Japhet School

839 South Crooks Road

Clawson, MI 48017

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 10, 2023

We have had a wonderful experience with Japhet. They provide a welcoming, nurturing/supportive and safe environment for children to learn, play and socialize. The small classrooms have helped our child thrive emotionally/socially and academically. Our child’s confidence, happiness and understanding towards others are blossoming. I highly recommend this school. The teachers are amazing, the school is organized/well-run, and the parents are friendly and supportive of one another.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2021

My family is extremely grateful to Japhet School for creating a safe, structured, and fun learning environment for our kindergartener. While we choose Japhet due to the Covid pandemic, we decided to stay because our daughter is thriving within the supportive classroom. Japhet School fosters confidence, self-authority, and empathy in its students. The curriculum is challenging, but the focus is on nurturing strong (but kind) kids. I highly recommend it!
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2017

I feel so fortunate to have found Japhet School! My child is thriving both academically and socially thanks to the entire Japhet community. I highly recommend this school!
Submitted by parent on August 15, 2017

I'm so grateful that my children have attended Japhet. I have one who has graduated and Japhet's influence on my son's preparedness for High School has been incredible. The way he views teachers as allies and resources and works with them to learn and achieve is fantastic. Japhet weaves character into every aspect of academics. A good example is reliability. The kids are taught that if you put consistently good and correct stuff in, you will get a consistently good result. This is evidenced in Life Skills with baking and measurements and in Math with problem and equation solving. What lessons for my children to learn and to relate back to how they live their lives!I can't recommend Japhet highly enough. It's a treasure.
Submitted by parent on August 15, 2017

Between my two boys, I have been a Japhet parent for 10 years. Japhet has been a large part of my boys turning into educated, confident young men. It would have been worth twice the price to have been a part of the Japhet family.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2016

After myself and husband spent the day with the administrator we were all on the same page that there was an opening for our daughter and she would likely be attending the following year. We had set up the next interview where she met our child but suddenly she stopped returning our calls. This was odd since everything went so well. We then found out the reason, because a family that already went there didn't like us, the school took what they said without speaking to us and banned my child from that school. This school bases their philosophies on peace and peaceful conflict resolution, however they did not practice that themselves. This school is disgraceful . Is that how you want to be treated? Special treatment based on someone else's opinion? Terrible. Do not send your child here.
Submitted by parent on February 02, 2016

The information that was dispensed at the first meeting was not accurate. There are a lot of discrepencies with the teaching. The environment was nice but our children need more than that to prepare for school. Another reviewer mentioned that the teachers had no official education. This is disheartening...if it's true. I have a friend who has had more experience at japhet and did concur with another reviewer that there is favoritism. If this is happening, how does it fit into the teachings of our children if the one running the place do not follow their own philosophy. Do as I say, not as I do? Too many great options!
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2014

I am a parent of two alumni from Japhet and they both entered public high school with a solid foundation of character -- so necessary at that age when their decision-making is independent. Academically both my children have done very well, taking advanced classes and getting involved. They made great choices in their friends. Something I really appreciate about Japhet is its unique emphasis on public speaking. My kids have been presenting to a large audience since they were 6 -- it's a real confidence builder. But I think the greatest gift that Japhet gave my children is the gift of community, especially the relationship-building with their teachers. My daughter, now in college, says she credits Japhet for the ease she feels when approaching a professor for help during office hours. She knows that teachers are there to help. Thank you, Japhet. I strongly recommend this school!!
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2014

My child is attending preschool here & will move up to kindergarten in the fall. I was shocked to read two of the negative reviews on the preschool program as our experience has been better than what we expected. Japhet truly nurtures the whole child, I see each child given respect and every opportunity to grow. I was concerned that my child was behind in letter recognition but of no account to the school. He is very creative & showed no interest in letters. This only changed the way the teachers worked with him, helping him in more creative ways that suited his learning style. The small class sizes & individualized instruction (for everyone) allowed for this. He has completely blossomed! I'm almost tired of always talking about letters and sounds ; ) he is also reading which is such a relief & joy to experience. The preschool room is filled with extremely creative activities all which teach not only the basics such as letters, counting, reading, math...etc, but also about our world and peaceful conflict resolution. My family and I are very proud to be apart of this community.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2014

We were so excited to enroll our child in preschool at Japhet, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. They do not prepare the preschoolers for kindergarten. The teacher does not focus on fundamentals enough and I will have to supplement this summer to make sure my son is prepared for kindergarten. I also felt the teacher was not personable and would brush my questions off regarding my child's experience there and say things like "your child is doing fine, he's happy." Nothing specific. The class was not that big so certainly she knew the students a little better than that? Also they did not handle a few situations properly and I feel there is a lot of obvious favoritism. The parent involvement they emphasize is for donations to the school and occasional special events, no emphasis on parental involvement in the classroom. Unfortunately I would not recommend this school.
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2014

My daughter attended preschool here and we were not very impressed. While many of the activities were very creative they did not do a very good job preparing the kids academically for kindergarten. I spent the summer working with my daughter to ensure she would be ready for kindergarten. I was also disappointed when I realized that the head teacher did not have a teaching nor child development degree of any kind. I would rate the preschool as average but not worth the tuition.
Submitted by other on September 24, 2013

The Japhet School provides a wonderful foundation for students' academic lives and beyond. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to attended Japhet from Daycare - 8th grade. I currently serve on the Board of Trustees, and can tell that Japhet still has the sense of community and strong academics that it did when I was student. I can't recommend this school enough!
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2013

The focus on character education is what initially captured my interest. The excellent academics, small classroom sizes, and remarkable teachers is what has kept my family at Japhet for more than 7 years. I cannot stress how wonderful it has been to have my children in an environment that stresses such things as industry, honesty, initiative and courage AND the way that they weave the character qualities into everything (from math to cooking to science) is amazing. Highly recommend the school to anyone looking for a better situation.
Submitted by parent on July 31, 2013

This school has poor preparation for high school, especially with math and socialization. The school student population is very unstable, with very few students staying through eighth grade. We had an ongoing issue with our son's teacher that continued for more than one year due to the structure of two years with the same teacher. We were much happier this year after switching him to another private school in the area. Also, the staff diversity is minimal. We did like the large field for recess, but have heard that the school is moving to a facility without a playground.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2013

Japhet is a warm, inviting school with emphasis on public speaking and teaching character. I'm very glad my student goes there, and I see the difference that a quality education can make.
Submitted by parent on April 24, 2013

Japhet is a great value for the type of environment and education they provide. The staff there is caring and supportive and allow kids to be themselves. The character education piece is great and has lead to many good discussions with our kids. The class sizes are small and have allowed for a great deal of one-on-one time with teachers. The staff is creative and make the most out of their facilities. Field trip choices are good. The people at Japhet really care about it and take pride in their school. If there is something that we didn't love about Japhet it is the strong emphasis on fund raising. That being said, the tuition is significantly less than comparable schools , and this may be a trade off that is well worth it, depending on your situation. I highly recommend Japhet.
Submitted by parent on October 10, 2012

We have two children at Japhet currently, and have been part of the Japhet family for 6 years. I can't say enough about the teachers and staff there. The focus on character quality integration into the subject matter makes such a difference in the kids. Japhet is a calm, friendly, supporting place, where kids of different races and faiths find friendship, support, and inclusiveness. Small class sizes and teachers willing to spend extra time to make sure every student is understanding what is being studied, mean so much to our kids. I can't imagine another place where the 8th graders befriend kids as young as first or second grade. I can't recommend Japhet highly enough. We will be keeping our kids there until they have to move on to high school.
Submitted by other on February 29, 2012

I go to that school. It is the best school EVER!!! It teaches us character and friendship building. It Is a green school and we take many very fun field trips. I recommend this school very much. Believe me, the first day you walk into school you will be sarounded with loving, caring, joyful people. This is my fourth year at Japhet. BEST SCHOOL EVER!
Submitted by parent on November 11, 2011

Every Parents Dream. Japhet has a caring environment with teachers that focus on each student and their individual needs.