Angela Shepard Coats
Parent
Angela’s daughter attended summer school at Citizens of the World, and after just two weeks she was hooked! “She fell in love with it and the people there, especially her teacher,” Angela said. Her daughter is in Kindergarten this year and Angela said the school is a fantastic fit for her daughter and their family. She said she gave her daughter the option to do the second part of summer school at a different school, but her daughter’s response was, “I’m not leaving!” Angela has also been very happy with Citizens and how they focus on each student and their success. “If you want your child to be successful,” she said, “not only academically, but as a well-rounded person, I think Citizens is one of the best choices for them.”
What have you and your daughter enjoyed about Citizens?
The staff and families are warm and caring, genuinely warm and caring, and they are truly about community. It’s kind of like a village, which I really like. What does my daughter like? She likes everything. That’s her quote, not mine! She said she is comfortable here, and that the teachers are nice, and the kids are nice. It hasn’t been difficult for her to settle in. She’s pretty friendly, but I did think, “She’s left her preschool and is in a new school.” But she’s really taken to it and is doing very well.
What has your daughter’s academic experience been like at Citizens?
It’s been great! She went into Kindergarten knowing how to read. The school also gave me a first grade math book because she functions at a higher grade level in math. So I can use her Kindergarten book and her first grade book to pull out things she knows how to do already and kind of create her own math curriculum, and her teacher is completely fine with that. It’s very student-led. Her teacher is very supportive of me helping guide and give my input on my daughter’s academics.
What about the learning style and curriculum stands out?
At Citizens, if a student is performing above grade level or if a student needs an extra push, they do not have a problem doing what the student needs. I can honestly say that there’s not just one thing that stands out to me because all of it stands out! I like the fact that they are always encouraging the students to think larger, like they’re not just learning something out of a book. They try to bring what they are learning to life. They have kids looking at things in not just a small way but looking at the world itself. For example, they recently adopted a tree, and my daughter came home talking about oxygen and CO2 and writing the symbols down for me. She and I had talked about the rainforest not too long ago, and she was able to share that knowledge with her class when they were learning about trees. At Citizens, they take that extra step of building on what they are learning about and connecting it to the world. I really like that.
