Chestnut Hill Academy Review

CHA has been nothing but amazing for our son. The team that Holly leads is fantastic! They make sure that every student feels welcome and excited to be in school.

CHA is a wonderful school that balances strong academics with developing kids as leaders. Our daughter has been there since Kindergarten and has absolutely flourished. The school has an awesome, professional, and caring executive team and amazing teachers that teach and develop the whole child in each kid.

Our daughter attends CHA, and all of us love the experience. The teachers are absolutely fantastic and hard working, and the curriculum is designed to explore the unique strengths of students at varying levels of pace that they might be comfortable with. The extra-curricular activities are fantastic as well - field trips, camps, ski lessons and all the after school activities. We also love the support the school receives from the PTA, which makes a huge difference to the learning experience.

We chose CHA for many reasons. This is my son's 2nd year there (he's in 1st grade), and our whole family is so happy with the school. Below are some of the reasons (in no particular order):
- Dedicated, excited and professional teachers and staff. Everyone is SO nice, and so committed to the kids and to their jobs. Every single person loves what they do, and loves the kids and the supportive and excited environment that creates is amazing.
- every single aspect of the school and everything they do is perfectly organized and executed. It's like a well-oiled machine, they know what they are doing.
- Small class sizes - much smaller than public school. There are 15 children in my son's class this year, last year I think it was 13.
- Guaranteed before and after school care. Our public school didn't have this, there was a waiting list.
- Great list of extracurriculars. To name a few: Chess, yoga, music, drama, cooking, science, soccer, karate.
- Amazing administration (involved, invested, collaborative with parents, supportive, experienced, professional)
- Beautiful facility and grounds. Classrooms are big and sunny. the building is new and spotless. There are 2 playgrounds and a field that are well tended, and they are constantly improving the facility to keep things fresh
- Everything is well stocked and all school supplies are provided by the school.
- They have a big beautiful library full of books. I LOVE to read, and want my child to as well (and he does!)
- Classrooms have a huge selection of books and learning tools. They also have Promethean boards and the older kids get a tablet.
- There is a big tech lab that each class goes to weekly. My first grader is learning how to type, log in, print, and use Microsoft Word!
- Projects and presentations start in Kindergarten. This gets kids used to speaking in front of the class and presenting right from the beginning.
- Healthy and tasty food - good quality, organic, fresh, good variety
- Love all the snacks the kids get. Hungry kids are distracted and grumpy kids.
- ski program!!!
- Provides academics that are tailored to the child - the ability for teachers to use different curriculums that best suit the child and NOT having to keep the entire 1st grade class on the same topic/level/curriculum
- focuses on the whole child, not just academics. Academics are important, but not the only thing that develops a child and CHA embraces that by providing art, music, library, spanish, PE and tech lab
- lots of ways for parents to be involved, and lots of encouragement to participate together in the school community. Lots of fun events already, and we are only 2 months into the year (walkathon, field trips, Halloween party/parade, fall festival, book fair). And those events continue throughout the year to keep everyone active in the community.
- CHA encourages students to respect each other, and treat each other well. Provides the framework for good behavior, with tools like Leader In Me and Bucket filling, and then provides lots of positive reinforcement.
- keeps my child EXCITED about school and learning.

My son's growth both academically and emotionally even since this year began is so wonderful to see. He proactively models good behavior, and is proud to be a good school citizen and friend. He loves learning, and is excited to go to school every day.

I love this school. I personally want to be a kid and go there! I only wish they had a middle and high school too!

This school is fantastic. Not only are the academics top notch but they also focus on leadership skills and teach the kids to be well rounded individuals. They spend a lot of time learning about different cultures and traditions. I love that the older students practice leadership skills by helping the younger students. The school has a great math, science, engineering, language arts and social studies curriculum. All students get gym, art, Spanish, technology and music as well. The principal, Holly Senaga, is the best.

Our son absolutely loves going to school. Teachers and all the staff are great. Academically driven environment that our kid needs. He's challenged in his studies and the attention he gets from his teachers cannot be compared to any other school we toured.

My children have attented Chestnut Hill Academy since Kindergarten. You will not find a more inclusive, rigorous, and character building primary education provider in the greater Seattle area.

I m thankful for my son s school, Chestnut Hill Academy, for their teachers and staff. I read how the onset of the pandemic caught some schools hard pressed to support online learning. Luckily, his school was able to transition to online classes with short notice.

Upper grade students took their Surfaces home and teachers started online lessons the very next week. Learning switched to using Microsoft Teams to be the central app for video lessons, assignments, messaging and class scheduling. It was a quick change, with many parents and teachers both having to provide childcare and working from home. Kudos to the school for taking feedback and rapidly learning to adopt a flexible and streamlined schedule for students. And adding a side chat channel for the students to use for socializing.

Each week, students had a concise one-sheet overview of all their core class assignments. Live homeroom meet ups in the morning helped students start the day in a learning mode, but also provided them a daily connection with their classmates. Live video lessons were held in the mornings and recorded, allowing more time for students work on assignments while remaining flexible. The Teams assignments feature provided an easy way to link lesson articles and to upload homework to turn in. Specialists used their own channel and adapted their lessons for online as well.

The school also set up parents with separate accounts that we used the first week to hold parent-teacher video-conferences. It is an easy way to keep communication channels open, ask questions and check in on student progress. Of course there was some early hiccups with forgetting to mute microphones and uploading to different directories. It was a big transition, but it got easier as time went on. Completing three months of online learning is an accomplishment for student and teachers alike.

This is an amazing school. The curriculum is well-balanced and with a lot of fun activities. The Seven Habits, Leader in Me and Ski program have helped my daughter grow more confident and prepared her very well for the next chapter of her life.

My son has attended this school 1-5th grade and my daughter k-3. We have enjoyed the open communication and group effort to grow children into successful young adults.

While this school has a strong focus on academics, they also care about the child as a person. They teach respect, responsibility and kindness as being equally important to being successful and a leader in life. My son is very sad to be graduating but will be well prepared for what lies ahead.

Excellent school. Teachers are great and the Head of School is wonderful. We have had an excellent experience this year. The academics are rigorous. Teachers are very caring and bring out the best in their students. Parents are kind and welcoming as well.

Chestnut Hill Academy is a wonderful school. We have a Kindergartner and a 4th grader who has been there since Kindergarten. We are extremely happy with the education our kids are getting both in terms of academics and social development. The teachers and staff go above and beyond to help kids learn and grow. There are plenty of opportunities and support to try different things. The leadership team and administrative staff are also very helpful and responsive. We feel lucky to have found such a great community for us and our kids.

We are very content with the quality of the education, friendly staff and teachers, and how much importance is given to qualities like kindness and greenness.

Exceptional school! Best decision made for our kids education. Thank you CHA!