St. Michael's Episcopal Day School

2140 Mission Avenue

Carmichael, CA 95608

15 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 13, 2024

I have two children who have attended St. Michael's. One is now in high school and the other is currently still at the school. The preparation the students receive at St. Michael's is outstanding. It must be emphasized that students learn how to study, speak in public, and engage in a wealth of athletics and community activities. The curriculum is quite challenging and most parents realize this early on with the homework packets and frequency of tests/quizzes. My high schooler is excelling and will have a great shot at making it into selective universities. In contrast to the perceptions of some of the other reviews, there is significant diversity in my younger child's class. I find the attitude of the other reviewer's comments about diversity misplaced. Additionally, the parents are quite welcoming and inclusive. Almost all of the functions at the school entail parent participation and here a sense of community is definitely created and felt. Even birthday parties are more ecumenical to foster a sense of community and connection between the students. Perhaps there are other personality issues and sour grapes by some of the reviewers..... Overall, an outstanding school that does a fantastic job preparing students for high school!
Submitted by other on March 01, 2023

I am an alumna of this school and cannot speak more highly of it. St. Michael's taught me lessons about organization and work ethic that remained with me through high school, college, and graduate school. I often attribute the success I have had in my career to the foundation that I was provided at St. Michael's. Although the curriculum is challenging, the faculty was supportive and the administration was always positioned with an eye on the future. I cannot recommend St. Michael's enough for people who wants to encourage their children to learn the importance of education and hard work.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2023

We have been a part of this school community for seven years, and it has become a true second home for us. Our daughter is thriving here. The well-rounded education she is receiving is helping her to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. In addition to an excellent traditional academic program, she is experiencing art, music, theatre, and sports. I am confident that she will graduate here fully prepared for high school. Even more importantly, I feel that St. Michael's has instilled in her a love of school and learning.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2023

We love the well-rounded education that St. Michael's provides, and more importantly, our two children LOVE being students at St. Michael's.When we were first evaluating schools around the Sacramento area, we visited a number of both private and public schools, most of which had caring teachers, engaged students, and an emphasis on fostering positive values. However, St. Michael's stood out in several regards: rigorous academic standards, a commitment to character building, and a welcoming atmosphere that made us feel like part of a family.Now that we have been at St. Michael's for three years, I can say that our initial impressions were true, and we've only grown to appreciate St. Michael's more as each year passes. The academic quality is superb - our children are simultaneously challenged and supported, and the classrooms allow for differentiated learning and ample one-on-one or small-group instruction. At the same time, the focus remains on fostering a love of learning no matter what level the child is at, and the teachers radiate kindness. From a character-building perspective, our children talk to us in the evenings about topics like compassion and respect, which are woven into the daily curriculum and reinforced in chapel (which, importantly to our family, is not so much a religious setting but rather a space for the students to talk about values, hear the daily announcements, and come together as a community). Opportunities for public speaking, music performance, and student government are presented from the very youngest grades on up, so that all students develop confidence as they move forward in life. The athletic program is all about enthusiasm, being a good sport, and trying your best. Our children love having art, music, library, technology, and garden classes as part of their weekly schedules. And we love the warmth and sincerity of the St. Michael's community. We are so happy to be at St. Michael's and to watch our children grow in this special environment.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2023

I am giving 2 stars for this school. Positively the academics were solid and prepared the students well. The school was safe and actively enforced non-bullying policies and was quick to adapt with technology. The teachers (almost all) were caring, supportive and hard working. The other lacking 3 stars were due to the overall culture. The parents dominated the environment to the detriment of the students. The environment was often overindulgent and quite materialistic. The school administration rewarded hover parents and big donors, at times through the students with actual awards and favoritism. The school was too small (one class per grade) to hire teachers who had their own children as students and this happened quite often. The administration failed to ever institute any pursuit of diversity (any kind) in any way and failed to set up any boundaries with domineering parents and parents with an agenda (and sometimes even encouraged them). The parents who hung out in the office/overly ingratiated themselves in some way were the ones who ran the show and this school catered to a population that was used to getting their way and their child recognized. Some parents even ran their students' campaigns for office, showed up at play auditions and gave teachers and administrators overly generous gifts. Overall the culture and situations that played out were often not meritocratic and there were no checks and balances in place. Beyond the lower grades there was too much unnecessary pressure and competition which lowered the enjoyment and love of learning. No school is perfect but my feeling was this school was very narrow and strayed quite far from it.
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2023

This is our fourth year at the school, and all three of our children are thriving in the outstanding environment that St. Michael's provides. The teachers are attentive, enthusiastic, engaged, and responsive. Coming from another school previously, we found the St. Michael's school community to be very welcoming and inclusive. The academic curriculum is rigorous and challenging. At times, it feels like there might be too much homework. We were particularly impressed and grateful for the school's proactive and rapid response to the Covid pandemic, allowing in-person instruction to resume as quickly as possible and allowed by the local authorities.
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2022

Our two children transferred to St. Michael's from another local private school and we have watched them blossom ever since. Their confidence on and off campus has grown, and even at their young ages, they appreciate the challenges and rewards of an academically strong environment. The small class sizes at SMEDS means that the teaching staff gets to know each student as an individual learner with their own personality. SMEDS's welcoming and warm parent community has benefitted our entire family, which was a lovely bonus for us. In short, a SMEDS is a great fit for our wonderful kids!
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2022

We really did our homework before deciding on public vs private school and choosing St. Michael's. We are in our third year now, and our experience has been very positive. First, the smaller class size and personalized learning has truly served my 3 children. My oldest struggled to read, so his teacher worked with him in a small group (he was unaware that it was a special effort just for him, she made it fun). He's grown tremendously and now loves to read. For preschool, I can't say enough good things. The teachers are warm and they even brighten my day as I drop off my little one, she absolutely loves going to school. My other child cried at drop off for nearly a month, but they patiently worked with us every day to ease him in and he's doing great. What I've realized is that my three children are very different, and this school can cater to their individual needs. St. Michael's is big on modeling respect - for other students and adults - along with compassion and integrity. Teachers and the principal are responsive and make themselves available (instant responses) if we have questions or concerns about their educational or social/emotional growth. Overall, the school is academically challenging and there's lots of homework....a factor to consider based on the type of education you're looking for. There's a beautiful garden where the kids learn to grow food, a science lab, art program, music and Spanish. Finally, they really blew us away during the pandemic when they were online and teaching remotely after just a couple days when the world shut down. The public school districts and other private schools were not able to do that (which drove a lot of new students to St. Michael's). They opened for in-person learning the following September, ahead of the others. I read other reviews about snooty parents and was concerned about that before we enrolled. I was sorry to hear someone was made to feel that way, but I'm relieved it has not been our experience at all. Are there parents you may not want to engage with? Of course, but you'll find them at every school. The majority of parents are welcoming and down to earth, especially compared to our last school. When you enroll, you're assigned a new family sponsor that helps with play dates and introductions. There are many ways to get involved and meet people, if you choose. There is no pressure if you do not. I encourage you to take a tour if you're thinking about it. We're happy we made the investment.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2022

My only regret is that we should of left St. Michael’s sooner. Nothing has changed from the view of past reviews. Diversity is only talked about and that satisfies the school and parents. Children have to fit into their mold because there’s no encouragement or support for a child who learns differently. I’ve never had so much anxiety, disappointment and often wondered how a school can have deterred so far from Christian values.
Submitted by other on September 03, 2019

I would not recommend this school. The preschool teachers and principal is very cold, rude and grumpy to the parents. The teachers are always trying to make drama at the school. I am glad that finally I transferred my child out of school.
Submitted by other on November 04, 2016

This school is a good school and with strong academic and a wonderful student body. The teachers are eagerly involved and we have had nothing but a good experience from that regard. My kids enjoy being at the school.My average review is for what is happening "behind the scenes". I agree with the previous reviewer. Parents are snobbish, clique-ish, exclusive in their groups rather than inclusive. There are a few parents that make a real effort and try to be inviting, engaging and friendly. This is rare and these parents stand out.Most parents look the other way during morning drop off and pick up and frankly this is not the example I want to set for my kids or the environment I want them to be in.As a parent who has sent my kids to St. Michaels for a few years (since preschool), I am thinking of looking for other schools in the area. There are many good choices in this neighborhood.
Submitted by other on April 17, 2016

My kids went to St Michaels for 2 years. We eventually ended up transferring our children due to the parent community. St Michaels fosters a community of exclusivity rather than inclusivity. The parent and student body are not diverse at all. The parents all live in multi-million dollar homes and essentially only interact with parents in their own social strata. The teachers wear designer clothes, Cartier watches.....you get the picture. My husband and I are very successful lawyers so we were able to afford the expensive tuition without difficulty. We want to do our best to surround our children in an Christian environment that is reflective of the world around them. A world with people of every race, color, religion, social class and background. We moved our children to another local private school and are very very happy.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2013

My son attended St. Michael's (PS-8th) and is now a junior at Jesuit. I could not have chosen a better school! Not only was he extremely well-prepared academically for high school, but we were backed every day in our efforts to raise an ethical, morally and personally responsible, and caring young man. While it is a 'private' (really, 'independent') school, the families at St. Michael's are in reality, very hard-working and unpretentious, as the primary goal is to provide the best education for their children and not create networking/business opportunities for the parents. I loved that they incorporated innovative teaching methods into their rigorous, traditional core academics and offered Latin, grammar and cursive writing - and integrated music, art, robotics, PE, and a gorgeous garden/outdoor classroom into science, math, literature, etc. to peak interest and add context to what was being taught. This is an outstanding little gem of a school and as I now see my son succeeding year after year in high school, I know the credit goes to the incredible foundation that was laid at St. Michael's - and when they say preparation for high school and beyond - they absolutely mean it.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2013

I feel that St. Micheal's is one of the finest schools in our region. The academics are rigorous, but the support to succeed is hands on. In addition, music, performing arts, athletics and physical fitness are all part of the daily curriculum. Add in a robust field trip program, community service requirements and full time curriculum coordinators, and you have a great school. Not to mention a safe and clean learning environment. I have been a parent here for many years, and I couldn't be happier or prouder. A definite must see!
Submitted by other on August 14, 2011

When we toured this school, my biggest worry was the curriculum. I feel, for the money that I was going to be paying, that my child should be more academically challenged. The facility was nice and the teachers were friendly and warm, but the student body was not diverse and the parents seemed a bit elitist (totally undeserving). My family moved here from NYC and my children had always been in the top private schools. Not to say that it wouldn't suffice for most folks, but we felt this school lacked luster.