Renbrook School

2865 Albany Avenue

West Hartford, CT 06117

27 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-9
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 07, 2024

My husband and I were worried about the financial commitment of Renbrook and if it would be worth it. I was an educator in NYC at independent schools for almost 10 and I was certain that Renbrook would not hold a candle to the institutions where I worked. I was wrong! Matt Sigrist and his leader ship team have taken a “good” private school option in a wealthy suburb of Hartford to an “excellent” independent school that could rival the best independent schools in NYC. The curricula is exactly what they are teaching at my previous schools - Singapore Math, The Writing Revolution, etc. The “special” classes - art, STEM, music, Spanish, library, PE go deep and fascinate my kids. The classroom teachers know my children and love them. I get regular emails and photos just to me just about my child. Everything at Renbrook is about community and partnering with families on top excellent academics. It’s the best!
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2024

I just dropped my kid off at school and had to take a moment to write a review about Renbrook. This school is an absolute gem of a place. My child has been here since the second grade and is now in middle school. She's a good student whose love of learning is stoked everyday at Renbrook. The teachers love their students and create a very cool environment that prizes conversation and connection. I could go on about Renbrook, the great energy, the depth of curriculum, the facilities - but, I'll just end by saying, my middle schooler eats breakfast with her backpack on because she's so excited to get to school. Beyond grateful for this place.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2024

Sending our child to Renbrook for Pre-K was unfortunate. The school had what felt like segregated classes, with most minority students and teachers in one, leading us to feel it lacked diversity. Throughout the year, our previously happy child became increasingly miserable, not wanting to go to school. We later learned that Renbrook doesn't require formal education/qualifications for its teachers, who often lacked degrees past high school diplomas. This contrasted with local public schools, where teachers typically hold advanced degrees. Our child's unqualified teachers resorted to strict discipline methods, which included yelling and time-outs, leaving little room for affection or support. We faced pressure from the school to use time-outs at home, as the classroom environment felt overly strict for four-year-olds. Attempts to discuss our child's good behavior in other settings were dismissed, and we felt blamed for any issues. There seemed to be favoritism toward children of teachers and wealthy donors, with some misbehaving without consequence, and favoritism for boys, who could do no wrong, while girls were expected to be quiet and compliant. Conversations with other parents revealed that families outside the teachers' or donors' circle were often urged to seek psychological evaluations for their children. This gave us the impression that the frequency of children in therapy at Renbrook was notably high. We never met the part-time school counselor, who was unavailable when we sought a meeting. When we approached the head of the school with our concerns, they were dismissed, with blame placed on us. The school's attitude that there must be something wrong with our child if she dislikes it there was not supported by a subsequently performed professional evaluation, which found our child to be highly intelligent, emotionally advanced, and healthy.Most school communication focused on fundraising rather than educational details. Events resembled social gatherings with heavy drinking among certain parents. Notably, Renbrook does not offer tuition refunds if a child wants to transfer to a different school mid-year, making our experience more challenging.Things improved when we enrolled our child in a different school, where she feels respected and supported, returning to her happy, curious self. Finally, we’ve noticed that Renbrook often responds to negative reviews by claiming no record of the student, but we assure you our child did attend.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2023

We joined the school three years ago and our son is thriving at Renbrook. Academics are amazing, teachers are engaged and kind, and students are polite, kind and respectful. This is my youngest child, and the study skills that he is learning are far better than the ones my older kids got from other schools. He is learning to speak in public, take risks and challenge himself. I am honestly surprised there are bad reviews here but I see that they are old reviews, probably from previous leadership. The current leadership is impressive, dynamic, and down to earth. We feel lucky to have found Renbrook.
Submitted by parent on March 24, 2022

The teachers at Renbrook are compassionate, creative and dedicated. Renbrook reopened its doors in the fall after the initial Covid shut down. Our kids didn’t miss out on any class time since then. The administrative staff and teachers planned and executed so many ways to keep its students at school full time and engaged. Even though the students had masks on, you know the kids were smiling. Renbrook fosters a love for learning.
Submitted by parent on March 24, 2022

My son has attended Renbrook School since fifth grade and is getting ready to graduate this year. He has transformed into an amazing young man and so much of the credit goes to this school. There are many teachers there who embraced him from day one, encouraged him through challenges, and celebrated him for his strengths. He is so well prepared for upper school next year. We are highly satisfied with the school and program.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2022

We’ve been at Renbrook for 3 years now and can truly say that it has changed our children for the better. The school strives for diversity & embraces it. The teachers know and support the children. No issues with bullying, amazing educational opportunities and exposures. Small classes and a beautiful campus to explore nature. Incredible school, highly recommend.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2022

We've been at Renbrook for the past three years, with children now in 2nd and Kindergarten. The teachers and students of the school are such a close-knit community in which our children feel happy, comfortable and excited to be a part of. As parents, the school communication is so interactive that we always feel connected to our children's learning without having to ask. We have been so grateful for all that Renbrook offers our family and can't wait to continue watching them grow through 8th grade.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2022

Our son has truly enjoyed his last seven years at Renbrook School. The excellent collaboration and communication with his teachers over the years has been instrumental in helping him develop academically and socially.The faculty has created a culture that motivates and inspires the students to be critical thinkers. The school has provided a solid foundation for his future education. We are very happy we committed to send our son to Renbrook. Great school!!
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2022

We have four daughters that have graduated from or are currently at Renbrook and I cannot say enough about the wonderful learning ecosystem. From the dynamic, hands-on learning to incorporating the natural habitat around them into curriculum to the amazing, passionate, and caring teachers and staff, our girls are challenged, celebrated and happy. As a community-oriented family, it's important to us that our children are educated on civic leadership responsibilities and respect and Renbrook instills lifelong values. It's a wonderful, joyous purpose-led community that has also done a terrific job navigating through COVID under Headmaster Sigrist's leadership.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2020

We couldn’t feel more blessed to send our children to Renbrook School. It is truly a wonderful community to be a part of. It has been the best experience and it is worth the cost.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2020

Amazing! Renbrook has been the ideal school for our family.
Submitted by parent on April 14, 2020

Renbrook School earns top marks in all review areas. Five stars.
Submitted by parent on March 25, 2020

Very very sad my last child is graduating this year. Both of my kids have gained so much from the incredible teachers and staff. I highly recommend giving this gift of learning.
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2020

Our kids absolutely love Renbrook - they race to get in the building everyday. Wonderful curriculum with an incredibly engaging faculty and the campus is beautiful. Terrific energy all around - couldn't ask for more.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2018

This is a great school. We only spent a year at the institution before moving out-of-state but I found it to be a wonderful, safe, friendly, welcoming environment. My daughter learned a lot and made a friend that she still talks to via FaceTime. The report cards were detailed narratives and the campus grounds were amazing.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2018

Great experience for our two kids who entered the school with very limited knowledge of English. Great culture of inclusion and kindness. Innovative methods (design thinking, multi-discipline projects...), beautiful energy
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2018

Go somewhere else. It’s not worth the tuition. The campus is beautiful however the mood is tense and intense. It’s all about the leadership. Not good.
Submitted by other on December 15, 2016

We have been very happy with our experience at Renbrook school!
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2016

We love Renbrook School. Most of the teachers are solid educators and people. The families are inclusive, and the students are so kind and respectful. The new administrators, who are quite experienced and well-intended, had to make some very tough decisions this year: They needed to let go of some stagnant teachers and work on revitalizing a good curriculum in order to make it better. This was not received well by some, but it absolutely needed to be done. Enrollment is actually improving after just one year. We trust teacher morale will improve now that the most negative members of the faculty, who were not shy about their bitter feelings of being dismissed, are gone. My family is looking forward to meeting the new hires, and feeling a renewed energy on campus. Teachers and support staff: Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Administrators: Thank you for your courage to do what is best for the school. Students: Keep up the great work! We trust that Renbrook is headed in a positive, productive direction and are looking forward to returning in the fall.Added on a subsequent date:I have been reflecting on the previous comment regarding the top administrators being evaluated after 80 years. Respectfully, I see it differently than the original poster does. I regard the evaluation of the top administrators as quite positive. How else can they be given constructive input from which they can grow and learn? My opinion is: What took the board so long to evaluate administration in the first place? No wonder there has been so much turnover among administrators. The school would be extremely fortunate to hold on to Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Beck and Mr. Tremblay. I certainly hope the teachers and board members are evaluated in this manner, as well. Love the school by the way. It's only getting better with these recent changes.