Birches School

Birches School is fabulous. The teachers are the most stellar, involved, and inspiring teachers I have ever met. They go out of their way to support, nurture, and encourage their students. They are captivated by their academic material and ensure that that excitement is passed on to their lucky students. The school also offers fantastic additions to the already incredible curriculum including explorations (students can choose from 6 different unusual and exciting elective-type classes), nature hikes, learning in the natural world, field trips to MIT, yoga, wilderness-themed afterschool offerings, and more. The teachers are very responsive and go out of their way to connect with parents. The community is lovely and respectful of one another. Most importantly, my child is learning a tremendous amount, loves to go to school, has close friends there, and only wishes there were more days in the school year!

This is a miracle of a school where the joy of learning is readily apparent. My son is excited to go to school each day, and doesn't want to leave at the end of the day. Some of his favorite activities are reading workshop, Spanish, and nature exploration. He loves his teachers and I marvel in the mutually supportive atmosphere where no child is ever left out, or bullied. The quality of the teachers is unparalleled in an elementary setting--the stem specialist has a PhD! And the atmosphere of the school is warm, nurturing, and intellectually stimulating.

I am so grateful for this school. My children LOVE to go to school each morning and rush me out the door because they don't want to miss even one minute of arrival time! What a change from our last school. I marvel at the quality of the teachers and how they inspire each student. The STEAM curriculum is fabulous, and I sometimes wish I could go back to school myself!

Our son is very happy at Birches School. The most important thing to me has been the individualized academics -- last year, he learned little at local public school (coloring more and more worksheets). At Birches, he is engaged intellectually, is excited to be doing math at his own level, eager to read (and delighted with the amazing in school library), and is challenged daily with writing assignments. Birches has plenty of recess and outside time (much more than he did last year) and includes regular nature walks in the nearby conservation areas -- students get to take full advantage of the school's beautiful location (which is across the street from the public library!) I appreciate that Birches has optional parent helping times built in which has been helpful to my husband and me as we try to get a sense of how his time at school is and also feel a part of the greater school community. My son loves the multi-age experience, his wonderful teachers, and the frequent fun Spanish infusions. I also appreciate the importance of the social curriculum at Birches -- guidance on how to treat others fairly and with dignity is so important and Birches'' staff does this well also.

My wife and I discovered the Birches School in the fall of 2012, as we became progressively more and more dissatisfied with our son's kindergarten in nearby Lexington. The enthusiasm for school that he had in pre-school years, and which he took with him initially to kindergarten, had totally disappeared. And two months into the school year, neither my wife nor I had any idea what the kids did all day in school. Then we discovered the Birches. Our son's enthusiasm is back, and our enthusiasm is back and continues to grow. In our son's first week of school, he positively lit up telling me about his day in STEM class, which involved exploring owl pellets. He has developed a passion for birds s that has been a part of their curriculum the past month. And each Friday night after dinner, he show us the new yoga moves that he learned that day! There are too many good things to write--about the teachers, the parents who are building the school, and the kids who are experiencing real joy exploring their worlds.

The Birches School is truly a gem! We have been so pleased with the dedicated and talented teachers, the responsive classroom model in which children work cooperatively and respectively together, the challenging and individualized curriculum, the way in which the children are actively and joyfully expressing themselves and learning both individually and cooperatively and the parent community which is warm, welcoming and encouraged to work together and contribute. The school setting is particularly lovely and peaceful as it borders conservation land in Lincoln. Hiking, walks to DeCordova and the library and visiting local farms keeps the children close to nature and active in the local community. It has been well researched that children learn best when in nature and while exploring the outdoors, The Birches School strives to do this and does it beautifully. It is obvious to me that the children are filled with genuine wonder and are truly inspired in this school. I am truly grateful to have found a place in which my child can be accepted for who he is as he joyfully learns and grows!