School For Tomorrow

13313 Old Columbia Pike

Silver Spring, MD 20904

25 Reviews

School District
Grade

4-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by student on June 13, 2016

My daughter completed 7th grade this year at School for Tomorrow. She came to the school this year after an unhappy 6th grade year in public middle school, where despite a good staff, her needs as a bright student easily bored by tedium were not being met. School for Tomorrow offered my daughter the individual attention she needed to begin to blossom intellectually. The school has attracted a cadre of very high quality, high energy teachers that provided my daughter with rich educational experiences and mentoring relationships.The project approach used by the school really drew out her best effort and stretched her organizational skills. For her transdisciplinary humanities class she completed a project on ableism in school settings. For her science class she designed an experiment to test the effect of music on video game performance. Other classes in Architectural Drawing, Improv, Video Production, Dream Analysis, and Living Composers,.offered a broad sampling of new ideas and experiences.My daughter also made important strides socially at SFT. The community of students that came together with their individual strengths and quirks formed a nurturing community that supported each other and provided my daughter a sense of belonging. The small size and tailored approach at School for Tomorrow provided the environment my daughter and other students needed to thrive.
Submitted by other on June 01, 2016

The recent influx of positive reviews is a marketing ploy to save the school. It was recently discovered that they're out of money, and teachers likely won't be paid for the rest of the year. The founder and head of school was just asked to resign, and they probably won't be opening again next year. Stay away. Crazy place.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2016

SFT has been a life saver for our son. At SFT he is given the opportunity to learn at his own pace. This is the first school that he has liked going to. He is learning more than he ever did, and he is in a safe and supportive environment. The teachers and students form a wonderful, inclusive, ans supportive community.
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2016

SFT has been great for my son, who learns in non-traditional ways. He researches topics independently and is prepared to discuss ideas in a group setting. SFT staff and students are very accepting of differences. Some of the negative reviews have referred to the founder of the school who is a visionary but had some flaws implementing his vision. He has left the school but those who remain are committed to the great ideas he created.
Submitted by other on May 31, 2016

This year SFT significantly upgraded their college counseling program. What had previously been almost an afterthought, emerged following the best practices of independent school college counseling. By using Naviance and more traditional transcripts if 12th graders opted in for grades and GPA (accrued directly from the expansive narratives given each trimester in their classes), the new College Counselor, Lee Levine, was able to leverage his contacts in admissions offices across the US.As a result, the five college-bound 12th graders (not taking a gap year) were accepted at 37 colleges (34 unique) and received merit aid offers of well over $400,000 in total!
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2016

This school has been tremendous for my child. Despite significant management challenges (which are being resolved in a major way as I type this), the teachers are extremely dedicated, and the model of individualized interdisciplinary study has been exceptional. My son has gone to SFT for 4 years now. Extremely frustrated with the approach to learning in public middle school, he has absolutely thrived at SFT -- socially, emotionally and perhaps most of all intellectually. He and his peers love going to school -- before SFT, I had never imagined meeting teenagers who actually get disappointed by snow days. The teachers reinforce and nurture the kids intellectual enthusiasm and creativity. Again -- there have been numerous challenges with senior-most management (as noted in earlier comments); but significant and lasting changes have been made that should SFT even better.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2016

My son is finishing his fifth year at SFT. Overall, the experience has been a great one for him. The faculty, staff and head of school have been caring and supportive of him. His academic experience has been good. Achievement tests done after two years, when compared to testing done before starting at SFT, showed that he was progressing nicely. His classes have been varied and interesting. Last fall, he took advantage of an offered before-school PSAT prep class handled by two dedicated SFT teachers and achieved very high percentiles. Any request we have ever made relating to class preference or to establishing independent study has been accommodated to the fullest extent possible. Any problem I ever raised was resolved promptly and to my satisfaction. More important than any of this - my son has been truly happy at SFT.
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2016

My son attended private kindergarten and was in public school from 1st through 8th grade. I had been told that the public school had great services for kids who needed special attention. My son is not mentally challenged - but, he doesn't learn in the standard way. He would get a teacher who understood him and he would excel. Unfortunately, that was the exception more than the rule. After another badly handled incident at the public school, I knew I needed to find an alternative for high school. I was delighted to discover SFT was opening a campus in Reston. My son has made great friends and feels more confident due to the culture of acceptance, encouragement, and support. The academics are excellent and each child is served as an individual. I only wish SFT had been in Northern VA sooner!
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2016

I am rating the teachers and the students here. The school is an unknown now that the founder is not in the picture. Many creative, passionate, and committed teachers (and students). True that founder's instability was a serious drag on the culture and productivity of the place. New leadership with the same students and teachers would make this a great school.
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2016

The students who attend this school feel safe, welcome, comfortable with who they are. There is no bullying. The teachers work with the students on social skills, exploring their truth, hands on activities for learning, and students' passion for learning in a particular area. We are so grateful for the high quality of staff that SFT provides us. Each is very passionate and it's contagious!
Submitted by teacher on May 28, 2016

SFT offers a range of courses and focuses on problem-solving and task-driven learning. Students are supported and encouraged to reach for their best without a competitive edge. I have been impressed by the kindness that the students offer each other within the flow of a day ... it is not unusual to see high schoolers chatting with, or cheering a 5th or 6th grader during lunch or activities. There is a new board and new leadership - this is adding to the energy and positive direction of the school.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2016

The head of the school is vindictive and vicious and most of the classes were remedial - not hands on, engaging or challenging in any way.
Submitted by other on February 19, 2016

Families and faculty join SFT because they believe in the mission and the promises outlined on the website. They leave because they want accountability and they want those promises to be fulfilled. They want to see their children grow and they want to grow as professionals. It is important to note that the marketing and website--all the promises of project-based learning, customized education, tracking on social and emotional growth--were written by someone who was fired for not being "in line with the vision." So, who is to say what the vision is? One thing is clear: none of what is listed is implemented. The teachers try their best with little to no guidance and oversight. However, they are underpaid, overextended, and often have little to no formal training. The founder's leadership style is fear-based which suppresses debate and truth. Oh, and the transcripts? Completely fabricated.
Submitted by other on February 11, 2016

as somebody who used to attend the "school" I can say what it is really like. only a handful of students are motivated and do work. there are only some classes that are challenging. none of the students there have manners. there are no boundaries. the majority of the population is either doing drugs or recovering from doing drugs. there are few (two) classes that prepare you for college. having no tests hurts the students more because they do not learn how to take tests and then have anxiety about them and dont know how to prepare for them. each month a faculty member either gets fired or leaves to find a better job. for a school that prides themselves on not being judgemental the students are very judgemental and then sensitive and appauled if you say something mean towards them. the math there is terrible. there are no real science classes. there are fake ones. the idea of not having classes on wednesdays is stupid. they dont do anything. they just sit there and play video games. also the students are too dependent on technology. its frying their brains. most students graduate without having to do any work really. this school did not help me or advance my life in any way. i would advice against sending your child here if you want them to have a future. the idea of the school is good. but the execution is terrible. they do not know how to run a business. shuotout Bertina V. you know whats up. 10/10 on yo post
Submitted by other on December 12, 2015

We love SFT! My child had been frustrated, bored and put down at other schools. SFT gave him the support, confidence and skills he needed to be successful in college. He chose to go to a community college instead of a 4 year school to develop more maturity. The previous reviewer seems to blame the school for his student's expulsion, instead of the student. Don't believe things angry people write. SFT teaches compassion and doesn't put up with bullying at all. In this day of social media, students don't have to be on campus to cross the line. I highly recommend School for Tomorrow.
Submitted by other on November 29, 2015

There have been many negative reviews lately and I would like to confirm that most of what people say is true. Many staff were fired last year and most have been replaced by low paid interns. Several students were also expelled last year for unfair reasons some of which didn't even occur on school property. This school struggles to get students to learn or to get them into college or even getting students to have consistent attendance. Last year, 1 out of 10 seniors is attended a four year college. Many people see this school as an easy way to get a diploma and that is sadly true. With private school tuitions continuing to go up in price, it doesn't really seem worth it anymore to waste money on a struggling school even if its easy to get a diploma. I would recommend people to stay away from this school as it is struggling right now.
Submitted by other on November 03, 2015

The flurry of negative reviews on September 9, September 6, and August 26, as well as previous negative reviews, undoubtedly reflects the fact that SFT does indeed dismiss faculty members who are not serving students well, and does indeed remove students who are having an unacceptably negative impact on their fellow students -- unlike many other schools, which among other reasons are reluctant to do so because of the ability of disgruntled former employees and students (and their parents) to use forums such as this one to seek some sort of revenge.
Submitted by other on September 09, 2015

I had a really bad experience at this school. I don't think the school helps students prepare for life after high school.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2015

We loved the philosophy behind the school - but it didn't work in practice. Classes were not individualized and expectations for student performance were extremely low - sometimes merely showing up for class was enough (and that is a struggle for many of the students). Most of the administrators and teachers are slow in responding to emails and concerns. It is not uncommon to have calls and emails never returned. In addition, students, parents and teachers that raise concerns about the school or more dangerous its leadership are often leave the school suddenly - and there are several instances where the head of the school has then sent out emails about these students and parents calling them names and accusing them of illegal behavior. There is no clear or constant policy on course expectations, grades (students and parents don't see grades but they are created for transcripts) or discipline. And, for a school that promises to help each child prepare for college and the world in a unique way - an overwhelming number of graduates feel ready for neither. Only one of more than 10 2015 graduates is currently attending a four year college. More than half did not have any plans upon graduation. An important question to ask is of the less than two dozen graduates of the school - Did they go to college? What are they doing now?
Submitted by other on August 26, 2015

This school has serious problems. At the end of the last school year, many teachers were fired or left. Students are suspended and expelled for random reasons. Beware!