St. Francis Of Assisi School

We have had children in St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School for the past 11 years. We have been extremely happy with this school, and we cannot say enough about the positive experience that our family has had there, for the following reasons: 1.) The school has a first-rate collection of educators, administrators and support staff. These people are exceptionally talented and committed, and they genuinely love and care for each child as if they were their own. 2.) The level of parental involvement and volunteerism at the school is unbelievably high. This provides an amazing amount of support for the educators, the administration and the students. It also creates a large community of families that pulls together to watch over the students and cares deeply about maximizing the quality of the educational, social and spiritual experience for each child and family. It is the epitome of the concept that It takes a village to raise a child. 3.) The sense of community within the school and the parish is truly unique. Most St. Francis families know each other by name and genuinely care for each other -- but not in an intrusive or overbearing way. There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer, worship and congregate together if you so choose. That said, we've never felt the slightest pressure to become involved in the church or the school beyond the level at which we are comfortable. It has always been an extremely warm and welcoming environment for everyone in our family. 4.) The academic and extra-curricular programs are excellent. There is also phenomenal support for children who face educational challenges and require additional attention and accommodations. The teaching staff was instrumental in helping us get our daughter's dyslexia identified and diagnosed early, and they've been nothing short of amazing in helping her (and us) properly address her unique needs both in the classroom and at home. 5.) We value the excellent spiritual education the children receive here. Even though we don't consider ourselves to be an overly religious family (and as indicated above, we've never been pressured to be anything else), we love the fact that the values and morals we teach at home are being reinforced on a daily basis through the faith-based portion of the curriculum. We also feel that our kids experience, on a daily basis, a higher and more consistent level of compassion and understanding in this environment than they might find elsewhere -- because the teachers, administration, staff and student body all have similar values. 6.) In our opinion, the school's tuition structure is the most reasonable of any private school in the area, and the experience the school delivers for that investment is an unbelievable value. The administration, educators and staff all do an amazing job of delivering the best they possibly can with the resources available to them. In short, we feel as if we've stumbled onto the best kept secret in education in the Ann Arbor area. Strangely enough, the only minor criticism that we have of St. Francis is actually a function of its' small enrollment, which is also a benefit in so many ways (e.g., smaller class size, more attention for each student, etc.). Being such a small school, there are a fairly small number of children in each grade. There is also very little churn in the student population from year to year (which I'm sure is a result of the quality of the experience here). This creates a very stable and comfortable environment for the students, and they can go to school with essentially the same very small group of kids from K-8. The flip side to this, however, is that it can be very difficult for some children to find their crowd socially, especially during the middle school years. One of our children has struggled with this, and we've found that there simply aren't as many options available in a smaller school when it comes to your child finding a group that they really click with. All things considered, our family has had an amazingly positive experience with this school. We would highly recommend St. Francis to any family that is looking for a great place to educate and nurture their children.

St Francis of Assisi is an excellent school. Our son is currently enrolled in first grade, and we are very happy with the education that he is receiving. The teaching staff and adminstration are very thoughtful individuals, who hold the integrity of their students with highest regard. The quality of our son's educational experience is also excellent. His teacher provides ample homework and is very encouraging. She has a weekly blog that is posted regarding classroom events and upcoming activities. In summary, I highly endorse St Francis of Assisi Catholic School.

We are very happy with our decision to send our children to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School. The teachers at St. Francis are truly committed to educating our children to the highest standards, while taking the time to know each child and family and to ensure that each child is getting the most out of the learning process. The faith-based environment allows the children to build a solid fundation in values and in caring for others. I really appreciate the fact that St. Francis still teaches the curriculum basics, such as memorizing math facts, memorizing spelling words, and learning basic sentence structure, in addition to providing students a well-balanced access to technology to enhance learning. I also really appreciate that Spanish classes are offered to students from preschool to eighth grade! Overall, I consider St. Francis to be a very caring community of staff and families truly committed to the education and success of each student.

When we moved to Ann Arbor 5 years ago we carefully researched and looked at public and private schools in the area. We chose St. Francis and have been very happy and satisfied with the choice. The quality of the curriculum and faith development are outstanding, and the kids are very well prepared for high school. They also offer an after school program which is very convenient, plus many after school sports. In addition, their choir, drama and music programs are fantastic.