This review is a little long because I have a lot to say about this school. TL;DR -- lots of…read moreschools have great academics but not so great social environments. Saint Nicholas has top-ranking academics, sure, but, what my children learned about themselves and their peers, and how deeply their teachers cared about and fostered that, is what really made this school the very place for my 5 preschool through elementary children. To put this review in perspective: when I was a child, my family moved to Houston and surveyed top local private elementary schools to enroll me in. I attended one, then another top local private school. Both were academically quite excellent, completely in keeping with their reputations. Unfortunately they were also very cliquish, and because I was the new kid, it took quite a lot of time and effort to fit in, despite having experienced a very loving, inclusive, and thoroughly enjoyable social life at my previous schools. Looking back now, I can understand that the social environment was simply unhealthy at both these Houston private schools. In fact, though I loved learning, my ability to learn and thrive academically was severely compromised by the social situations at these schools. So here's my review of Saint Nicholas: when it came time for my own children to find a private preschool, kindergarten and elementary school to attend, I wasn't going to assume the social environment at a private school would be healthy, inclusive, loving, or provide a positive social foundation. And, though of course I wanted my children to have the very best educational foundation possible, to provide them with the greatest optionality for later educational and career choices, I also knew that the social and emotional environment at a school is equally important -- possibly even more important, because of the foundational nature of what a young child comes to learn about their own innate value as a human being by how others relate to them. I, and more importantly my children, found Saint Nicholas to be the same kind of positive, inclusive, encouraging environment that I had experienced myself at the private schools where I had thrived as a child. Classmates were friends. Positive and respectful interactions with classmates were expected, encouraged, and fostered. It's all about the teachers! The teachers at Saint Nicholas are actually aware of how the students interact, they actually care about this just as much as excellent teaching and excellent curriculum, and, they are very gifted at not only helping the students learn greater social skills, but inspiring them to want to. And these teachers have been at Saint Nicholas school for a long time. Saint Nicholas will probably show you their top-ranking academic test scores and student accomplishments, or maybe you'll hear anecdotal stories from other parents about how their child went from being behind academically, to being ahead academically in just one year. But that's not what mattered to me, and I don't think it happens just because of academic excellence. I certainly don't think high national test scores tell the whole or even the most important part of the story. I think what matters most about a school is what the child learns about themselves, and the value of every human being. At Saint Nicholas, my children learned that they were smart, capable, and valuable. They learned that they could thrive in both inter-dependent and independent endeavors. They learned that they were worthy of both respect for who they were, and being called into the greater self they were growing into. Again - it's all about the teachers. The school administration is capable enough, but I don't believe a school can administrate this. Saint Nicholas has somehow gathered and kept some truly phenomenal and caring teachers.

I just wanted to share that my daughter, thanks to the excellent instruction and personalized…read moreattention that she received at SNS, had absolutely no problem acing HISD's G&T testing this year in Kindergarten. She consistently gets top grades in her class, and we thank SNS for preparing her so well, academically and socially, in their pre-K programs. SNS transformed my shy little girl - who had spent the first years of her life at home during the pandemic - into a confident, smart little social butterfly. My son, attending SNS for summer camps, has also benefitted from SNS academically and socially. Being with slightly older classmates over the summers pushed him ahead of the curve, and he was popular among the younger kid crowd, as the older brother to my daughter. P.S. I believe first responders and BCM employees receive a discount on registration, and the school offers a sibling discount on tuition, as well. Cannot recommend this school enough!

The best elementary school. I went to Mark Twain elementary school when I was a kid. The teachers…read moreand students are great and diverse.

This is the worst experience I have had dealing with schools ever the teachers the principals they…read moreare horrible they look down on people if they feel like they aren't up to the status of where they think they should be they talk about the parents in front of the kids they put their hands on the kids their rules to the kids they bully the kids prince will actually have me outside for 45 minutes in the heat knocking and Batman on the door and yelling for my kids because I didn't know where they were she had them inside of the building with her God knows what she was doing I called everybody I could possibly call no one's called me back about the situation my kids don't want to go to school because they are upset and scared and have anxiety from the principal and the teachers bullying them elementary School I'm so fed up I'm trying to call and won't answer the phone the number on here is wrong don't enroll your kids here this school is horrible and they should be shut down

We love this school. Great vanguard program, great dual language and a good staff selection. One of…read morethe top 10 in HISD in my opinion.

My daughter attends this school and the crazy thing about it is they don't have a principal and…read morehave not had one for sometime now. They do not have a nurse, whenever the kids are not feeling good. They just ask the parents to come pick them up immediately. They do not have any kind of law-enforcement at this school. I've been hearing about multiple incidents where they have had to call the police and wait until they arrive to handle a situation that could have been resolved if they only had someone already there on campus. I do not feel like my child is safe there. They are very last minute with informing the parents about anything, most of the time they don't communicate at all.

This school is absolutely TERRIBLE. The children do not learn, and teachers are not certified! This…read moreschool needs a lot of fixing inside and out, missing sinks and restrooms, holes in the roof, and dirty! My child tells me that they are fights EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Also the average school grade is dropping at a rapid pace. THE FOOD IS HORRIFYING. My daughter tells me the milk is literally ice! and my son got strep throat from the hot dogs. But there is a amazing teacher miss rasmus who helped my daughter and son with their writing so much!! overall do not let your child attend this school.