The Summit Preparatory School

202 East Walnut Lawn Street

Springfield, MO 65807

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

Find Homes for Sale in this School Zone

Reviews

Submitted by student on January 20, 2024

I have been a student at the summit for over four years now, and I couldn't imagine ever leaving. I'm a freshman in high school now and love every minute of it. I love the flexibility of the summit, such as volunteering at the zoo and getting credit for it. Or even taking an online French course instead of Spanish just to try something new. The Summit is a wonderful place to learn and grow. The teachers are absolutely fantastic and love the students. Teachers will help students with questions and even support them through good and bad times. All the people at the summit are very close, almost like a family. This school is perfect for hard working, dedicated students ready to learn. The Summit helps students prepare for college because the responsibility of learning and working falls on them. All students are pushed to do their best and learn that it's okay to fail. Asking for help is something The Summit pushes. All students know that asking for help is normal and encouraged. I would recommend the Summit because it has soo much to offer! I think the best part of The Summit is their teachers!
Submitted by other on August 17, 2023

As a former student at the Summit, I would not recommend this school to others. I left Summit recently due to severe social, emotional, and academic deficits. Chaos was an everyday affair, and students would yell and throw things while teachers tried to teach. This disrupted my education and even put me in a dangerous environment. My peers would make off-put sexual and otherwise offensive comments. I would rarely feel comfortable walking into school in the mornings. When the time would come for me to interact with the administration, it became very awkward. Teachers were a little better about it depending on who they were. I had one specific teacher who didn't know how to teach us even without the chaos and wouldn't call on you for questions if she was upset. I attended a new school this previous year and realized that I was super behind academically. I was originally in an advanced math class at the Summit, but due to a lack of proper teaching, it was recommended that I be held back or complete two classes that year. Testing was a huge struggle as we almost never took tests, so I didn't really know how to. I had to work very hard to get to where I am now. I am intelligent and a hard worker, so this is not a failure on my part. The Summit failed to teach me the basics of a school setting. If I had not switched in time, I would not be ready for college. It is truly sad what the Summit has become. They are a great idea in theory but do not have the leadership to carry it out correctly.
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2023

My daughter is thriving at the Summit. We have been through public school (both online and seated) as well as helping to start a small micro-school in Springfield, but neither fit well with what my daughter needed and what we desired for her, a mix of independence with support and access to arts and clubs and social interactions. Because of this experience, we were cautious when approaching The Summit and asked many questions of the teachers and staff before we agreed to the visit day. My daughter came home after the first visit and asked if she could start tomorrow. We could not be happier with what we have seen so far from the school and from how much she enjoys it each day. The multiple times per week in Arts/Music/Spanish/PE keep the kids moving throughout the day, but the project-based learning is what is by far the most impactful thing for her. Working in groups, pushing through problems, failure and rebounding, and learning by doing instead of just lecture/quiz repeat. I can understand how the school might not be for everyone and every child, and the administration and staff are protective of what the Summit is and stands for. I've read the other reviews and read them before we joined, but none of those have been what our family has experienced. We have had sit down meetings with most of the administration and multiple with her teacher and always had pleasant, actionable experiences and felt heard. My experience and the other reviewers experience here may not be your experience, but I encourage anyone remotely interested to apply and take a tour, decide for yourself.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2023

Our children have attended this school for over seven years and we love it. We have found the school to be very responsive to their needs. We have unfortunately been there long enough to see families be asked not to return. This leads to resentment from those families, which is understandable. Overall, this small school is amazing. Take a tour and see for yourself.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2023

In our time at The Summit, it was a parents worst nightmare. Many of the students in our class were verbally and physically assaulted by a classmate (some more than once.) There were also racial comments made by him to some of the children in the class in reference to their skin color. It continued all year with many meetings between concerned parents and administrators and the teacher. They continued to sweep it under the rug and make it seem like it was the first they’d heard about the issue and that it was an isolated personal issue and not related to other families concerns. The teacher witnessed several incidents but failed to manage her class or the repetitive behavior displayed under her supervision. In fact, she would put the children asking for help in the “calm down corner” instead of helping them. This same teacher failed to educate her class up to the basic and expected standards for the year. She concealed that her class was behind on reading and writing until 3rd quarter which left some parents scrambling for supplemental help from tutors. The lower school director had to step in and take over the reading portion for the rest of the year to catch the class up. A few students were pulled from the class in 4th quarter due to the ongoing bullying issue and the subpar education from the teacher. The administration at this school would rather cover up issues vs. fixing them and they do not care about the safety of your children nor the education they receive. Hence the high turnover of both students.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2023

Our experience over 10+ years with two children at the school has been overwhelmingly positive. My children are very different learners and have both excelled academically and socially at The Summit. The small classes, unique experiences and dedicated staff create a perfect environment to enable the highest student engagement. My son has participated in several athletic teams - basketball, track, esports. I am confident in the administration and believe that the future direction of the school is incredibly bright.
Submitted by student on April 16, 2022

As a student at The Summit, I feel that the school as a whole is terrible. The academics are poor and continue to grow worse. Students are falling behind academically and admin is keeping it from the parents. Teachers get upset with students for things out of our control. The school is losing most of their teachers and poor leadership makes it worse. The former head of school was amazing and played games and talked with us. Now, ALL faculty members pick favorites and give special treatment to teachers’ and board members’ kids. They never get in trouble for their actions and words. In the elementary portion of the school, kids are physically fighting. Middle schoolers are cussing out first graders as well as each other. Kids are not held accountable for their actions which leaves us not ready for other schools or collage. The staff talk to us negatively more often than not. Homework is a prevalent thing now. If we don’t understand something we have to go home and figure it out ourselves. Deadlines are not something that we have either. Project due dates can sometimes be extended 3 weeks later than the original date. Which is great for our grade but it is not preparing us. Teachers are not approachable and don’t really help you solve problems. There are almost no people social wise. The kids cause problems between friends and spread rumors. It takes a lot of time to find friends who haven’t already found their people. Sports are not really something The Summit has to offer. The list they have on here is not accurate. Most “Sports” we have are considered clubs. Everybody at this school lies. Teachers have no control of students and can’t get through the material that they need to. There is a ridge between the parents and the administration. Teachers are unhappy with the way the school is being ran but have almost no control. Staff are not afraid to talk about students around other students. I can count on more than one hand how many times I have heard kids’ personal information out of teacher’s mouths. Most kid activities are not in place anymore. The annual run, the All school dance, mother son bowling, daddy daughter dance, none of it happens anymore. A couple years ago we would beg to go to school even if we were sick. Now, we beg not to go. I have been here most of my life and am not coming back. The culture changed and sadly, The Summit is NOT what is was a few years ago.
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2022

It is shocking and sad to see how much this school has deteriorated during the past four years and it has so much to do with the change in Head of School and the long-term faculty/administration that enable and foster the ineptitude and decline. Not only has the school changed for the worse as a community but the majority of the academics are taught at a level equal with the public school system with some critical core classes being taught at a level that is sub-par to every school in the area. Tuition rates, however, continue to be almost double of every local private school and continue to increase annually. The faculty and administration are aware of these academic issues and have refused to do anything to improve them even though many families have complained. I do wonder if the Board of Trustees is aware of the complaints or if the administration has glossed over or kept the information from them. It does seem to be expressed by the lack of retention in teachers with many new hires not staying for more than a year. The school currently has waiting lists for Pre-K and Kindergarten which they use as a selling point; however, the student retention rates are low with the school losing many students at the middle school and high school levels. This is understandable considering the tuition rate of $10,500+ in correlation to the sub-par academics, lack of course offerings, and lack of school supported opportunities. Contrary to the school’s marketing, the high school is not what most imagine a college preparatory school to be and has a reputation of being a place for students that have not or would not do well in public schools or other private schools due to behavioral, academic, or social issues. Not even the children of faculty or administration attend high school at the Summit and transfer out after fifth grade or middle school. This is very telling when you consider they receive sizable employee discounts for tuition. What is disturbing is how closed off the administration has increasingly become towards families if they have any questions or concerns. They are routinely dismissed or sent some “word salad” email by the Head of School or counselor that contains every current academic buzzword but does not directly address any questions or concerns posed by families. The school has made it very clear that they will say whatever is necessary to get families to cut them a check and things quickly change as soon as it has been cashed.
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2021

The academics are not as special or advanced as we were led to believe. Students do attend Spanish class five days a week but the other subjects seem to be taught at the same level as the public schools in the area. This is disappointing considering the cost of tuition and what students actually receive.We were advised by other families that the administration is not very responsive at all and we have found this to be the case.There has also been drama this year with the majority of the PTA quitting not long after the start of the school year over disagreements about a fundraiser.
Submitted by other on September 22, 2021

In our opinion, we do not understand how this school can charge such high tuition fees when the lessons and a number of teacher qualifications in no way justify those numbers. Elementary school currently costs $8,670, middle school costs $9,435, and high school costs $10,165. In addition to these fees, a growth fund fee is charged for every student annually which has been around $1,400 for the past few years. Then there are the usual school supplies fees, uniform fees, and the almost weekly fundraising requests. It would be great if this funding was put towards hiring qualified teachers but we feel like they spend it on things to make the school look good on the surface to attract new families but sadly it's all looks and not a lot of substance.Why does the school now pay for two Communications/Enrollment/Admissions Officers when one sufficed for years? Enrollment has increased due to Covid but only by 35 or so families. Why did the school purchase a second building when they told families budgeting required an increase in tuition?The school puts on an annual meeting to discuss the status of the school with families. Why are academic areas that were rated in the red by families still in the red two and three years later with families still continuing to express frustration and concern with them?
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2021

Our children began their enrollment at The Summit in the Early Learners program at 3 and 5 years old. We chose The Summit after interviews and tours of other area schools. The Summit's focus on progressive education geared toward the individual learner along with small classes were what made us take a tour. We were pleased with our on campus tour after seeing the students, teachers and staff in real life learning situations. As a parent, I love that our kids get quality education which also includes daily Spanish, music, art and even yoga! Our kids are benefitting from a hands on learning approach rather than reading from a textbook. We are loving The Summit difference!
Submitted by other on January 20, 2021

We had an average experience when our child attended elementary school; however, there has been almost a complete turnover in staff since then so I can't speak for the current lower grade experiences. We did enroll our child in middle school and quickly discovered that it didn't live up to what was portrayed by the administration and have since found it best to leave the school. We did attempt to resolve issues we experienced but the administration did not seem interested in helping us resolve academic issues, never got back with us after stating that they would look into issues, etc.Fundraisers to fund the school (in addition to tuition of approx $9,500 plus a growth fund avg of $1,300) are constant throughout the year. More than one admissions employee has been hired and they have recently bought another building. It's unfortunate that they don't choose to use their money to hire qualified teachers for middle school and we understand why so many families switch schools for middle school and especially high school.
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2020

There are many pros and cons with this school; however, the cons list seemed to be getting longer throughout our years at the school. The school used to have a very homey close-knit community atmosphere but that seems to be changing. Understandably, the school earns money by increasing enrollment but the administration now seems to focus primarily on this and seem dismissive of parent concerns regarding teachers, discipline, and academics. This seems to be reflected in the student retention rate.
Submitted by parent on April 24, 2020

Fabulous. I cannot think of a better place in Springfoeld to send my children.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2020

We will not be returning to the school. It has become such a disappointment.
Submitted by parent on July 30, 2019

We will not be returning to the summit for another yes
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2015

The Summit Prep is a great school that I highly recommend! My child loves attending and eagerly wakes up on school days! I love the fantastic curriculum -- it is amazing how much the children learn each day -- and how Spanish and keyboarding are integrated into the school day (even in the early grades). I cannot speak highly enough of the faculty and staff. A wonderful environment!
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2013

The Summit Prep. is much more than just a private school where the kids wear a uniform. As an independent school, I feel that the Summit educates students in the true meaning of community involvement and leadership. We were first drawn to the Summit due to the tailored curriculum, integrated foreign language, and very small class size (by policy). What has kept us here are the innovative ways students interact and collaborate with local community groups and institutions. (Too many examples to list.) Best of all, my kids love going to school. They would be very upset if I made them attend a different school!
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2012

Unfortunately this school is becoming a parody of itself. You will note that most positive reviews below were within a month's time frame in 2011. We as parents were told to "review the school" on this site for positive influence. Including all fees the tuition for Summit is now double the other private schools in the area and the experience in return simply does not merit it. Folks are friendly, kids are safe, but learning is very self-directed and if there is even one "discipline problem" in a classroom you'll find it quite easily falls apart. Of course if tuition is paid, consequences lean toward the minimal. Most dissatisfied parents quietly leave because we all had high hopes for this school and in recent years it has simply lurched from one near disaster to the next in both administration and financing. Some teachers are remarkable, but now saddled with class sizes of 25+ which makes intimate education difficult. Others have been truly awful. We left Summit and found the kids performance went up sharply. As with anything, there is a tendency for parents/politics to want a sense of prestige/exclusivity when the actual product ends up not living up to marketing.