City Elementary was a life saver for us when the private school our son was enrolled in told us they could no longer help him stay engaged in his kindergarten class. Our once curious and verbally articulate child had little to nothing to say about his days at school. He seemed lost and overwhelmed. In the midst of desperately trying to find a school for our son mid-year and trying to comfort our traumatized child, the City Elementary teachers and staff welcomed us with open arms. From the beginning, they have been flexible, professional, and incredibly caring as we worked together to find a right balance that would both meet our son’s developmental needs and yet challenge him academically at the same time.

The intimate, caring community our son has found at City has allowed him to blossom. Now in his second year, we see a drastically different child from the one we knew six months ago. Before City Elementary, he had a dazed, overwhelmed look in his eyes at the end of the school day. Now, our happy child skips to the car at the end of the day and talks non-stop about his day during our drive home. He participates in class meetings, completes his work independently, and takes joy and pride in taking care of the school community through the various classroom jobs. All of this didn’t happen over night and it wasn’t easy, but it would not have been possible without the amazing support we had from the staff and teachers at City. Our son’s amazing turnaround from a child who lost his exuberance at school to one who regained his confidence and love for learning is exactly what we hoped for our son in his early school experience.