Santa Fe Preparatory School

1101 Camino De Cruz Blanca

Santa Fe, NM 87505

14 Reviews

School District
Grade

7-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by student on January 04, 2024

I have spent years here, For the life of you do not go here, it teaches the method of being a corporate drone and the new head of upper school is not very good at making positive changes. The general idea about the school is that its not gonna educated you in a beneficial way.
Submitted by other on April 10, 2023

I recently graduated from this school. Overall I enjoyed this school because of the friends I made and everything. They have such high expectations from you, which are very nice because it pushes me daily to reach my goals. I am grateful for that and the support I got. The sports head is just awful in every way. He accused me of saying stuff to another coach. Thinking that the coach I was close with told me to say that stuff which was never true. That coach ended up getting fired. The head of the athletic department was very disrespectful to me in every way. All he did was back up the other story he got and when I spoke up or said anything I was always silenced. I am not going to take it at all. I was accused of things in my last year of school and when I spoke up the school did not like it. There is little to no diversity in this school and everyone has their own group. If you do not fit in then you are just off to your side and lonely. YOU NEED TO DO BETTER PREP FOR THE FUTURE.
Submitted by student on February 20, 2020

My experience at this school has been amazing. Prep has allowed me to challenge myself in so many different ways, which have helped me grow as an individual. The atmosphere at Prep has driven me to work hard, care for others and ultimately feel a part of a community.
Submitted by student on January 21, 2020

My experience at Santa Fe Prep has been excellent. I feel that not only as a student, but also as a person I have grown and learned important life lessons and values. I feel supported by the community at this school and comfortable to be myself. Prep really is a great community with a great number of options for students.
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2016

Our daughter has been thriving in this supportive environment. The staff are dynamic and take a real interest in the growth and development of our daughter. The staff and administration have made a remarkable effort to diversify the student body both culturally and economically and support them to maintain their own identities.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2014

I run a non-profit in town and have always been impressed by the caliber of the students from Santa Fe Prep who have interned with us. Now I have a 7th grader at Prep who is thriving at the school and recently I had the opportunity to shadow her for a full day. From what I observe the teachers know their fields and are passionate about teaching. They don't teach to the middle but meet the students where they are, know their learning style and engage them. The size of the school is ideal. 320 is small enough to create a community where every student is well known and no one falls through the proverbial cracks. Yet the school is large enough to have a wide variety of courses and extracurricular activities. The students seem to genuinely care about each other. They study together, attend each others' games and performances and cheer each other on in and outside of the classroom. The culture is one of constantly striving to do more and to do better. It is also very welcoming, the admissions folks are down to earth and I would encourage you to visit Prep and observe for yourself whether it would meet your child's needs.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2013

We have two children in the upper school. They entered Santa Fe Preparatory in 7th grade and have been inspired by the academic culture at SFP. The teachers are dedicated, impassioned and very much available to students and parents throughout the social and academic journey. SFP offers excellent academics with intensive honors courses as well as an impressive array of art classes and a caring environment. Santa Fe Breakthrough is housed at Santa Fe Prep and this and other community service programs encourage students to reach beyond the private school campus and be a part of the larger community. College counseling is excellent.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2013

My son is in his second year at Prep, and we have been pleased with the challenge of the education he's getting and with the diversity of the students. Within a few weeks, it was obvious to see he was excited about what he was learning - this came from strong teachers who are invested in what they are teaching. He's not your typical jock (though Prep has quite a few of those), but quickly found his group of slightly nerdy, academically focussed kids. With teenagers, you have to ride some ups and downs, but we can tell he loves the place. We are happy with the choice we made to send him to Prep.
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2013

I am a parent of a former student at SF Prep. We left because of continuing systemic and cultural issues that were becoming more pronounced. The staff is dedicated, but the quality of individual teachers is lacking overall. There is no rubric / uniformity in grading and expectations of the students. Students tend to be slotted into grade categories, rather than earning the grade they deserve. The "college prep" aspect of the school is questionable. Most of the kids are guided toward expensive, but low profile, northeastern universities and study liberal arts. Overall the school demoralized my child (who made OK grades there). Save the tuition cost.
Submitted by other on May 07, 2013

I am a professor emeritus who has taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder and St. John's College, here in Santa Fe. I have been most impressed by the quality of the educational experience at prep. The teachers are first-rate and the facilities excellent. It is by far the best lower-upper school in the Santa Fe area. Truly a wonderful place.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2013

I'm the parent of a senior and am thrilled with the education and support that my son experienced in his 6 years at Prep. He has just been accepted to his first choice of college (thanks to Prep's great college counseling for helping navigate!). His community service experiences (every Thursday afternoon, all kids do community service!) have ranged from picking up garbage in the Santa Fe River when he was 12 to working in our US Senator's office as a junior. I am also so impressed with his friends: they really care for each other and support each other especially now that they are seniors. Not that everything was a bed of roses as middle school had difficult moments socially (isn't that the definition of middle school!), but as the kids matured and developed with the guidance of Prep's teachers, what a change! And I have found that Prep's administration, advisors, and teachers have worked hard to resolve our issues from bullying to dealing with dyslexia. Overall, we are so proud to be a Prep family!
Submitted by parent on January 05, 2013

I have been very pleased with the academics at Santa Fe Prep. I think the teacher community is caring and stimulating, as are the athletic coaches. However, the social atmosphere at the school is notoriously challenging, especially for girls, and I found the administration very unresponsive about doing anything about it, which in this day and age seems inexcusable to me.
Submitted by parent on December 21, 2011

Not the greatest. I should have put my money into a school that would have been worth it. Albuquerque Academy, maybe. Santa Fe just doesn't have very good private school. There are also a lot of drugs going on in the school. The teachers are not anything special. In fact, in my research of other schools, I have learned of a public school with teachers who have actually won teaching awards (not given by the school!). They are good at shining the parents on, but they have to be in order to secure tuition and students.
Submitted by teacher on January 31, 2011

I've taught mathematics at Santa Fe Prep for 12 years and love my job. My teaching is supported by a caring school community, and I am certain that Prep provides the best Middle School and High School education in the Santa Fe area.