Courtyard Private School

We have 2 kids at CY. Our son is starting his third year and our daughter is her second. The courtyard has been especially accommodating for our child recently diagnosed on the autism spectrum and also has ADHD It is a very small school where everyone knows everyone and we know that the staff are watching out. I find that they have made a stressful situation so much less stressful as they naturally meet his needs and all the staff work with him on encouraging good fit friendships and coaching him during recess- they also do creative interventions like letting him run laps when he needs to get the wiggles out. It`s secure and small campus is great for sensitive kids who are easily overwhelmed. While our local public school is highly rated I get the feeling from neighbor parents that the kids are overwhelmed and pushed. I think that works for some kids but not mine. both our kids are doing well academically and when there are areas to work on the teachers are right there with us. our kids are also in the summertime programs and this dims greatly too. I can`t recommend it enough !

When my son was 4 I started looking into local public and private schools to find a place that would support his beautiful spirit, embrace his inquisitive nature and be patient with his tendency to wiggle. In two weeks I toured 7 public and private schools. Courtyard was the last school on my list and I almost cancelled because I was a little burnt out and honestly hadn't seen anything major differentiating any of the other schools from one another. But I mustered up the energy to attend the informational interview and I left in love with this school.I went to meet with the principal armed with my arsenal of academic achievement questions and ready to grill him on how he was going to prepare my four-year-old for college. The principal immediately stopped me and told me first he wanted to tell me about how Courtyard supports social and emotional growth of the children, then we will discuss academics. My jaw hit the floor. A school that fosters social growth and focuses on nurturing its student's emotional well-being? What is this utopia?? I got out my checkbook and left with having secured a spot in TK with the fabulous Ms. Mattson.My son spent a magical year in TK and we thought for kinder we'd try our local school for financial purposes. We made it 8 days into the school year before realizing the mistake we'd made and quickly transferred back.The atmosphere at Courtyard is like walking into a warm hug. The new principal, Principal Krause, is thoughtful, considerate and is the most dedicated principal I've ever seen. I know every day when I drop my son off that he is going to be loved, academically challenged and fed nutritional food (did I mention they have a profession chef who makes lunches EVERY DAY???)I am so thankful every single day that I want to that Courtyard meeting. It is truly such a blessing to my family to have my kids attend this incredible school.

"Mom, I understand it now... I can see that Courtyard is not just my school... it's like my second home. My family is there. When can I have my family and life back?" It's way past 10 p.m., week 6 into the quarantine. My 8 year old can't sleep - can any of us?All she wants in this life is to go back to school. To the place she calls her second home. We've been going to Courtyard since 2016, when my daughter started in TK. I say "we" because it's not just an 8 year old kid attending school... it's the entire family being a part of a community. As I like to say, and at the time of penning this review: 727 days of school and not one of them started with "I don't wanna go". How many parents can say that?As soon as I walked into Courtyard for my original tour I could feel the energy and environment of caring all around. The kids (pre-COVID) would get hugs and requests for updates on their loved ones: "How's your dad's arm healing?" "Do you wanna run your lines for the play?"Having been raised in South America, and used to a lot of connection and community, this place felt like home. And it has been for the last 4 years. Granted, this is all different due to the pandemic, but Courtyard is doing an amazing job with online learning and engagement; they even offered 8 weeks of summer camp with all CDC guidelines in place - it was a huge success and you could tell kids were thrilled to be back. Have I mentioned the exceptional principal, teachers that know kids and education, amazing staff, multiage classrooms, enrichment classes & before/after care and breaks that are included in the tuition, a renowned chef prepping scrumptious lunches? Yes... it's all that and more. If all goes according to plan, with a small student body and cohorts we will be able to be back on campus soon. I would say I can't wait... but it's my 8 year old that has her backpack at the ready, by the door.

My son loves his school and his teachers. He has especially grown close with his homeroom teacher, Ms. Mattson, and his P.E. and after-school activities teacher, Ms. Jesse, even recently referring to each as his friend. I am very happy with my experience with Courtyard. I was looking for an enriching and loving environment to support my son as he transitioned from preschool. I could tell Courtyard had a special vibe when a student ran up and hugged Principal Krause during my school tour. I have watched my son progress from not wanting to hold a pencil to becoming a prolific artist. One of his favorite activities is writing small picture books that he then "reads" back to me. He has also become eager to volunteer for activities in class. Ms. Mattson provides an engaging curriculum. My son especially enjoyed the "world tour" where each month they learn about a new country including the USA, Australia, Italy, India, Japan, Brazil and Egypt. She had interwoven learning about the countries with language arts, math, science and art. I feel I have learned a lot as my son has come home with stories of his worldly adventures. As a busy parent I liked the all-in-one package with before and after school care included at the same location along with breakfast, lunch and snack. I felt the parent community is welcoming, and I have enjoyed the opportunities to volunteer and give back. Finally, I am so thankful for how Courtyard so quickly stood up the remote learning experience via Zoom. Each day there has been morning line, homeroom, Spanish, P.E., and Art to keep the learning to go. The support and communication has been great.

Our kid has been attending Courtyard for 3 years now. We are so happy with the decision we made. Courtyard is a beautiful community where everyone knows everyone by name. Parents come together to help in any way possible, and students are happy and excited to go to school. I love that they are teaching kids how to adore going to school and with that method kids "scores" are above and beyond the mark in our city. Our kid loves to learn and go to school. Communication between teachers and parents is always an email away. I love that they are to engage with your kid even after school is over and it is a team/ community building strong leaders for the future. The school's tuition includes breakfast, Lunch, snack, field trips, winter camp and spring camp. Summer camp is additional but is by far one of the best prices in town and the activities and themes they offer has the kids interested and wanting to be at school all summer long. We can't wait for our almost 4-year-old to start school in September with our other kid.

Our daughter LOVES Courtyard! She started attending last April, beginning TK early. What an easy and awesome transition (from her preschool - she was ready for a change, so we started early great decision.)Caring staff and awesome teachers. We are both working parents so we wanted a: 1) Full school day (Courtyard goes to 8:30am to 3:30am), and 2) Engaging after-school care (we usually pick up after 5pm.)Check and check. Our daughter actually gets annoyed when we pick her up too early! She also gets annoyed when we take a family trip that spills into the school week. It's not that she doesn't enjoy hanging out with her family, but she also doesn't want to miss anything interesting at school. So we tend to target 3-day weekends so that she is not actually missing any of the fun action at school! We plan to stay for a long time and look forward to our younger daughter joining her here eventually, too.

Our son has been attending Courtyard School for five months and we are happy we have chosen this school! We started with TK last school years and our son is now in Kindergarten. This school is very different from many other schools in this area. This year, they have introduced a new multiage class concept which is amazing! As we just started at school, we heard about the recent changes in administration. Some families and teachers left the school in the past year. But we are sure that for our family and first of all for our child this is the right place to be. Despite the fact that our son has started school at the end of the past school year, we have observed a huge development in his personality. He has learned a lot and it makes him fun!Children in this school are handled as children, they are not forced to achieve educational goals, they are not trained to pass the test. Learning appears here as a natural process and a result of curiosity and play. They spend a lot of time playing outside and interacting with each other. Our son has so many new friends and he can`t wait until the weekend is over to see them again. Everyone in this school knows my son by name, he can go with his questions to any teacher, EDC stuff and even to principal and vice principal. As parents, we always can meet the principal or vice principal to discuss our issues. This school also offers before and after school care as well as summer camp. Aftercare program offers a lot of different activities for kids, it can`t be better. Our son loves his school and is always sad when it`s time to go home. And this is the most important thing for us! We can highly recommend this school! When we drop off our child in the morning we know, he is safe at this place and he will have fun. Amazing teachers, amazing principal, amazing staff!