Riverbend School, Natick | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

When my family sat around the table on New Year’s Eve 2012, we each talked about something that had been very important and positive in the year. I sat quietly while my children, ages 5 and 7, took their turns. I expected my children to talk about presents or vacations. I had planned on making Riverbend my “best of 2012”–but my my oldest daughter beat me to it. No other single thing in our lives has brought more joy and positive change than our decision to send our eldest to Riverbend in the middle of her 1st grade year.

My daughter spent the first part of 1st grade in public school in a school system with a great reputation. We sought to change to a private school after watching the joy and enthusiasm drain from her. We looked at all the big private schools in our area, and finally visited Riverbend. You can go to a school with an expensive campus and manicured grounds, but you will not find more genuine joy and authentic learning than you will at Riverbend. Other independent schools seemed much the same as our local public school: crowded classes, all students moving through the same material at the same time, harried teachers and hurried students.

On the first day that our daughter attended Riverbend, it was as if someone had lit her spark again. She was profoundly happy to be there, and absolutely thrilled to be in an environment where enthusiasm and learning are nurtured and nourished. In the 13 months since our daughter joined Riverbend, we have seen her thrive and excel. Reading has gone from being a chore to a passion. She now loves history, science, art, music and especially Spanish. The fact that she has been able to move at her own pace through the math curriculum has blown the ceiling off what she thought she could do. She left public school thinking math was dull and difficult. Now, at the end of 2nd grade, she has mastered multiplication and is beginning division, all with a sense of self-confidence and a can-do attitude. It’s amazing what children can do when they can follow their ability and interest!

The after-school offerings are great, too. They have introduced her to pursuits she adores like chess, Chinese, and weaving. Of course these are optional, so they are not included in tuition, but then that is a standard model in private and public schools.

One final comment on the Riverbend playground, which is not segregated into boy groups and girl groups, nor into groups by grade. Instead, watching Riverbend students on the playground is like watching a big picnic for an extended family. Middle schoolers play tag with the first graders and kindergarteners, boys and girls are friends with each other and play easily together, and everyone is peaceful. Riverbend is exactly that place we were hoping to find where each child is celebrated for being who they are, and the community is genuinely caring. Many schools aspire to this. Riverbend delivers.

We can’t wait until our youngest daughter can attend first grade there in September 2013.

My daughter is in her 3rd year at Riverbend, and the changes I have seen over that time are amazing. She has such a love for learning and exploration because of all the wonderful things she has been exposed to at school. As she herself recently said, she has so many questions in her head that she wants to learn the answers to. I credit Riverbend for helping instill that curiosity in her. This year, we also sent our younger son to follow in our daughter’s footsteps. He was a bit young for his class (he was born in October), but has made leaps and bounds with his capabilities in a short time. The amount of care, and I dare say love that his teachers show him has given him the confidence he needed to really spread his wings and take ownership of his classroom.

Even though my daughter and son have different teachers, I have to say that the common characteristic I’ve found between my kids’ two classrooms is the care, warmth, and love that the teachers show toward my children. It makes all the difference to know that your children are in good hands, and I can’t think of a better place for my kids to be than Riverbend. They love school, and that is only going to continue serving them well through the years.

I didn’t have kids at Eliot Montessori, as that school merged with and was taken over by another Montessori school (becoming Riverbend) right when we starting sending our kids there. So though I read another review about problems at Eliot Montessori, I can say that the problems expressed in that review are not to be found now. The energy and excitement felt on campus are contagious, and the Head of School is the same one that has been behind the wheel at the other school for over 10 years.

Finally, I would like to mention that we have developed many meaningful relationships with other families at the school. There is a real sense of community among the parents, and we truly enjoy being part of it.