Menlo Park Academy

"My children have a place where their unique talents are celebrated. This school is amazing. The teachers are dedicated, the administration is caring and the curriculum is challenging. It is amazing to have all this without paying tuition."

"Everyone at Menlo Park (Teachers, Admin, and other parents)is enthusiastic. It creates enthusiasm for my son, wife and myself. We enjoy the privilege of volunteering with this great team. Thank You !!!!!"

"This is a public charter school in Cleveland. Please explain how there are virtually no African American students and no students receiving free and reduced lunch. Administrators and Board all White. Teaching staff??? Brown vs. Board of Ed. Public funds should not be used for this segregationist institution."

"My kid LOVES Menlo. Finally a school with peers of similar intellectual abilities. Your other choice would be Lake Ridge Academy at 20k/yr and I'm not sure they are all gifted."

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"Initially I was overwhelmed with excitement that my child could receive a great education without us spending thousands of dollars! Although the education is good, there are concerns.... This school has started to push LGBT support among children and I think this is way out of bounds. First, a male was allowed to dress in skirts and use the girls restroom. Now, on State testing day, they've declared SILENCE DAY in support of LGBT community. What pressure on students and families who do not support such lifestyles. SO OUT OF BOUNDS!!!!!! Please allow Parents to do their part at home by introducing our children to the ways of the world. No notices were ever sent home to parents in either of these instances...just a meeting with the students. How does this work with State and Federal funding? Hummmm????"

"Imagine your gifted child being in a classroom - where they don't stand out but have peers. Imagine school work that matches their unique needs with their education. Imagine that our Ohio's concept of "a year's growth for a year's time" applies fully to even gifted children. It was a dream but is now our reality. Science lab, Spanish, amazing teachers.... but mostly friends. We are a community, and a community school."

"My daughter has attended three different public schools & has shadowed at various private schools, and has never found an environment as nurturing, stimulating, & challenging as that provided by this school. Within a year, she has magically blossomed--evolving into a more confident and socially conscious speaker and writer. I credit the teachers and her peers for her new interest in writing, her more refined viewpoints, and her vastly improved and mature use of language. At Menlo, she is exposed to: 1). lively classroom discussions that always inspire further inquiry at home, 2). monthly field trips, 3). a multitude of independent research projects, 4). and a Singapore math program that has rigorously prepared her (a 10 yr. old) to perform at an 8th grade level. Despite the academic rigor, she can still manage to gush about one "amazing" and "fun" day after another. Yes, the teachers are that impassioned & inspiring, and the curriculum is that creative. There are many strong reasons why this school has such a long waiting list & why so many parents will make the sacrifice & commute 2 hrs./day so that their children can attend. My daughter now sees the school as her extended family. Here, she is not afraid to be a "nerd", because every individual talent & eccentricity is celebrated and supported with great sensitivity. I just still scratch my head in wonder at how this school can offer so much more than the average public school and yet exist on such a tighter budget, but from what I have seen, every dollar seems to go directly into the kids--from overnight field trips to state-of-the-art textbooks and technology. The public schools could learn many a lesson from this hidden little gem."

"It is so nice to have a school for gifted students. The teachers at Menlo are wonderful. Unfortunately the administrative staff and board members are inept and disorganized. They act as if they have never worked in a school before. It is very frustrating being a parent of a student here."

"Thank goodness for School Choice! MPA is a wonderful community school. It focuses the development of the "whole child", servicing the varied intellectual, social, and emotional needs of gifted children. Our family looks forward to growing with this school, an invaluable resource for gifted children in Northeast Ohio."