Longview School

My son started here after having difficulty in the public school environment. After starting at Longview, his stress level dropped precipitously. He is now happy at school. He loves the interactive environment. He loves the community. The school is able to work with all students as if they had IEPs. Students are actively involved in directing their own education and taking ownership of it. It is a special place.

Longview is a school like no other, and our child has been to many. Schools often claim to be "student-centered," but Longview actually is. The teachers understand that each child has different interests, needs, and challenges. There has been true, meaningful collaboration among us, the parents, our child, and the teachers. Also, the focus is on learning, in the very best possible sense. The teachers are not concerned about what students wear, whether they need to fidget, whether they sit up straight in a chair, or things like that. This removes barriers for students like our daughter who would otherwise be tense and stressed before a class even starts. There is no studying for the sake of standardized tests. Therefore, students keep their innate love of learning for learning`s sake.There are many different types of children at Longview, and there is no sense that the school is trying to force them to conform to a certain mold. The strengths of each child are recognized and cultivated. Individuality is celebrated. Classes are small, often with five students or fewer. This allows each child to have a truly individualized education.As a democratic school, Longview puts the students in charge of making the rules and voting on proposals for new school activities, etc. This relieves the stress present in many other schools of being forced to follow arbitrary rules in which students have no say. It also prepares students to become responsible members of a larger society much more than, in my opinion, traditional schools do. Our daughter has been able to flourish in this setting.

I can not say enough great things about Longview! When public school wasn't working for our two daughters, we thankfully found Longview and it has been such a blessing for our family! Longview provides an unique approach to education that focus on the whole child and meets them where he/she is at. Every teacher in that school knows my girls so well and knows what their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and learning styles are. When something isn't working, the staff if approachable and through open communication, adjustments can be made. Mark Jacobs helped my oldest daughter find an internship to follow her passion of baking and now after she graduates in June, she will be going to The Culinary Institute of America where she was accepted early, again thanks to the amazing help from Mark Jacobs! Longview is how education SHOULD be!