Belmont Oaks Academy

When I was looking for a school for my son when he started kindergarten, I searched and toured many schools. Then a friend mentioned that her son had attended MMBOA and I went to the open house. From the moment I walked in the campus, I knew that this is where my son should go to school. My daughter entered preschool and my son states kindergarten and we have enjoyed every minute! The staff is caring and teachers are great and the students love the environment! I wish they had a middle school!!! We love it

My daughter has been attending MM and BMOA since preschool and she will be going into 3^rd grade next year. She loves it and is thriving.
I believe that the role of a school it’s teachers and administration is to instill the love of learning. BMOA does that very well. I believe that schools are often faced with parents who quite frankly can be a pain in the rear. I remember a child being pulled out of MM pre school because he wasn’t learning how to read. I guess these parents never took a child development class.
The role of parents is to raise independent, self sufficient decent human beings. If parents don’t do this, then the school has to and is then faced with parents who don’t like disciplinary style that is being used.
Of course it is the right of any parent to want to send their kids to the best school possible. There is no perfect school and every child is different, but the biggest test of how good a school is, is how eager one’s child is to go there. My daughter is almost out the car door before she’s dropped off every morning. That speaks volumes.

If you want a crisp verdict — I would suggest you to look elsewhere for the price you pay.
I have two kids — for the first one we started off with merry moppet and then BOA till 2^nd. We never saw any significant results. All the kids were still beginning to read at the end of first grade. We assumed that was the trend — we spoke with the teachers and we heard the same. We let it go and didn’t want to push the children. But on 2^nd grade I saw that the boa was just in par in math and reading with public schools in the neighbor hood — not to mention the cramped school environment, no play area, tiny winy rooms where at least public schools are better. We decided to pull my kid out in mid 2^nd grade — but we couldn’t unless we pay the tuition for the rest of the year ($ 1500/​mo). So we decided to keep her in it and then move. We did move out child out — we had to move her to public school since the child was far below in math and reading compared to similar pvt schools like Stratford and challenger or other mission schools. I had to work with her for the next year to get her on par then move her back to pvt.
For the 2^nd child we wasted no time and put the kid in challenger from preschool — there is a marked difference. Just in kindergarten she reads books that the boa kids read in 2^nd grade. Math, art and music are also significantly better
My vote is Merry moppet and BOA are a waste of money. I have tried BOA, challenger and Stratford. My reco is try challenger for pre school and Stratford post K
Good luck

This is in response to the person who wondered why I had my child there for six years while yours has been there for two; here is your answer: Who is more qualified to write a review?
Because your child is there now; does that negate all other reviews of people who kids attended the school. It shouldn’t as the administration and teachers have been there for years (which you mentioned in your review).
My child started in Merry Moppet and as I observed more and more that I didn’t feel was worth paying for (like large classroom size; I don’t count classroom helpers as teachers); since you stated that annoys you, it is my opinion and I am entitled to it.
You also berated another reviewer because the person wanted their child challenged. While you may not want that, many other parents do.
While your experience may differ from mine; it doesn’t mean my observations are wrong or misguided.
You really didn’t need to belittle my and other people’s reviews and expectations of what we want in a school for our children.
This is the problem with Unilocal; if someone doesn’t agree with an opinion about a business, etc. some people, take it personally and have to bash reviews.

WARNING: This will be LONG but if you are reviewing this school you should read.
My daughter has been at this school for 2 years and is now in kindergarten. My son is in his first year. We are all very happy.
As parents, we naturally scrutinize any institution that our children attend.
I can assure you that my expectations of any school is just as high as any other parent. I wanted to share my view of this school since I currently have kids attending.
Here’s my review: On the first day I visited this school what I observed, were happy kids. To me, smiles are usually a good indicator of an engaging and enjoyable environment. During my campus walk through I notice things that I consider, «Attention to details.» For example, I never saw a dirty or filthy mess in any play area. There are well equipped and sanitized bathrooms within close distance of all classrooms. The figurines of cartoon characters painted on the walls are always bright and fresh. The books and and toys are clean, abundant and organized. The walls and windows, had no dirty palm prints or marks, indicating that each children is always attended to and never left alone to draw on walls. The playground was well maintained and children are never left to play unattended. At recess there were teachers on staff covering every corner. I must also comment on the wonderful smell of lunch being made in the school kitchen.
Since then, this school has been unwavering in their commitment to the children. They are always communicating with the parents about what is going on with the school and within the classrooms. Their quality of care and their standards of education is balanced with their compassion and understanding of children’s need to play and enjoy childhood.
As long as I have been here, the school curriculum is well organized with the day, week and even year planned out with plenty of art, music, trips, recess, academics, and social activities. It incorporates the seriousness of education along with the fun of being a kid. To me, the important thing is that a kindergartener is learning and is enjoying it!
If you are considering this school, here are some things you should keep in mind. The Administration, the Principal and Vice Principal are classy individuals. They are not going to put on a «HAT» and do a «Song and Dance» for you about how wonderful this school is. You can tour the school and look for yourself and ask questions. They don’t need to «SELL» you on this school. The school that they operate «Sells» itself. They are there to make sure that everything runs efficiently and that the quality of care and education is upheld to the highest standards.
The teachers, they are ALL warm, patient, kind, smart and empathetic. ALL of them! Either they keep hiring from a secret planet that breeds the most «IDEAL» teachers or they just know how to hire and RETAIN the people that match the school’s core values and duplicate the Best Intentions that parents have for their children. As for class sizes, the stats are 20 – 30 kids to each class. There is a head teacher, 1 – 2 Teacher assistants (depending on class size) and 1 – 2 Floaters that attend the classroom. IN SUMMARY, A school is as good as your child’s progress, in my case, both my children have thrived at this school.

My son went here for kindergarten. This is a very traditional structured school that focuses on discipline and obedience in the classroom but also offers a good range of extracurricular opportunities. The class size is large and your child will not get a differentiated education. While the academics are reasonably rigorous they did not challenge my child at all. BOA has been doing things the same way for 40 years and it does work for some but did not work for us. We left BOA for a more progressive school.
The school does foster a sense of community and the all-​school winter and spring performances are great.

My son went here K-​5^th and he is now in high school. BOA gave him an excellent foundation and study habits, as well as a very respectful attitude toward school, teachers, and learning. BOA also values social growth in their students so I felt they offered an excellent balance of advanced academics and social development. My son still tries to go back to visit at Christmas so he can participate in their giving tree program that BOA does for foster children. That’s another plus — BOA fosters the importance of giving back to the community in their students.