's helpers are wonderful, smart,…read morecreative & loving people. We have not had one negative experience & can't say enough nice things about this school. They teach kindness & respect as well as fun & creative lessons. My son loves going & is so happy & proud when I pick him up. They promote healthy eating & are very vigilant with food allergies. The classroom is a very happy, clean, creative, fun, & imaginative place. We enjoy the field trips that siblings are welcome to attend as well. They even spend a Saturday including the dads for a special Father's Day craft. They go above & beyond & I am so thankful my son get to attend this school. My son is currently attending the summer camp that they put on each summer for a week & is having a blast.

They work well w children of all ages helping them build confidence with their math skills. The…read morereward stamp system is great too!! Kids enjoy earning special small prizes makes them look forward to the time spent. The teachers are very patient and knowledgeable in all areas and levels of math. The system set in place w binders holding all the work, and feedback progress emails both find helpful.

I went to this school so my whole life and I love it so much the staff members are kind and helping…read moreand they take care of special needs correctly. I love this school very much.