Goodwillie Environmental School

My daughter is a current student at GWES. She would consider herself to be quiet, loves the school, and can't wait to get back. She has developed close friendships with students at different Forest Hills Schools. If you are a student or a parent wondering if the school would be a good fit: Do you enjoy spending time in nature and are you willing to be out in inclement weather? Are you willing to push through a little discomfort to accomplish goals? Do you enjoy unstructured play? Enjoy being creative & working with your hands? Are you able to focus on what needs to be done for a lesson or willing/able to go home and do the lesson at home if you could not get done in class? If you do not do well on an assignment, are you willing to correct mistakes at home or stay in from recess to make corrections? Are you looking for more of a small school community feel and would you like to get to know students from other schools in the district? It should be a hard stop if the prospective student answers, no to the first question I pose. I hope the others give you an idea of what it is like. My impression of Megan Ayars (A) is that she is passionate about teaching and excels at getting students excited about what they are doing. I asked my daughter for insight and for the best & worst things about A. She also stated what I just said and expressed that A. is very good at making sure students put forth a strong effort, so students know they can't hurry and turn in something that is subpar. She believes A. would become even better if she could develop more ways to explain a topic, but believes she is still in the upper 3rd at this relative to other teachers she has had. The other 5th grade teacher is Brent Southland (S). My daughter relates that he compliments A perfectly. She relates, he is more soft-spoken and excels at explaining math in different ways, so you gain understanding. The kids at this school work hard, so they can do so many fun and interesting things. If you know someone with a child at GWES, ask if you can read through what the students write about their experience in the yearbook.

A great for 5/6 graders who appreciate a smaller caring environment and being out in nature. We know many families with former students (high school and college-age) who all sing the praises of this school. Some of the other reviews mentioned that it''s perhaps not a good fit for quieter students. I disagree. My child was extremely quiet and after 1.5 years she has made big leaps in her confidence and ability to work with others. I could not be happier with this school and highly recommend that others consider it if it''s good for their students.

I used to go there. They focused on the environment all the time and let me tell you they didn't focus on math and the core subjects as they said. 10-15 minutes maybe once or a week or when they have time for it. Fifth grade was horrible from my experience. If you are quiet, then one of the teachers will not respect you as she respects louder kids. She told my parents, She should raise her hand even if she doesn't know the answer. Hmm, questionable thing to say. They do not have a counselor, which is what I needed. I cried most of the nights while attending that school. I had to deal with arguments and would only have to talk to my parents. The 5th grade teacher whom was a girl always was rude or did not have the time for quiet kids. You could clearly see she had favorites. I do not recommend this school at all.

I do NOT recommend this school. I attended this school 2 years ago. First off, 5th grade was not the best year. The girl 5th grade teacher in 2018 did not like me because I was quiet. She told my parents, Have her raise her hand even if she doesn't know the answer. She also did not like my parents, and there is a reason why I do not want to put on my review. You could see that she had favorites, and it honestly didn't feel good because you get treated differently from her favorites. If you are quiet, I do not recommend this school. They say that they focus on math and the core classes, but we only had core classes when we had time for it. 10-15 minutes at the maximum of time. You spend maybe an hour outside for recess. They specialize on the environment. Yes, you learn a lot about the environment but if you don't LOVE nature then I don't recommend this school at all. If I had the option to redo 5th grade, I would leave that school right away. I wish they had a counselor because I really needed it. I was depressed at that school and did not have the best grades at all. 4th grade I was extremely smart, but 5-6th grade had a 2.6gpa. They do not treat you fairly and the way you should be treated. Not only that, but the students were very rude. Especially on the bus, it got very problematic. There was tons of drama and it would make you feel 10x worse. 6th grade teachers are very nice, but they still need to focus on the core classes. Overall, it was very messy. Just FYI this is my experience but I know for a fact some of of my friends have similar experiences at Goodwillie. Do not recommend. I would do a 0 star rating if I could.

Best 5/6 experience possible for young students! Education going far beyond just four walls. Expectations of the students run high and the excellent, nurturing staff help the students reach those expectations.