The Atlanta Academy (Roswell) vs Other private schools? (Buckhead: real estate, 2013)

[NEWBIE2013]

I am relocating to roswell soon and looking for a private school for my bright 4 year old, however most seem to be the Buckhead area. The Atlanta Academy keeps cropping up in searches but is not mentioned in several high profile publications (KNOWATLANTA). Does anyone have further information about this school, reputation, academics and where pupils move onto next?

[lastminutemom]

Why do you feel you need to use private school?

Roswell has mostly excellent schools.

[ecuresident]

Agree, most of the private schools are in Buckhead because the city schools are hit or miss. Roswell has great public schools, and thus there really inst a demand for private schools there.

[roxyrn]

Most of the kids in my Roswell subdivision attend the public schools feeding into Roswell High School. Those who are in private mainly go to Catholic schools ending in Blessed Trinity or Christian schools such as Fellowship or Kings Ridge.

[NEWBIE2013]

Thanks, we are moving from a small village in UK where she currently attends a small <175 kid's school. We were hoping moving her into a similar school would make the transition easier which is why the Atlanta Academy cropped up. Also she would be going into Pre-K (kids start school earlier in the UK) and it seems the puplic pre-K's are very hard to get into.

[deacongirl]

My daughter went from a small private Montessori school to Timber Ridge in East Cobb and it was a very smooth transition. I would strongly encourage you to consider public schools in the Roswell area--I don't know about Roswell schools but there are excellent East Cobb public schools with a Roswell address. We are only about 5 minutes from Roswell square. Once your child turns 5 it is much more fun to attend school with neighborhood children and certainly fosters more of a sense of community. Wherever you end up choosing for pre-k, the elementary school for next year and beyond might weigh greater in your choice of where to live.

[CMMom]

I've heard mixed reviews on Atlanta Academy. Some are very happy with it, others not as much. I would, though, probably consider it a "second-tier" (or maybe even "third tier") private school if that matters to you. It hasn't been around as long as other private schools in the Northern Suburbs. Most of the "first-tier" private schools are in Buckhead, with the possible exception of Wesleyan School.

[AtlJan]

Seems like you will need a preschool for one year and then go to your neighborhood public elementary school in Roswell. Ask work colleagues or your real estate agent for the good preschools in your area of Roswell, usually affiliated with the different churches nearby. Do you need full-day or half-day care?

[Raventac]

As a whole, Roswell schools are good but ours has slid in the 4 years since we moved into the area. It's also worth pointing out that it has just over 1,000 kids. Roswell schools are Fulton county schools and it looks like large class are becoming the norm. It also looks like a lot of the non academic programs are losing out to budget concerns. We looked a 6 schools including a charter school in the Roswell area before applying to Atlanta Academy. Class sizes are limited to 16 students and the school currently has just over 250 kids. If you see teacher student ratio for a public school it includes all faculty and doesn't really denote the number of students in a classroom. I can't tell you how good AA is because we haven't started yet but I did go so far as to stop people in the parking lot to ask about the school. Tution is 12K but they also ask for a 2K tax deductible donation (not mandatory) to the school and you should plan on closer to 14K if you don't need after school care or summers. It's a really nce campus (believe it or not converted from a shopping mall) but we questioned if it may acutally be too "corporate" looking. There are other schools in the area that have been around longer and have a very different campus feel. Other than that I think you have already heard how much people like the pubilic schools in this area. If you want to see more on public and private schools in this area look at greatschools.org or schooldigger.com

[Supplies]

Originally Posted by NEWBIE2013

I am relocating to roswell soon and looking for a private school for my bright 4 year old, however most seem to be the Buckhead area. The Atlanta Academy keeps cropping up in searches but is not mentioned in several high profile publications (KNOWATLANTA). Does anyone have further information about this school, reputation, academics and where pupils move onto next?

My 4 year old granddaughter goes to Primrose school in Roswell, great school, excellent teachers.