The Sundance School

I don't know if the original founders  (I think the wife's name  was Ginny) are still part of the school, but hope they see this. I tried to reach out to them a couple of times years ago, but they were non-responsive to my email or calls. And my son only went there for a short time. I think he did half a day at age 3 and four or 3 1/2 and 4 1/2. And yet it was still one of the most transformative and best educational experiences. This says a lot because my son ended up getting into Ivy League schools including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and others. Sundance taught him things in that small but CRUCIAL time period that he never learned in school. Things like pointillism & how sewer pipes worked. They actually built models in the school auditorium. They were a model for the way every preschool in the United States should be run, but sadly isn't. I explored many preschools and it was a sad joke. I had a child who was doing 100 piece puzzles and they were doing 1 to 3 piece puzzles in most preschools. First, they didn't even have more advanced puzzles for those students ready for them. What's the point of entering school if your child has already maximize the potential of what might be learned?!  When I would ask how they would challenge my son, they were befuddled because they thought 1 to 3 piece puzzles or even 5 to 10 piece puzzles for the older kids were good enough. Then I visited Sundance. There they believed that little children were actually capable of extraordinary learning. And they taught in a way that the children in fact learned. It wasn't just my child who may have been born innately gifted. Every child in that room came out of there better than they went in. Hands-down. I still remember Miss Bobbi, his teacher. She was warm and had a quick sense of humor. She as well as the other teachers encouraged my son to do more challenging math puzzles. But for some reason he only wanted to do one or two of the supposedly easier ones. They gently allowed it while still encouraging him to try another puzzle. I don't know if it was the familiarity or if my son was working out something else in his head. All I can tell you is fast forward about 24 years, and my son graduated summa cum laude in mathematics from arguably the top university in the world! I don't give credit to my son's private school in middle school or elementary school. Or his magnet high school. I give credit to Sundance, and I can't imagine what he would have achieved had he actually stayed there for five or six years. However  I think kindergarten what is the highest grade if they even had kindergarten.I can't imagine what kind of extraordinary things he would've learned or achieved had somebody created a school for ages five through 18 in the same vane (vein?) that his preschool years were. They didn't just teach basics. They didn't only have the kids ride around the tricycles during free time. They did this, but they did so much more! They talked about the planetary systems. They taught about art. They taught math and reading and everything else literally under the sun. And these were kids ages three and four. And they weren't all brilliant. But they were all capable of learning because a belief that children can learn is important and not dumb it down. By the time my son went to the public kindergarten he was so many light years ahead that we had to take him out and put him into a private school. I imagine many of the other Sundance graduates had the same issue. This is not necessarily a bad issue to have, however. I have no idea how the school has moved forward in the past 20 years  but if it was anything like it was 23 years ago, I am so glad they stayed open. Some may wonder why I am writing a review 23 years after the fact. That's the whole point. This place made such an impression on my son and myself, that I remember them fondly over two decades later. Thank you to the teachers that were there back in approximately the years 1998 -2000. You were all kind and wise, and excellent teachers. And you were good humans which is just as important!
Nov 20th, 2022

A wonderful school in so many ways. The staff, the teachers, the students and the patents all working together.
Feb 22nd, 2020

Dec 17th, 2019

This 103 year old lady taught here
Jul 19th, 2019

I love this school so much. I went here since Stars and the teachers and the students were very cooperative, patient, and kind. I had such a wonderful time at Sundance. I would always come to school with a smile on my face and I would say I am ready to go to school, I cant wait to see my friends and teachers. I cant even put this school into words it just makes me so glad that all the teachers believed in me and in the other students. And when something was wrong they helped us through it. And it made everyone so much happier and they went home and said I had the best day at school. It makes parents very happy for their child to say how much they are enjoying school. But its not just that, the curriculum is just outstanding. I loved the theater programs they had. Also there camps I highly recommended. There is a theater camp and a art camp. In the theater camp they have choices of 4 plays that you can sign up for and in the art camp you get to express your inner artist. I really love the creativity and community of this school. Of all the schools I have ever been to Sundance was the best. Sundance is my 2nd home. Everyone there I thought as my family, because of how they treat you and also how there is a balance of education and arts. Sundance will always be in heart. And forever my home.
Jul 11th, 2019