The Walker School

700 Cobb Parkway North

Marietta, GA 30062

35 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on April 10, 2024

Depends on your type of kid. My older daughters were very self sufficient and never questioned authority. My son was successful in 2,3 and 5th grades. 4th was awful. Walker failed to recommend my son for other schools. There staff is fleeing. Significant amount of antisemitism they they hide.
Submitted by parent on December 15, 2023

They do NOT support students with learning disabilities! My PreK child was expelled in the middle of the school year. The Head of School told me they are not legally required to have resources for learning disabilities. Despite my family paying alot in tuition, my child was denied an education b/c of his disability. That's discriminatory! My child now has anxiety, is depressed, and has been crying everyday and night! He entered this school as a happy, joyful 5 year old. He left broken and I have to pick up the pieces and put him back together. I will continue to spread the word about our horrific experience at this school.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2023

The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia was the worst educational experience our family has ever endured. It’s an extremely cliquish environment that fails to recognize and nurture the majority of students’ talents. We transferred out after two years to a much better school with significantly better social and educational outcomes. Do NOT waste your money or your children’s time and mental health at Walker.
Submitted by parent on August 04, 2021

The Walker School is an academically challenging school. If you are only looking for your child to be challenged and advance their academic skills, you'll be set. If, however, you are looking for a well-rounded school that shapes your whole student, this is not the place for you. Walker touts that they strive to serve the whole student. They do not. They cater to a very specific type of student. Students with learning differences will find it virtually impossible to succeed here - even with their new dyslexia program. The turnover rate of teachers and administrators is alarming. While it is true that many teachers have been at Walker for 20+ or 30+ years, every single new teacher or administrator lasts about a year before they realize they do not fit in and move on. DO NOT transfer your child here in the middle of a school year or in middle school. They will never find their niche. "Lifers" at Walker are incredibly exclusive. New students have a very tough time breaking into the cliques and unfortunately, it is the same with their parents. My students are very different from each other and yet they both have struggled to find groups that will include them. It's incredibly disappointing and frankly sad. But once I met all the "lifer" parents, I understood why their children were so exclusive. They learned it at home.The administration is not open to hearing any concerns or challenges. Change is hard here. No one is interested in looking into how to do things differently or better. I will give them credit for handling Covid-19 well. They required masks and did health screenings every day. Contact tracing was done well too. The team responsible for Health & Safety did a great job.
Submitted by parent on June 23, 2021

Our child had been enrolled in the Lower School for the past year. Our experience overall has been extremely positive and one of the best decisions we have made as parents.. Our child has made leaps and bounds academically and has grown to a level of confidence we had not experienced previously. Because he was new to the school for the 2020-21 academic year, we were worried he would have a hard time socially fitting in with an established group of kids. This concern evaporated as his teachers were focused on making sure he was comfortable academically and socially. It truly is a loving and positive environment. Whenever I have a questions, the teaches and administration reply promptly and provide valuable insights.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2021

I will have to give credit to the school for its fantastic job during these difficult times. It has never been a more fact that it takes a tribe to raise a child, and The Walker School serves as an example of a proper educational community. A school needs to be more than beautiful buildings and mesmerizing landscapes. It needs to be a place that promotes the spirit of inclusion and encourages children to dare to try new things without the fear of failing. It is all about the experience.Dare to be different!
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2018

All in all, we thing the schools is amazing! We moved to Atlanta five months ago and are very impressed with the school, the teachers and the overall environment. Our son attended two private schools prior to this and by far this one is superior. We highly recommend it!
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2018

We have been a Walker family since 2006. Each of our students has a different academic ability, learning style and social personality, and one of the key reasons we chose Walker was a sense that they could each be met on their level. As we wind down our time at the school I can say it was a GREAT decision. The experience we have had has been nothing but positive. While all classes and teachers expect high performance, there is a willingness to adapt to the individual child's needs to encourage best results. Walker is highly academic and there more than 25 AP classes in the high school, but the drama and arts program is also amazing for such a small school. Furthermore, the ability to play sports exists for every student interested. So in the end a student can have a fully immersive and well-rounded experience. We did not find that to be possible at our public school or at some of the other private schools we explored. The kids at Walker are held to a strict standard of personal conduct, and as a result are respectful of each other and the space they inhabit. The teachers truly love these kids as if they are their own. The administration are devoted to making Walker the best it can be right now but also building a future for Walker. We're really proud to call it our family's school.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2018

As a parent with two children at Walker, I can honestly say we couldn't be happier. Both of our children have attended The Walker School in both the Primary and Lower School divisions. The teachers are amazing! Both of our children have very different learning styles and have been very successful at Walker because of the passion and dedication each teacher has shown in working with them. Walker sees the WHOLE child and supports them socially, emotionally, physically, and academically. We truly feel like part of The Walker family and are so grateful for the amount of support that the teachers, staff, and administration put forth when working with our children.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2018

Our child went to Walker for three years before we gave up and put him in a different school. Administration changes over constantly so leadership is always in disarray, teachers have been there too long and are too lazy to differentiate learning or incorporate hands-on learning experiences. We were told gifted classes were going to begin each year but they never did - they managed to spend a ton of money on new sports fields, though. For a few thousand more each year, you can send your kid to Pace or Westminster. Those two actually succeed and are constantly reassessing what they do to ensure it's the best possible. They are the two schools Walker constantly "borrows" ideas from, as well.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2018

Both of our VERY different children are seen, known, challenged, supported, and celebrated at The Walker School. We feel that the teachers are truly committed to our kids' growth.
Submitted by other on November 16, 2017

This school has only one focus.....fundraising. The administration constantly has their hand out looking for a donation, but turns their cheek to dealing with issues within the school that desperately need to be dealt with. Although some of the teachers are excellent, some are left lacking and the administration as a whole is horrible. They allow bullying to continually happen at the school. This has been a constant issue and is never fully dealt with. It is a terrible school for a child to transfer into and it is miserably cliquish amongst the parents as well as the students. The school has not invested in technology, but I'm sure you'll see one of their shiny new wrapped buses driving down the street. It plays right into the Walker culture of keeping everything looking shiny on the outside while it's a mess on the inside. Happy to no longer have a child at this school.
Submitted by parent on March 04, 2017

We were new to Georgia and had to make a quick decision regarding schools and sent our child there for kindergarten. Won't make that mistake again. Walker is at best a Tier 3 private school. If you really want to send your kid to private school, pay up a little more and target the Pace and Westminsters of ATL. Walker's academics are slightly above average and equivalent to probably a 70-80% rated national public school but at a private school price. There were a decent amount of parents that lived in horrible Georgia public school districts so Walker is their only option. Others seemed to just want to be able to say they send their kids to private school but didn't want to go through the difficulty of targeting a Tier 1 private school. Walker rarely sends kids to Ivy League-level universities and instead targets the Univ. of Georgia honors program. They had one kid get into Harvard two falls ago and the entire school was talking about it like someone had won a Nobel Prize. After 12 years at $20k a pop, you'd expect better options for the value. The Headmaster's core skillset is fundraising and he didn't seem to be able to handle any issues that weren't straight down the fairway. Our kindergarten class had a bully who terrorized several of the boys daily. They never dealt with him because he had 3 older siblings in the school and they didn't want to lose those $$s. There was one girl who was threatened in a very frighteningly specific way by a boy and they told the girl's parents that there was nothing they could do and they should just go to the police. And then there was the insane lice issue. Just constant. The administration was too scared to send infected kids home so that problem lingered the entire year. Just ridiculous.
Submitted by other on January 12, 2017

Be Challenged. Be Valued. Be Inspired. truly applies to your children at The Walker School. Each child is valued for strengths and weaknesses. The new age learning and academic rigor is exceptional. The faculty want your children to succeed in every way. What more can you ask for?
Submitted by student on January 11, 2017

It is honestly offensive to me seeing how much people are trashing Walker. They are not appreciative of the experiences that we as students at Walker are blessed with. Since the students at Walker have money, I feel that some of the students that attend take the entire experience for granted. Walker is a special place and the community in the school resembles a family. I am a senior this year, and I can honestly say that Walker has shaped me into the person that I am today. I am heading to college confident in myself, and ahead of many other students because I have already been challenged. The teachers at Walker have become my "school parents." This faculty will do anything to help their students rather its academically or personally. I once had a teacher stay until 6:00 PM with me to study for a test the next day- she didn't even hesitate to stay, she would have stayed as long as I needed her to. Not to mention, the administration has also gone out of their way to get to know all of the students. Once I was walking down the hallway clearly stressed out and I had the headmaster and one of my teachers from sixth grade (six years ago) stop me and ask me if I was okay. The fact that these people remember who I am speaks volumes to the character of the faculty at Walker. Also, the smaller class sizes have been so beneficial to me. This perk allows for more one on one attention and all of the students know each other. This is a huge factor into making the Walker community. The honor code also separates our school from all others.. if you walk down the hallway you will notice that we don't even use locks on our lockers. We have a trusting environment filled with people who would never even think of breaking this trust.
Submitted by parent on March 04, 2016

Great School !!! Both of my kids have been in school with older one from 2nd Grade and younger one from Pre-K !!! My Kids absolutely love to go to school every day and every minute and look forward to it !!! Right from Headmaster to Principals of each Division to teachers - all of them are exceptionally good in their responsibilities. There is a personal touch and every student is known, nourished, encouraged and cared for their passion and growth. The school looks at the overall growth of the child than just focusing on academics alone. The school has been able to cater to exceptional gifted student in continuously challenging with higher level classes and tailored curriculum. The Fine Art program - Band, Drama, Orchestra and Chorus are exceptional with their teachings and productions. Every child has an opportunity to participate in a fine art program along with other academic and sports commitment. The teachers and school administration are very approachable and open to feedback and continuous improvement of the school including involving parents in the growth improvement process of the school. The Parent Ambassador programs says volumes of commitment from school about True Partnership in the Child's Education Path !!! I can keep writing pages and pages of the goodness, positive comments and reviews of the school and its members !!!Thank You Walker for such great years and being part of my and my children's life and look forward to many more years of partnership !!!
Submitted by student on September 12, 2015

I have been going to this school my whole life and it is like a mini family away from home. As soon as you join Walker, everyone excepts you for who you are no matter what you have done in the past. I spend most of my day there busy with academics and sports, and have teachers ready to help me after school if I need. If you are looking at a private school, choose Walket and you won't regret it.
Submitted by parent on September 07, 2015

I taught 16 years in Georgia public schools, most of those years in the Metro Atlanta area, and at the time that my son was ready to begin school decided that I wanted every aspect of his education to be stellar. Walker has always had an excellent reputation as a college preparatory school. I had taught several students who had transferred from Walker and was always impressed with their knowledge of literature, writing and grammar (I taught high school English) as well as their mature and honorable manner.Having progressed from PreK to his sophomore year in high school, I can attest to many things: high quality academics, caring teachers, staff and ancillary workers; excellent character education and standards, and a great desire to continue improving. Yes, we have had a couple less than stellar teachers, but we have always been able to openly state our feelings in these situations and have seen action and improvement. As a department chair, I can tell you that every school has a few teachers who don't fit the bill. At least Walker has taken seriously the charge to provide excellent, caring educators to the students.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2015

Walker is where you want to be! We love this school. We conducted a thorough search for the right school for our children, including public schools in East Cobb/Midtown/Buckhead & the major private in Buckhead (to name a few). In my opinion, you cannot find better than Walker in metro-Atlanta, period. If you're in Buckhead looking for the right fit, make the reverse-commute drive up 41 & see the difference for yourself. You'll be blown away at the best-kept education secret in Atlanta! I'm amazed at my daughters' answers to, "How was your day?" They all delve in with "it was fantastic," "it was spectacular," or "it was so much fun!!" Why do I think this is the case?-clear, organized, advanced, research-based constructivist curriculum w/ tremendous support for your child to be successful-the best teachers, staff & school leadership in metro-Atlanta I've seen-fantastic lunch where managing food allergies is a breeze -exceptionally welcoming, diverse parent group 100% of their graduates are accepted into 4-year colleges. A Harvard acceptance was just announced last week. World famous alumni: Brandon Stanton who created Humans of New York, & former Braves pitcher & current Colorado Rockies pitcher, David Hale (Princeton alum), are examples of where alumni go from Walker (these are a couple of "wow" stories & there are plenty more). Walker treats teachers very well (Atlanta's Top Places to Work) to attract the best, most competent teachers. The principals are brilliant, well-spoken, hands-on, kind & fair. I'm beyond impressed w/1st grade. My daughters have had both of the current Kindergarten teachers--the best kindergarten teachers I could possibly imagine for them. Even the assistant teachers are well-qualified to be lead teachers (having masters degrees/lead teacher experience). Pre-K3 & Pre-K4 teachers my children have and have had are exactly who I'd want molding my children at this impressionable age. What's important to me is that they experience transformative learning and form meaningful relationships. Walker is life-changing for the family whose child is lucky enough to attend. If you can find a way to afford this school, it's the investment worth making where the results are tangible for a lifetime. If you can afford any school you want, this is THE place where you want to be challenged, valued, & inspired.
Submitted by student on June 02, 2015

I loved this school and hope to one day have the opportunity to send any future children I have there. Walker raises good people and good students.