Brookfield School

Speaking from a parent's point of view, break ups and changes are always tough. I had my two boys attend Brookfield this past 2023-2024 school year. One in pre-school and the other in 2nd grade. The now 3rd grader attended since he was in pre-first. I wanted both boys to continue going until they are done with 8th grade but unfortunately it didn't happen. Both boys loved their teachers and staff members. Most of the staff members knew my kids names. The class sizes weren't too big so they weren't over looked. The other kids were really well behaved and seemed to get along. Right now the younger one is attending public school and he isn't enjoying it because of bullying from a fellow classmate. He's stated that he wants to go back to Brookefield and that he misses it. Big brother is attending another private school and seems to be ok. If you are a parent and would like a challenging school that has a very safe environment I would recommend Brookefield. I miss it for my boys very much. No bullying and the boys were challenged academically.

Love Brookfield! So organized and great teachers/staff! Mrs. Roberts taught pre-school for one of the kids I nanny and me and his parents were so impressed with how thoughtful she was with his social and emotional needs. She went out of her way to include his interests and needs in the accelerated curriculum. (She gave him a Pokémon workbook for when he felt he couldn't focus and also to help with the high energy he had.) Now his sister will be having Mrs. Roberts next school year and is so excited because she has already been introduced to her during cheer practice - which Mrs. Roberts also teaches! Currently in pre first, the youngest has Mrs. Kahle, who has also done an amazing job and really cares about her education!

I am going to make a correction to my last entry as an update. Child Action apparently pays a CAP for daily attendance. It is likely that there was a copayment due for tuition, but because of the billing inaccuracies and the fact that the original handwritten attendance sheets were not attached for billing, it was unclear if there was any portion of the tuition due for my GC. It has now come to light that there may have been a small portion due, but there was ineffectual communication regarding the issue. Moreover, any portion owed was not over 60 days or near any time to cause dismissal especially since this policy had never been enforced prior. Another word of caution for recipients of third party payors - make a copy of your attendance log, know if Child Action is paying the entire monthly tuition or a daily rate, and communicate in writing by email for everything. Keep your records.

I call Brookfield a unicorn school. We are parents of three children and I wish we had found out about Brookfield for our older son who needed a more challenging educational atmosphere. He is now thriving in high school, but I do wish that we had the experience we are having now with him when he was in elementary and middle school. My middle son is a transfer student to Brookfield and my youngest is starting out at the Preschool. About our experience: First, touring the school my husband and I were so impressed by the diversity, the ideology of the school, the atmosphere and the attentive nature of staff and teachers. Second, the fact that they have a preschool/elementary/middle school in one space is dream for us and the way that each grade level has their own space is also incredible. Finally, we were beyond thrilled that our children are not only learning the standard subjects, but they are also have Spanish, Music, P.E and computers almost everyday. This is above and beyond the majority of schools we have toured and researched. Why I highly recommend Brookfield to families:+ Education + Testing prior to acceptance to ensure your child/family will be a good fit for the school and assurance that they will thrive at the appropriate grade level+Diversity+ Child care before and after school included in tuition+ Spanish, Music, Technology and Physical Education classes almost daily+Teachers and staff have a true interest in your child's best interest+ Option to have extracurricular activities before and after school + Caters to children who are in preschool-8th grade+ Great playground and outdoor seating+ Vibrant student culture+ Safe and secure+ Excellent communication and online access for parents to teachers and administrationThe list goes on and on...I am thankful to Dr. Jo and all of the staff for creating such an amazing space. Our children are so happy when they get home and look forward to going back to school each day.

Since I posted my review, I have received a number of parents of former students and Brookfield teachers who have messaged me, in support of my assessment. Some are actually afraid of coming forward in fear of retaliation of some kind. This is unbelievable and so sad for all involved. You would think the administration would get a hint. Other parents who I still have contact with have been very disappointed at the lack of support from the administration when it comes to adjustment and behavioral issues. No suggestions or compassion for the situation, only straighten up or get out.

The only reason Brookfield gets a single star from me is that it's impossible to give zero stars. Our family sent our daughter to the Pre-K program for two years, during which time we experienced some of the most unprofessional and outright hostile treatment from the management and ownership. Truly, their behavior is baffling. What astounds me is the number of people who have had bad experiences at this school and how somehow Brookfield still manages to bill itself as the best money can buy. I promise you -- it is NOT the best money can buy. Not even close.Some parents had concerns about some serious issues: first of all -- security. There was often no one at the front desk after hours, so it was very easy for strangers to walk onto campus. A friend of ours picked up our daughter one evening when my husband had surgery and, not knowing where he was going, walked around campus for a full ten minutes before someone asked him what he was doing and where he was going. Our other concerns had to do with the director of the preschool program. She sent multiple, highly inappropriate, emails about staffing changes and gave information about why teachers were fired. Like, seriously, I cannot believe they haven't been sued for this. Her newsletters were also rife with misspelled words (fairly certain to this day she doesn't know the difference between "you're" and "your" or that "a lot" is two words), grammatical errors and mistakes. As parents we constantly had to clarify dates with her because it would say something like: "Picture day is Wednesday, April 1st" but April 1st actually fell on a Friday. There were also misspelled sight words on the board, and a million other small mistakes that added up to a very incompetent leader. This is the woman in charge of hiring teachers who are preparing our child for competitive private education. So, we bring these concerns to the management who conduct the meeting with such condescension and hostility that we walked out of there feeling like crazy people. I promise you -- none of us is. We simply wanted what was promised and what we were paying for -- an exceptionally high-quality program. Following the meeting, they promise to make a few small changes. Nothing changes. After a month or two, I bring this to their attention, and out of the blue accuse me of trying to recruit parents into some sort of negative super-PAC. People, I'm a working mom who is forever late to work, so I'm not sure when I would have time to start a resistance movement, but nonetheless the paranoid COO actually accused me of this. When I called him on this and told him how unprofessional and outright insane that accusation was, I received notice from the owner OVER EMAIL without even so much as a phone call, that I should pack my daughter's things up and not return to the school after Friday. This was a Thursday. Yep, one day's notice. Clearly, they care so much about kids. (insert eye roll here)Now, the indignant side of me wanted to tell the jerk to shove it, but since both her father and I work, we needed care for my daughter. And that's how they run their little fiefdom. They realize that they have working parents over a barrel so they use threats to keep you in line and quiet.It took my husband calling the owner of the school to ensure she could stay. We actually had to agree that I would keep my mouth shut. Since I didn't think it was in my daughter's best interest to remove her from school, start another school, only to start another school again in the fall for Kindergarten, I agreed to their terms. I literally watched in silence as these unprofessional crooks took money from parents every month for an archaic program run by people far less educated than most of the friends I know.The straw that broke the camel's back was the cluster-eff that was Spring Break care. The director of the school sent out a request for interest that was buried in one of her inane newsletters. No one saw it. So, when parents asked about that week she said they didn't have enough interest. Then, when there was interest she changed her story and said there would be care. Then, five minutes later we get an email from the COO that there wouldn't be care. Seriously, they are like a comedy of errors. I withdrew my child immediately and she spent the final two months of the school year home with me and a nanny. I simply couldn't abide their unprofessionalism and keep quiet any longer.I then went on to Facebook to write a review of my experience. I'm not kidding -- the owner of the school called my husband (NOT ME) and asked him to tell me to remove it. Of course I didn't because nothing I said was untrue. Still, he reached out to my husband in a whole "Keep your wife in line" sort of a way. Good riddance to this school. My daughter is now at Merryhill and thriving. I recognize this sounds like just my experience. I promise you it is not. Ask around, there are many parents who left for similar reasons.

My four year old son started in the preschool a few months ago and my husband and I are truly amazed at (1) how much he has learned in such a short period of time, (2) how cared for he is by all of the teachers, (3) the structure he is being given, (4) the integration of play and work/learning, and (5) what a loving, clean and safe environment he gets to be in everyday. They even incorporate Spanish and PE into the school weeks. Their preschool starts at age two, with a classroom for each two, three, and four year olds. The school, which goes up to eighth grade, practices in accelerated learning and really encourages and embraces learning and children who enjoy it. I cannot say enough positive things about this school. I highly recommend the preschool! Also, before and after school care is included in tuition, which makes the available hours 7:30AM - 6:00PM.

There is so much to love about Brookfield School. Brookfield has a new campus, have small classes, dedicated teachers, proactive Parents and a great sense of community. Mrs. Janie Marquez the Preschool Director is warm, easy to talk to and is always ready to help. She balances academics and play for the youngest learners. This can be very challenging however, this comes effortlessly to her. She is a passionate educator and as a parent and an educator myself; I believe education is essential and laying the fundamentals that learning is fun especially in Preschool is crucial. Mrs. Marquez makes this possible for the very youngest students at Brookfield.

We are nearing the end of our first year at Brookfield and it is time to tell the world about our experience! We have a "Pre-First" grader (Kindergartener) who takes off running into school each day and talks a mile a minute about the events of her day when we pick her up. I have been substitute teaching at the school as well, so I have experienced the school culture in my own way. In my experience, I have witnessed students in various classrooms completely excited about learning. Imagine all hands going up at once when the teacher asks a question! Picture giving a classroom of 3rd graders an afternoon project on a Friday, and all of them hunker down enthusiastically to do their best work. There is a sense of ownership and pride in doing a good job. The community is made up of self- motivated, hard-working individuals from the administration, to the teaching staff, and all the way through the school community. These are things we were generally told at a preliminary informational meeting. It all sounded too good to be true. At this point I would say that everything Brookfield presents itself to be is absolutely true. Having said all of that, the thing I care most about is also there: genuine warmth and love.We are amazed at how much our daughter is learning each day without anyone pushing her in any way to succeed. She has taken to the whole environment like a fish to water.I also want to mention that for as hard as the Brookfield kids work, they play just as hard. We are happy to see scuff marks on our happy kid's knees and mud splashes on her dress on a regular basis. I want to sing Brookfield's praises for attracting a culturally and economically diverse school community! My husband and I were impressed at the length the school goes to in minimizing the appearance of economic gaps. For example, even the lunch boxes we were asked to specifically provide were relatively cheap, well-made, unadorned mini-coolers. The kids sit on them and chat each other up during breaks- it's super cute... It seems to us that many of the different ways in which students could put any sort of status on display are generally removed. It is as level a playing field as I have ever seen. All that seems to matter at Brookfield is learning, growing, achieving, etc.-- without distractions. Is your child a voracious learner, maybe a future Ivy Leaguer? This is where you want to be.Do I see my child as a future Ivy Leaguer?... nope. I don't think so. We're a bunch of artists over here. We just wanted our kid to have a good work ethic and a strong foundation for whatever future projects she has in mind. Left to her own devices, we know our little wildflower would tumble out like a freewheeling tumbleweed. We thought we would give her some strong roots to go along with her free flowing creativity. So far so good. She goes into Brookfield all buttoned up and when she comes home, she throws on a fairy dress and writes a play or a song... I think we're on to something!I have one last opinion that may be helpful to someone:The workload moves at an extremely fast clip and it doesn't let up. It could easily be a recipe for disaster if it isn't a right fit. In our home, philosophically, we'll take a Brookfield "B" rather than an "A" any day just so our kid can skip homework here and there and have some evenings at the park with friends. That reminds me, I should say that the grading system isn't really A's, B's and C's, etc. It is a numbered system that relates to communicating wether or not the student has a mastery of the subject. It's really cool and we like it so much better than letter grades. The last thing I will say is this: if you like Dr. Jo, you will like Brookfield. I think of her as a multi-faceted, joyful, sincere, academic visionary who walks her talk. I feel as though I could keep typing all day about this... but I will stop there.I hope this was helpful to someone!

This school deserves 0 stars. This school is a joke. They don't care about your child's education. They're very unprofessional, lost packets and application with all our family's info on it. We needed help with financial aid process and Boice gave our family a hard time. We had all 3 children accepted with acceptance letters by the principal and withdrawn from the school because Mr. Boice stated "Brookfield isn't a good fit for our family". I just want to know why he thought we weren't a good fit and why our children got withdrawn from the school two weeks before school starting, with no explanation at all. Mr. Boice has never met our family and wouldn't even take the time to meet us in person. He simply stated he rather do things through email. Never once took the time out to try and help us. We've asked several times why the kids were withdrawn when they were already accepted and no expiation at all. The financial aid process was hectic so we stated we would pay full tuition without help and still Boice said our family wasn't a good fit.Honestly I feel our family has been discriminated and mistreated horribly. Our children shouldn't of got Acceptence letters at all, if the principal didn't think our children weren't a good fit. But because Boice is a member of the board he is allowed to just withdraw students with no reasoning at all? No one should be mistreated at any school but this is what happened to our family. I hope if you decide to find your child a private school you look else where. Please do not invest your money in this school. And as you can see with some of these bad reviews Boice is always the one responding with excuses.