Iona Preparatory School

Reviews

• Submitted by other on December 24, 2023
  This school is very interactive and teachers teach with the kids not at them. The community is very welcoming and sweet. My child adjusted pretty quickly. This schools curriculum was tuff but it helped my kid grow in knowledge, wisdom, and mental endurance. They push the kids to do there best and the discipline is definitely tuff when it comes to the actions of the student. But, it helps shape them into a respectful and well behaved young man. The teachers genuinely care about the students and want them to learn and understand the topics they go over instead of just moving on for the sake of getting work done. Lots of work is done during my child's time here and it definitely positively shaped my child academically to be ready for college.
• Submitted by parent on May 16, 2023
  When sending your child to Iona prep you should be aware that if you are not donating a large amount of money in addition to the tuition, you will be treated like you do not matter. You will even have a difficult time scheduling a face-to-face meeting with a teacher on a parent-teacher conference night. They will tell you to email them instead. They claim that there is a 12:1 student to teacher ratios. My son has never had a class with less than 30 kids in it. I found out about overcrowding after my son told me that his honors geometry class is so loud that he cannot hear a teacher speak. When I emailed his teacher, he told me that it is difficult to control 35 boys on a Friday afternoon. Since they avoid disciplining donors, there is a serious discipline problem. A dean sits in on the Italian class every day, because students are throwing things at the teacher and she feels unsafe. Unless your child is on an athletic scholarship, his playing time is directly related to your donations. However, on a baseball team it is directly related in your child’s playing for a local travel team The Crush, because most coaches work there as well. If you decide to leave The Crush, your child will be blacklisted. Even if he does make the team, they will either make him play a position in which they know he will not succeed, or they will have him sit on the bench 95% of the season.
• Submitted by parent on March 29, 2022
  this is my best school. great curriculum and great sports
• Submitted by other on May 25, 2016
  I find the faculty to be one of the best I have come across. The teachers do show concern for each and every student. Concerns are addressed immediately and appropriately. The student body is very diverse representing many cultures and I do not see students treated differently. Any student can walk the halls of that school and is addressed by his name. It's like a family and one that I support and highly recommend.
• Submitted by other on May 22, 2016
  I find the faculty to be knowledgeable, cooperative, and encouraging. The students get along very well, one can see Christian values lived out by through their interactions with one another, and service trips they perform to help ones in need.The students body is less than 200, therefore the faculty and staff know nearly every student by name. Iona provides a wonderful learning environment.
• Submitted by other on May 17, 2016
  The teachers and sports programs at Iona Lower School are fantastic. However, the leadership is lacking and fails to address problems of bullying and disruptive classroom behavior. We are finding instances where students of families that donate to the school are not being punished for bad behavior. It is unfortunate that ineffectual leadership is diminishing Iona Lower School in the eyes of some parents. With changes at the top, this institution could become a jewel of a school.
• Submitted by other on June 24, 2015
  Horrible school, did not have a pleasant experience at all, very desperate school regarding admissions. The school will accept anyone to make up for the lack of funding.
• Submitted by teacher on January 05, 2015
  I interned at Iona Grammar School and my experience there was fantastic. The students all get along so well with each other. They also seem to all have a very well established rapport with all of their teachers which makes for a better learning environment. 5 stars to Iona.
• Submitted by parent on January 05, 2015
  We have had our son here since Pre-K and have had nothing but good experiences. The teachers are responsive and have kept us well informed about our son's progress and needs. Most of the facilities have recently been upgraded. The social environment is excellent and the boys are taught important values.
• Submitted by other on September 19, 2014
  This is a school in new rochelle. They are the Gaels. Was that 15 words?
• Submitted by parent on September 14, 2014
  Ditto review of April. As one parent observed last year the kindergarten staff are wonderful. However, afterwards, the staff are more interested in their egos and paycheck than in your child. The textbooks are mediocre.. Not worth ANY tuition! Parents have been pulling out their children.
• Submitted by parent on December 29, 2013
  My son attended for 3 years - the first was excellent, the second was okay, the third was horrible. Curriculum is antiquated and the teachers rarely receive staff development resulting in out-of-date practices. With the exception of the kindergarten program, there is a serious lack of understanding of child development on the part of teachers. Like many parents, I was lured by the small class size, the pretty campus and the promises that the staff understood boys and their learning styles. If you are considering this school, be sure to visit first - when kids are in attendance. I wish I had done this rather than putting so much belief into what was presented at the open house. Look at the classroom libraries, what is displayed on the walls (how much is kids' work vs. commercially made products) and how much evidence is there of individual creativity? Are kids engaged in learning or are they sitting listening at length to the teacher hold court? Is the classroom arranged to promote collaboration or is the goal for kids to work in isolation? IGS didn't meet our expectations when we considered the above and so we moved our son to another school.
• Submitted by parent on June 10, 2013
  Iona Grammar is the only all boys school in Westchester County. For the 2013-2014 school year, Iona Grammar s name becomes Iona Prep. Sending our son to this school gives us peace of mind knowing he is in a safe, loving environment starting in kindergarten. Enrichment programs are available at all grade levels, there are many sports teams, and the afterschool program was a deciding factor when choosing this school. During second grade, the boys prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion. Teachers are available for parent/teacher conferences to discuss your son s progress throughout the year. I highly recommend this school.
• Submitted by parent on February 26, 2013
  This is a wonderful school. The early grade teachers, especially, kindergarten are wonderful. While it is true that if your child needs special help, the school may not be able to offer it. However, the school will work with you in getting your child help. Furthermore, the school will get even better with the merger of Iona Prep and IGS. The Prep is listening to the parents' concerns and is already taking measures to address them.
• Submitted by parent on February 25, 2013
  As a parent at the school and reading this story, which of course is fabricated by someone who does not attend our school and is looking to make absurd comments, I find this story both appalling and absurd. # 1, Please get your facts straight, our gym teacher has no children at the school and has no children. # 2. If you want to say something, please be truthful in what you say. Iona Grammar is a great school and if a parent had an issue as such, we have fantastic parent groups that would have assisted. So either this is an unhappy parent looking to say something negative or someone who is no longer at IGS and is just plain bitter. Either way, this story is just not true............
• Submitted by parent on November 15, 2012
  I have been EXTREMELY impressed with the high level of qualifications, commitment, consistency, and accomplishments of our new, full-time headmaster. Along with our existing, dedicated teachers, the administration is successfully navigating our school through tough economic times, as well as technological, cultural and educational changes. The curriculums are creative and challenging, fostering the concept of "learning by doing". Teachers are passionate about their individual subjects but are working in concert with one another so that the students see the connections between disciplines. My family feels VERY welcome and happy here, despite not even being Catholic. We think Iona Grammar is an excellent value, preparing our son for the future in every way. We sincerely feel very fortunate to be part of the IGS community.
• Submitted by parent on January 07, 2012
  This school helped my son turn into a responsible, secure, thoughtful and positive young man in only one year. I am not sure how they do this but am so thankful to have enrolled my son in Iona. Quality of teaching is mostly very strong. Parents are wonderful and so are the students. We are very glad to have made the change from a so-called "top 100" public high school to Iona. It is just the right environment for a teenage boy.
• Submitted by parent on September 10, 2011
  This private school has a part-time headmaster. The interim headmaster that was placed in September 2011 after the former one abruptly left in June, is only on the premises less than 3 days/ week. The lack of solid leadership is reflected in the school's inability to offer a high quality education. Research this school thoroughly before you sign anything. You may find, as we did, that you are not getting what you paid for.
• Submitted by parent on June 29, 2011
  My son transferred in last year from a local catholic school. The teachers are great, the boys are really nice (no bullying tolerated), the extra curricular programs (i.e. sports teams, chess team, debate, etc) are really good. No parents coach, the that particular bias is eliminated. The class size was 11, as compared to 30 at his old school. All in all, we paid double the previous school's price and really feel we got our money's worth!
• Submitted by parent on June 21, 2011
  Pressure? Very little to none! School hours are from 8 am to 2:30 pm. After school is an additional cost of $25 per day. Fathers and mothers clubs are VERY active in fundraising activities. Very high parental involvement. School does not appear to concentrate on the latest and the greatest in academic methodologies. There are unutlized smartboards. Socializing aspect of the School is exceptional. Boys look forward to going to school each day. Materialism is non-existent at the lower grades. Overall community tends to look to Religious Schools (Fordham and Iona Prep) as the next step. It appears that most parents are content with the academic structure and average nature of the program. Overachievers must supplement education with home academic workload to be on par with other independent schools. Selectivity ratio is extremely high. it does not appear that anyone is rejected which creates a challenging environment for the teachers with kids that are below and above the mean. As a result, teachers teach at the mean. Program is far from being rigorous. Satisfactory program. Great value.

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