Your Answer comes from Barry Hauser (current school parent): Our daughter attended public school from pre-school through 6th grade, then we transferred to St. Michael School for her 7th grade year. One of the ways to measure academic excellence is to watch a school take your child to a new level of learning in a relatively short period of time. Our daughter started the school year in 7th grade math and finished the same school year as one of the top 3 students in 8th grade Algebra. We were very impressed. To further discuss this topic with Barry, you can email him at mickeyblh@hotmail.com.
Your Answer comes from a parent (current school parent): My preschooler began the year in a local public school program. After just three short months, it became obvious that our child was being exposed to too many negative situations. Disciplinary problems of other students robbed my child of valuable learning time with his teacher. To make matters worse, the school had few tools at its disposal to address these issues. We decided to make the switch to St. Michael before the school year ended and we are so glad we did! The preschool teacher, Mrs. Owens, did a beautiful job of assisting our family through the transition. Our son has adapted without any trouble and is looking forward to kindergarten with his new classmates!
Your Answer comes from John Cooper (current school parent): You ask a very good question. Religious education and faith development take time. Most religious education classes for children that don’t attend a Catholic school are held on weekly basis for about an hour each week over a nine-month period. This amounts to about 36 hours of formal religious education in a year’s time. When your child enrolls at St. Michael School, he or she receives that formal religious education every school day for nine months. This amounts to about 180 hours of formal religious education. You can’t teach as much in 36 hours as you can 180 hours. Not to mention, at a Catholic school like St. Michael’s, faith and spiritual development permeate the entire six hour day, five days a week, nine months a year. Prayer and Christian living at St. Michael are a way of life.
To further discuss this topic with John, you can email him at jcooperispd@aol.com.
Your Answer comes from Barry Hauser (current school parent): As I mentioned in an earlier response, we transferred our daughter out of the public school system and into St. Michael last year. The difference in overall behavior of the student body was amazing. There was a lot more cursing, fighting (verbal & physical) and disrespect for others at the public school. My daughter said the adults mostly overlooked poor behavior at the public school. At St. Michael, these problems were not overlooked and the student’s behavior was evidence of that. I feel that because St. Michael is a smaller school, it seems everyone knows everyone else. If a student appeared lost or needed assistance, an adult or another student was there and offered help. Strangers or someone acting out of character would be noticed.
Your Answer comes from a parent (current school parent): Yes! During the school day, the entrance to the main office is the only unlocked door in the building. Additionally, all faculty, staff and volunteers are required to undergo an extensive background check and fingerprinting before they are permitted to work with our children.