St Lawrence Elementary and Middle School

I attended K — 8^th grade at St. Lawrence with my younger sister. We are both better off for it. When I was there I did not appreciate the quality education I was receiving. In high school though (we both ended up at AMHS) it became apparent how much higher our education was even compared to other Catholic schools in the area.
Having the separate Middle School is a huge plus. Not only does it give you an opportunity to learn with more students and switch classrooms which makes the transition to high school that much easier, it also allows you to take on more responsibility.
Another draw (at least it was for my parents) is the after school program at St. Lawrence. All students can stay after school at the Day Care for elementary kids and Teen Center for the Middle Schoolers. The after school centers provide an hour of «homework time» where everyone has to do at least part of their homework and the adults and Academy kids help with any questions the kids have. There is also a thriving Boy and Girl Scout groups directly on campus.
If you have a child with disabilities, St. Lawrence is a very supportive environment. My sister is hard of hearing and St. Lawrence helped educate my parents on what she needed to thrive (this was pre-​internet days and pre-​ADA) and then worked with my mom to educate my sister’s teachers on what they needed to do. An advantage of being in smaller classes that do not change very much year after year is that when my sister’s 1^st grade class was educated on why she had her hearing aide after that any year that a new kid tried to make fun of her the class would shoot them down. For those students who had ADD and ADHD I remember teachers going out of their way to work with them and help ensure they completed their work.
Currently I teach Catechism at St. Lawrence and use their classrooms on Sundays. St. Lawrence has and continues to be at the top of technology for learning. There are smart boards that teachers have which go way beyond the days when my teachers had projectors and laser disks. Also students are introduced to iPads and laptops early on to gain computer skills at a young age.
Mrs. Hunter the Librarian there who has been at St. Lawrence since I attended is marvelous at doing more than introducing students to books. She facilitates learning how to conduct research, explore subjects you are interested in, and always stays up to date on the newest books for all age groups.
In short, St. Lawrence is worth the money. You will be giving your child a well rounded education along with sending them to a school with parents who are also committed to their children’s education.

I have a daughter in the 8^th grade and she has been going to this school since Pre-​K. I also have 2 other children, another daughter in 3^rd grade and a son in Kindergarten. So I think I have gotten a good sense of St. Lawrence. Let me start with the pre-​k. Mrs. M is the most amazing woman. She has many teachers aids that help her out who are all amazing, but she has been with the school for many years. She taught my oldest daughter and she still looks back at pre-​k and has amazing memories of her time there. She has touched the hearts of many students. As for the rest of the school. The teachers are all amazing. They keep great communication with the parents when its needed. The school and it’s staff are also always making sure that they, every year, are keeping updated with the latest and best technology to benefit not just the students but the parents as well. They have this amazing online program where you can receive daily grade updates and homework assignments. Year round they also have amazing fundraisers that are more fun than I could have ever imagined and I am always bummed out if I have to miss one. I would absolutely recommended this school. I would not have put 3 of my kids through it otherwise.

Both my younger sister and I attended SLEMS from K to 8^th grade (graduating class of 2001).
It’s actually ironic to be ‘yelping’ my childhood school. I spent roughly half of my life there!
Looking back, I am thankful my parents were able to send me to school at St. Lawrence. I believe my sister and I turned out for the better due to it. Our residence would have dictated us to go to a rather poor performing school district had my folks not opted to send us both to private school.
When we were attending (I am not sure how it is these days) the classes were roughly 30 – 36 kids. I was in the same class of 36 kids (plus or minus 1 or 2) from kindergarten to eighth grade. The same group of kids I spent my childhood with then went on to high school with me! The majority of my eighth grade class ended up attending Archbishop Mitty High School.
From what I remember of St. Lawrence was being more involved in religion, which was odd when I transitioned into high school because even though Mitty is a catholic school they deemphasized religion a lot compared to what I was used to. At SLEMS I remember going to mass at least once a week, prayer services twice a week, and praying before recess/​lunch/​before we started class and before leaving. I’m not sure if it is still the same as back then but that was my experience!
While being with the 30 or so people your entire childhood could be a blessing… it also could be… not so great. In public school you can blend in and recreate yourself you can’t exactly do that in the private school setting.
Regardless I was content with my time at SLEMS, it holds a place in my heart for being my other childhood home. Would I send my future kids there? I’m not quite sure. I certainly remember my folks struggling with the rising tuition at the time.

St Lawrence Elementary and Middle Schools is an all in one site. Next door is the parish and the high school. Your kids could literally spend their entire childhood at this one location!
Each elementary grade has 1 class. Each middle school grade has 2 classes. Total school student body is just over 300. The academy high school next door has about the same number.
The school has a swim team with their own pool. The school also has a real science lab.