Chestnut Hill Academy

13633 Southeast 26th Street

Bellevue, WA 98005

31 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-5
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 10, 2023

Chestnut Hill Academy is an exceptional educational institution that goes beyond conventional academics. The school instills character through their innovative '8 Habits' approach, guiding students towards becoming well-rounded leaders. These habits emphasize virtues like leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking, enriching the character of each student.Academically, the standards are impressively high, but what sets Chestnut Hill apart is the emphasis on understanding the material deeply enough to explain it to a peer. This approach ensures not only good grades but a true mastery of the subjects.One standout aspect is the ski program, which adds a unique dimension to the educational experience. It not only promotes physical activity but also cultivates life skills such as perseverance and determination.As an African American family, we deeply appreciate the diversity at Chestnut Hill Academy. The celebration of various cultures enriches the educational environment and offers our child a broader perspective of the world. It's a welcoming community that truly inclusivity.Overall, Chestnut Hill Academy is a nurturing and enriching school that prioritizes character, academic excellence, and cultural diversity. Highly recommended for families seeking a well-rounded education.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2023

Choosing a right fitting school for our 2 children was always a priority and we were beyond happy to settled with Chestnut Hill Academy as the Head of School, staff and teachers are beyond great! We have been with Chestnut Hill for 4 years now and witnessed how the school dealt with pandemic in a middle my daughter 1st grade year was speechless. The school was so prepared to assure that minimal instruction time loss and teachers and staff were well trained to provide a phenomenal education even when it had to go online. We also love the balance this school provide in academic, in character building, in leadership, in empathy, and emotional well being. We love it that it's a Leader in Me school, and our children are taught by the most caring and passionate teachers and instructional assistants who always so encouraging for our children to not just do their best, but to take on challenges when it is being offer. One very very positive note is that our children always presented an opportunity to correct their own mistakes either on an assignment or exam, so that they are never afraid to make mistakes and encourage them to learn from it and this to us is a very important skill that not many school offer. This might not be a school for every family, but if you want to raise a strong and independent thinker, emotionally strong, and empathic kid who will carved our their own success. this will be a perfect school for your family.
Submitted by parent on March 30, 2022

We are so glad that we found The Chestnut Hill Academy school last year! The school helped my daughter to grow as an independent thinker and to be comfortable with other. The teachers are amazing and supportive. Great memories of her first Ski season this year too. Excellent academic program, strong school-family partnership, delicious lunches and many other things create kind and supportive atmosphere each day. Phenomenal Head of School who meets and greets us each morning. This school helps to raise the Leader inside each kid. There are lots of great resources with regard to music, art, computer science, lego class and they pay attention to social/emotional learning. And the classrooms are beautiful too.
Submitted by parent on November 15, 2020

The school has a strong focus on academics, character building and holistic learning. My child enjoys the experience even though it can be challenging at times to keep up with homework.
Submitted by parent on June 07, 2020

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.
Submitted by parent on January 05, 2018

The school is amazing. My son attended 1st through 5th grade and my daughter K - 5. Both LOVED going to school each day. I could not have asked for a stronger, more well rounded foundation for middle school and beyond. My son is currently at Eastside Catholic School and thriving - well prepared by CHA for that transition. The CHA community (parents, teachers, staff) are a very tight community. The experience is unmatched.
Submitted by parent on January 02, 2018

Overall, this is a fantastic school for students and families alike. The school supports individual students, listens to families and actively partners. We couldn't be happier with our experience at CHA.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2017

Our experience has been fabulous. I am so thankful for the excellent learning and growing opportunities our daughter has had and know she will tackle her next educational experience with the great things she learned at Chestnut Hill Academy.
Submitted by parent on September 01, 2017

Horrible! No real sense of community, the staff is extremely rude and insensitive.
Submitted by parent on December 10, 2016

Our child has been at this school for the last 5 years and we couldn't have been happier. The school offers a good fit for what we are looking for: kind and caring teachers, differentiated academic curriculum, and all the extras (arts, library, P.E./ski program, Spanish, music, and technology). Before/after school program is the icing on the cake for working parents.
Submitted by parent on November 16, 2016

Wonderful caring staff and well rounded curriculum makes this school a top pick!
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2016

Ask about the last two years of staff and teacher turn over. Ask about teachers years of experience. Barely a nod to the Leader In Me program. All marketing. Class sizes are often more than 15 students. Easy place to get into if you're willing to pay the tuition.
Submitted by other on October 06, 2016

Chestnut Hill Academy is a good alternative to public schools. Average class size is 15, they have good quality technology, art, music, Spanish classes. Music teacher is amazing and it reflects to kids' performances at musical and at special days. Library teacher is also really passionate and always recommending kids new books. School academics are average though. Almost everyone gets accepted to this school and selection criteria being very light affects the level of deep education in the classes. Math differentiation starts at 1st grade and differentiation of other subjects start at 2nd grade. Differentiation is 1 grade at most. If kid is beyond 1 grade, there is no system to handle that (ie. kid going to upper class for differentiation). Acceptance rate to competitive private middle schools are low. Donations are frequently asked for and families donating the most are publicly recognized. For example, kids get beads for every 25 dollars donated for Walkhaton. The more money you donate, the more beads. Those beads are worn as necklaces to school. Think about your kids walking around at school with a necklace showing how much their parents donated. Not every family will like that.
Submitted by parent on July 14, 2016

Chestnut Hill Academy provides a fantastic education. We’ve had two children attend CHA, and couldn’t be happier. Small class size, differentiated instruction, caring teachers that are committed to advancing their own education as well as that of our children, are just a small part of the whole picture. Small class sizes allow for more personalized instruction. Class size is much lower than other private (and definitely public schools) at 15 students per class (sometimes fewer). Not only are class sizes small, but additional credentialed staff are available to provide support to teachers and students inside and outside of the classroom. Strong school community benefits the child academically as well as socially, and provides a more robust educational experience.
Submitted by parent on July 14, 2016

We have 2 children at CHA, in 3rd and 5th grades. Our children have had a phenomenal experience. Is it worth the tuition? Yes. Our children go through the doors each school day excited to see what the day will bring. CHA meets your child where he/she is academically, both encouraging and supporting his/her individual needs/strengths. There is a focus not just on grades and test scores, but also on nurturing the social and emotional development of the children. The individual communication and accessibility to and from the teachers and the principal is unparalleled. The teachers are engaged and excited to be there. As my oldest child transitions to the next level of education, we are looking at those schools with CHA as the basis. Not easy shoes to fill.
Submitted by other on July 11, 2016

Not worth the money. We were promised an experience while touring that we did not get at this school. The academics are average at best and some of the programs they told us about we did not get. Classes are bigger than most private schools and teachers have been inexperienced or lacking in other ways. The overall feeling is cold and impersonal. You would do better to look at other options for your money. I also noted that the parent group raises a lot of money but, is very insular at the same time.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2016

Overall disappointed. Lack of individual approach and goal settings, poor communication, lack of thinking outside of the schema.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2016

We couldn't recommend CHA any more highly. We both come from public school backgrounds so were a bit skittish on going private, but what we found at CHA was a combination of great school leadership, teachers that truly care and (highly important to us) children who were truly enjoying their childhood as opposed to just being well behaved. The education is highly quality and highly personalized, the care and growth for our daughter's confidence and leadership is highly personalized and powerful, and the parent communications are highly personalized and clearly caring. This is just about the easiest money we spend on our kids.
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2015

Our family is finishing its first year at Chestnut Hill and we could not be happier. Our daughter has attended numerous other Bellevue private schools and nothing even compares to Chestnut HIll. As they say, it starts from the top. The Head of the school Holly Senaga, is the definition of strong leader. She is not only a great leader but actually cares about our children. I have NOT found this at any other school. This trickles down throughout the whole school. The teachers are top notch and my daughter was constantly challenged the whole school year.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2014

Both of our children have attended CHA since 1st grade and Kindergarten respectively. This is an excellent school on multiple facets: 1) teachers and staff are top notch and truly care about the development of the kids; 2) the curriculum is progressive (i.e. not super easy) but the kids are challenged at the level appropriate to them; 3) they foster leaders - and it is ingrained in everything they do - kids get opportunities to lead, starting with leading themselves on a regular basis. My oldest has gone on to a college-prep type of middle/high school and we found that CHA prepared him for this next level extremely well. CHA helps develop well rounded, global citizens. A great return on my investment. I'd do it again.