School of Arts and Sciences at The Centre - Edu (FL)

5 /5 Alicia Steinbrink: If I could give 10 stars I would! This school has been an incredible blessing to our family. The culture of the school is unlike anything I’ve seen at most other school we considered. The teachers and staff work very hard to instill the belief in each student that they are part of a family, that they are safe and loved, that their feelings are important and that respect and kindness towards each other is paramount. Because of this, I have seen incredible growth in not only my child, but in their entire class. The Conscious Discipline approach really empowers kids to advocate for themselves and for each other and gives them the tools to work through difficult feelings or frustrations without shaming them for being human. This is the same approach we strive for in our house so we have found this to be incredibly helpful! We love the project-based, hands-on curriculum and the plentiful enrichment opportunities the school provides. Our teachers have been a joy to work with. They have been very communicative and responsive, quickly addressing any questions or concerns we may have had and are always willing to meet to discuss our child’s progress, or offer review materials for us to use at home. We always know when a test is coming so we can make sure our child is prepared. Homework is given but is optional, meaning that if you feel your child needs extra practice with something, you are welcome to do so, but if like me, you feel that kids are at school for 6+ hours a day, five days a week and that unstructured play or family time is equally as important then this is an incredible model. It’s also true that there are no “grades” at this school which means that your child’s education is not defined by an ancient “A”, “B”, “C” rubric, but rather their progress is being monitored constantly by the teachers and each quarter you receive a report card with extremely detailed information about what your child has learned, how they have progressed from the previous quarter, areas they may need improvement and a plan of action for how to achieve that goal. If you are fortunate enough to get pulled in the lottery for this school, do not hesitate!

5 /5 Elizabeth Phillips: Our kids are the most precious gift we, as parents, have. Not only to cherish daily but to instill within them, in the short time we have, the values and beliefs that what we hope will build the f foundations of good humans. Like many parents, I spent a LOT of time and energy choosing a daycare for my daughter. The idea of whether to do public, charter, or private and then which one was something I thought I would dread when it came time to move to elementary school. But for us, the choice was simple. I knew we wanted to be at the School of Arts and Sciences at the Centre, or SASC. Conscious Discipline is a model that we valued beyond measure in the daycare we loved and when I heard that SASC also built their school on this, it was a no brainer. The fact that each and every safekeeper is also trained in this and that everyone lives and breathes it there, made our decision easy. For our family, the social and emotional growth and development of our child is critical. Academics are important, for sure but we feel that when a child is safe and able to feel comfortable in their own skin in a safe environment, the academic learning happens so fluidly. We have seen such growth in our now second grader. We absolutely love our school family and feel so connected to every single person that works and attends there. We also love how physically safe the school is. It is not easy to find and access and that makes me also feel very good, as a parent. SASC is not for everyone, I won’t lie but for those who believe in an educational environment that values the sel growth of every scholar (and parent) and believes in the power of building up an strong internal monologue within each child…. It’s like no other. I cannot imagine being anywhere else and our family is so grateful.