Glen Urquhart School

Everything you can ask for and more. The educators are caring, compassionate, excited to teach. The individualized attention my children receive help them flourish not only academically but emotionally. They focus on the whole individual, fostering confidence, self awareness, awareness and kindness towards others and the community. A 4000 sq foot greenhouse is a teaching tool right on the gorgeous grounds. Children learn about the environment and how to compost, participate in the community and perform actual real life skills and tasks. GUS uses all aspects of the outside and inside of the school to foster fun learning. I am truly shocked and amazed when I see my child speak in front of the whole school with grace and confidence as her peers and teachers encourage then to shine. The perfect size of the school enables a child to feel loved, supported and known by all. I always smile with a full heart when I drop off my kids and see their smiles when I pick them up. What more can you ask for?

Five reasons why this school is outstanding and why we send our child to GUS.1. Student to teacher ratio is amazingly low due to the co-teacher model. In addition, there are five other special subject teachers and the children attend these classes biweekly. I have observed extensive one-on-one teaching and each child is given individual mentoring and coaching. In addition there is time to attend to the all the students, encompassing their own unique developmental needs. 2. The schools policies are top notch - including safety, honesty, and respect for each individual. A super important and wonderful policy surrounds the use of technology. It is not relied upon to fill in due to lack of school resources, nor are cell phones allowed to be powered on by students within the school grounds.3. A focus of the curriculum is on teaching kids to communicate and understand one another using honesty and empathy. The children have certain times of the week they focus on social and emotional growth and development. When situations arise that require attention, a great deal of effort is made to help children work out their own solutions with support.4. Children learn to advocate for others and for themselves. The curriculum integrates time for learning to speak up for and stand up for those who need additional support.5. A really special highlight is that our children learn to speak and perform individually and collectively in front of groups - ranging from their peers in small groups to assemblies in front of the entire school.We are fortunate to have discovered GUS and that we are able to send our child to GUS!

We were trying to decide between the tailored, child-centered focus and academic rigor of a private school, and the diversity, community and openness of a public school. We found both, and even more at Glen Urquhart. From the first moment of our visit, we were struck by the creativity and goodness that permeate every nook and cranny of this magical campus. 3 years later, our daughter is thriving in every way we could have hoped for: academically, creatively and socially. If you are seeking a place where the educators genuinely care about each child, and work to bring out the best in them, look no further. GUS is your place.

I have two girls who are getting two very different experiences at GUS. One wanted to leave her previous school in order to be challenged more academically. The other was a child who could easily have floated through school undetected just as she would have liked. In such a small school the teachers make an effort to give extra challenges and more importantly there is time to study concepts in BREADTH with time for students to ask questions and explore within each concept. The curriculum based around social emotional growth is pivotal for both girls as the middle schooler feels her way through all the things that go along with that age and my younger daughter is learning to feel comfortable enough with herself and her peers to be daring academically. She is learning how to fail and feel comfortable/want to learn how to do it better the next time. The close connection between the teachers and every single student brings the commitment to academics to a much higher level for both the students and the teachers. It is a school that has a family/camp feel and everyone is just that much more invested in the experience. Beyond that, I have been incredibly impressed with the unique way they introduce math at all levels including first the concept then working on the process of crunching the numbers so that math first becomes an understandable concept to the children before they even more to the numbers. I like how there is emphasis on a diverse range of specials including dance, music, computer science, library, PE, art, Spanish, Latin, and maker space. The population of families at GUS makes me feel very grounded and I think the families that send their children are more focused on sending them there for the quality of the experience and education rather than the image of the school. The group of staff at GUS seem highly committed to not only the students but also to their own growth within the school so that they can provide the best learning experience possible for the students.

I made the decision to move my third grader from public school to GUS because I was looking for a more enriching environment for him. I was first impressed with the variety of experiences, from learning a language to the opportunities for practical learning through field trips. Once we made the transition I was even more impressed with the warmth of the community. In just a few months we have experienced such a strong sense of belonging. GUS is the whole package - strong, varied education and a true community experience.