Discovery Tree School

I had really high expectations for this school since it’s so expensive and the waiting list is so long. The facility seemed great at first until they had a major mold problem and had to reno the entire place. The staff is friendly and the location can’t be beat. I like the fact that they have a chef and serve the children a variety of healthy food cooked on-​site. My impression of this place after 2 years of attending is that it’s nothing but a daycare, although they call it a «school.» It’s not a school at all. The «teachers» in the «pre-​school» side develop lesson plans, but I rarely saw «work» my child had done in his cubby. His pencil box went almost un-​opened for the entire «school year.» Beginning Kindergarten this fall, he failed his assessments miserably and cannot even recognize the letters of the alphabet. The majority of times my kids got band-​aid reports, there was no teacher that witnessed what happened. I’m just not impressed and mad at myself for letting my kids go here because it’s «conveniently located» for me. I should have put them in Montessori.
UPDATE: After another year with my child at this school, I want to say that I have changed my tune a bit. I am now very happy with my son attending. The teachers are all loving and fun and my son is learning new things every day. He doesn’t bring me home a bunch of projects, but I can tell he is learning a lot. He now begs to go to school and says he loves the teachers. It has improved dramatically over the past couple of years. I changed my review from 2 to 4 stars.

After a LONG wait list my daughter got into the pre-​preschool section. They are so popular so I wasn’t shocked that some of the staff were a bit stand offish and not as welcoming as smaller daycares but my daughter is coming home with cool projects and new sentences each day. I like that they have their own philosophy, a bit like Montessori but less rigid, and that there is parent involvement.
Plus how cool is it to have a bunny, turtle, fish and guinea pig to take care of in school. Great since that means we don’t have to get them at home :)