REVIEW OF Laureate College BY parent, Bethany Davidson

(5) Student Experience

Our daughter transitioned here mid-school year, taking classes in person and online. Getting used to the various online platforms was a bit of a hurdle at first, but we are getting the hang of it. Our daughter really responds well to the teaching style at Laureate. She works hard but sometimes needs a little extra time, and the teachers’ patience and smaller class sizes allow for that. Having two intensive classes per term was a welcome shift as well. In previous schools, she might have had 8 or 9 classes at once, with exams falling over a one-week period, which was incredibly stressful. At Laureate, if she has a class she isn’t really happy with, we encourage her to give it her best for ten weeks, and she’ll be done. That seems to be a helpful mindset for her to persevere. Her teachers have been very friendly and supportive as well. Any time our daughter has reached out, they’ve been responsive and ensure she gets the clarity or assistance she needs to excel.

(5) School Leadership

The leadership has been fantastic for our family. Immediately, we were welcomed with open arms, and they have been incredibly adaptive to our family’s needs. This includes the owner of the school, through the administrators, and to the teachers. The school has also made great efforts to be part of the Waterdown community, always hosting events and sponsoring community activities. We feel the school environment is very positive, and the school goes above and beyond to offer classes and extracurricular activities that cater to a variety of interests. You will not find this level of care at another school.

(4) Teaching

Our daughter has had 2 in-person and 2 online classes so far. The two in-person have been fantastic. The class sizes are small, the teachers are able to spend more time with each student if they need more support, and the information seems to be presented in a way that keeps our teenager engaged, even if the subjects aren't her favorite. She's given us very relevant and actionable feedback during the meetings we've had with her on how we can best support our daughter as she improves in some areas, while also highlighting her strengths and encouraging her. The online classes have been all right as well. One of the teachers is on campus, so our daughter has been able to reach out to her directly, and she has been so receptive. You can tell she is passionate about her work and the students really click with her. The course she's put together is also quite challenging with relevant topics that really push critical thinking beyond what I would have expected at the 10th-grade level (which is a great thing!). The other online class we took had good content. However, the teacher was on the other side of the world, so we had about a 12-hour time difference, which made it a challenge to get together to discuss her progress or get feedback on assignments in a timely manner. He was very responsive via email, but it wasn't the level of engagement we were expecting, and we requested a teacher for her next class to be in a closer time zone (she's at the school campus, so it couldn't have worked out better!). That being said, I think this option is great for some because Laureate has students all over the world, so he is probably much closer to other students' time zones.

(5) Academics

As I mentioned in the section on teaching, I find some of the courses quite rigorous, which is what you would expect from a school like Laureate. However, because of the teachers, the students seem to be adequately supported if they need help or more guided facilitation of the topics. The school emphasizes art, in our opinion, which is fantastic—not enough schools have art as a focus. I also know there are engineering, mathematics, and some technology classes, but our daughter hasn't taken those yet, and unless they are required, she will probably steer clear of electives, as that isn't her area of interest. We do hope she will push herself on a few of them, though. The general course selection looks quite interesting—I wish I had all of these options when I was a high schooler! They seem to have a broad mix of options—the STEAM classes, as well as some deeper humanities courses (the online class my daughter is taking is history with a heavy emphasis on Indigenous culture and history in Canada).

(4) Extracurriculars

There are SO many things for students to be involved in. I believe clubs after school are a requirement, so the school has bent over backwards to ensure there is a variety of things that all students can join. There are cooking classes, art, boxing and working out, anime, and they’re starting a yearbook committee—there are so many things, it is hard to choose each term. The clubs have been a real interest for our daughter, as well as a way for her to meet and spend deeper time with more students and other teachers/advisors at the school. I suppose the only thing lacking is organized sports teams, but the school is a bit small for that. They could probably do something like running when the weather is getting nicer, but as far as I know, there is not a large indoor gym space to do more organized activities like basketball or volleyball.

(4) Students

The school is quite small, and I know enrollment varies for on-campus students from term to term. There are kids from all over the world—and from right here in Waterdown. It makes for a diverse student body, which we appreciated very much. I know there are a few dozen kids who are boarding, and they are supervised by a male/female team of adults. The kids mainly come from overseas, so there is always an adjustment period as they settle into a new country, culture, possibly a new language (many are coming for English immersion), and meet new people. Our daughter is quite friendly and well liked, and she has let us know that some kids keep more to themselves, while others are more social. I don’t want to hide my head in the sand, but at least on the surface, there don’t seem to be issues of bullying that you might find in other schools. The kids we have met have been extremely polite and in line with how our daughter has described.

(5) School Life

Our daughter came to Laureate mid-year, and we are in the middle of transitioning to Canada full-time after having lived overseas for 10–15 years. So it has been a HUGE adjustment for all of us. That being said, with support from the administration, the teachers’ welcoming demeanor, and the variety of classes she has available to take, all of this has combined to make it as soft a landing as possible. Our daughter will be boarding next year as we complete the move from overseas, and though she is understandably sad about missing her friends back home, she’s excited for the opportunities that Laureate brings. She’s doing some co-op classes right now with the Montessori school that is on campus (not affiliated with Laureate), and next year, she hopes to do a few more co-ops with the new elementary school Laureate is opening. These options wouldn’t have been possible where she attended school before, and she appreciates having them now. I have mentioned in some other sections how wonderful the teaching is, how easy the administration has been to work with, and how the school has offered many ways to get involved. I think it is up to the parents after that to really set the course for how much they and their child will ‘get out of’ Laureate. And, from my experience, if something seems to be missing or you think some improvements could be made, the school is always looking for and open to receiving feedback. They are interested in growing and have an open-door policy for that type of engagement.

(4) Community

I think the school does a fantastic job of opening its doors for parents to be involved. We try to participate in as many events as we can, there have been Master Classes on art and AI, Mother’s Day concerts with student performers and groups from the community, Chamber of Commerce meetings, open art classes to drop in and attend, open houses quite frequently, and art shows/exhibits. We have really enjoyed the events, especially in the winter months, as our daughter is not involved in any sports, and we have plenty of free time in the evenings and weekends. I know that is not the case for all parents. However, we do not see as many parents participating. I know a lot of the students are boarding, but there are quite a few day students, and we rarely meet anyone consistently. The school seems to go to a lot of effort to host a variety of events, so it is a bit disappointing that the parents don’t attend more frequently.

(4.5) School Location

The question asks if the school is more of an island. In a way, yes. But it’s a beautiful island! The grounds are massive—lots of wooded areas and walking trails, many open grassy spaces, beautiful towering trees that provide shade, and beautiful blossoms in the spring. There is a nice garden around the back, and so many options to expand into more outdoor-based curriculum as the school grows. It’s truly a beautiful campus. The only downside, in my mind, is that it’s in a neighborhood, but not an easily walkable one. The main road out front is quite busy, and there are no sidewalks. I do think older children (especially those boarding) could easily navigate the roadside safely if they wanted to walk into town (maybe 15–20 minutes away), but definitely not younger ones when they open up the elementary school. This isn’t a deal breaker, but I notice that in many schools in the area, kids seem to leave the school grounds during breaks—possibly to return home to eat lunch or to grab some snacks at a convenience store. Unless you live VERY close, that likely wouldn’t be an option here.

(4.5) Admissions

The application process is straightforward and, we felt, very personalized. The school is small enough that you can work directly with the administration without feeling like a number in a massive queue. I believe that, at this point, admissions are on a rolling basis throughout the year because of the ten-week sessions system. This was incredibly helpful for our family as we made the change mid-year. Everyone we have worked with, personally or online, has been incredibly helpful, empathetic, understanding, and supportive. We truly believe that they have the best intentions for the kids attending.