Westlake Lutheran Preparatory Academy

My daughter attended Westlake for preK 3, preK4, and kinder. We then switched her to our local public KSID elem school Stan C Stanley. We are now moving out of state but if we were staying in Katy I would seriously consider switching her back to Westlake. Westlake is a wonderful school and much more personal and loving than Stanley. Stanley is so overcrowded and stretched to its limit like a lot of the other KSID schools, our daughters class eats lunch at 10:30 and she is so hungry by the end of the day. She tested into the challenge program at Stanley but this is because Westlake teachers had so well prepared her and taught her a love a learning. The Westlake teachers love the children like their own and speak with the parents daily at drop off and pick up. Our daughter received an excellent education at Westlake. I would definitely recommend taking a tour of the school if you are at all interested.

The Christian community at Westlake makes this such a unique and wonderful school. Teachers don’t just teach about God’s love, they model it in the ways they interact with their students. Each child is celebrated as God’s unique creation. Westlake is a loving place, where kids are built up and encouraged to do their absolute best. Our kids love Westlake.

I would like to give a different perspective on Westlake in comparison to the review from July 2013. Our son has been with Westlake since its first year, from Kindergarten through currently 4^th grade. Our son has autism, and although he is high-​functioning, he came to Westlake with various issues and behaviors that all of his teachers have addressed with the utmost kindness and respect. He has thrived at this school, and the staff there have been nothing but kind (not to mention the kids there have been wonderful as well– so kind). They are like family to my son– he absolutely loves it there. To make things clear, Westlake is not like KISD where you will have ARD goals/​meetings, etc. They are not a public school and don’t have the means to provide those types of special needs programs, especially for children who have greater needs/​challenges. However, they have done their best to accommodate my son’s needs every step of the way throughout his education there.
As far as asking for money, I really don’t get where that is coming from. Yes, they do send home envelopes for the chapel offering weekly, but that is not money for the school, it is money for various charities that they choose to highlight and give to throughout the year. They also have an annual gala for fundraising. Other than that I don’t recall constantly getting requests for money.
I am sorry the other reviewer had a bad experience at Westlake, but we have been extremely happy with it and very thankful for it. Our son has benefited tremendously from his time there.

Our experience at Westlake has been nothing but positive. The teachers and administration are kind and nurturing. We love the headmaster. He always stands out front at the start of the school day to greet each child and keep a close eye on who is entering his school. Our four year old son is already reading and speaking some Spanish.
We moved to Katy for the great schools, but have decided to keep our son at Westlake. The curriculum is fantastic and the small classroom size makes us feel confident that our son won’t get «lost» in the crowd.

A dissatisfying experience. My five-​year old attended kindergarten at Westlake, and we decided not to have him continue at this school.
Our primary problem stemmed from the kindergarten teacher having an inappropriate conversation with our child’s former PPCD teacher. While on target by age 5, our little boy had some language and fine motor difficulties at ages 2 and 3. We enrolled him in the PPCD program at ECEC preschool so that he would be caught up by kindergarten age. By the time he was 5, he was ahead in all areas, other than penmanship. We enrolled him at Westlake thinking he would receive a superior education in a smaller classroom. It turned out that neither would be the case.
The teacher called a meeting with us and the principal to tell us what difficulties he was having, and to ask WHY he was in a PPCD program in early childhood. She let us know that she wasn’t sure he would be promoted to first grade. When my husband inquired as to whether those concerns were academic or related to classroom skills, she conceded that it was the latter. You don’t fail children for not raising their hand to speak. As a teacher myself, we were strictly forbidden to penalize students’ grades, or risk of promotion, for anything other than academic performance. After the two teachers communicated, everything changed. Our little boy was treated like an oddity, and minor aspects of his behavior were recorded, and provided to us daily. Notes would say — «twice did not raise hand, last to pack up, or didn’t sit criss cross.»
After all the unpleasantness at this school, and their generally poor treatment of our child, we decided that our children would not attend the following year. We requested our $ 500 dollars in registration fees be refunded, since they would not be registering. They flatly denied our request. I was disappointed, but for me, this confirmed that I was dealing with a greedy, soulless institution. I attended Catholic school, and taught at parochial schools, so I had expected a similarly positive experience. Not so.
In talking to some of the other parents, it seems that many
use the school as a bridge program between preschool and kindergarten at public school.
I think you might like this school if —
1. You are Lutheran, and very religious.
2. Your kindergarten child is female, quiet, and sits well for long periods.
3. You use the kindergarten program as a bridge program.
4. You don’t mind being asked for money constantly.
Pros
1. Small school with relatively small classes, although kinder had 20 students.
2. Pleasant principal
3. Nice group of children
Cons
1. School seems to be failing. Grades went from pk3 to 8^th to pk3 to 4^th the year we left. Each higher level grade is smaller than the grade before it, signaling significant attrition.
2. Constant requests for money. You get an envelope every Tuesday to send your child with money to give at chapel. A collection plate is passed around at all school productions. Donations are solicited by mail as well.
4. No bus.
5. No cafeteria.
6. Kindergarten curriculum is interesting and fun, but requires more desk work than research suggests is appropriate.
7. Library is way understocked.