Research Hackley School private Schools in Ossining, New York

“I am currently a student in the Upper School and I can honestly say that I love just about everything about Hackley. New students- making friends is not difficult at all! People are so friendly, teachers are great and available for extra help. I was having trouble with a particular class, and the teacher met with me privately once a week for months to tutor me. Hackley has been a great experience so far, and I wouldn't leave Hackley for anything. I'll definitely be sad when I graduate!”

“I am currently an upper school student at Hackley and I am very pleased with things. The classroom size is so much smaller than public schools, the largest class having 15 students (except for band). The teachers are more willing to give extra help and tutoring outside of class. There is more trust between faculty and students, which leads to more freedoms as well as responsibility. The curriculum is more challenging and accomodating to every child's intellectual ability. The cafeteria food is excellent, as well as their athletic department with a wide variety of sports. Hackley school definitely takes every student's needs into perspective.”

“My daughter goes to Hackley and I am very pleased with how the school runs and their curriculum. The school has a variety of activites so that everyone can find one that they like best.”

“I go to Hackley School and have been going there since kindergarten. I think that since Hackley has such a small and close community that that makes children who go there and new students, feel more at ease. Everyone is so friendly at Hackley. The food is *AMAZING* and so are the sports. The academics are good and so is the music department. I love Hackley and plan on going until I graduate in 2012.”

“Our experience at Hackley was mixed. Because we have moved a few times our children have attended both private and public schools. We put them into Hackley with very high expectations that the school's reputation for academics would be a good fit. We found that, as one of the previous writers noted, some of the teachers were coasting. They were not as good as the teachers our children had at public school. The work was no harder and in some cases was less interesting than what they had received in public school. On the other hand, the administration is definetly on top of things and very responsive to both kids and parents in a way that few public schools can match just because of numbers. Ultimately we removed our kids as there was insufficient 'value added' to justify the tuition. The cafeteria is a real plus!”

“We have been extremely happy with Hackley. Indeed, it has exceeded all our expectations. Our son is in the lower school. Its Director truly loves the children, teachers are enthused, and our son has always felt secure there as part of a nurturing community. We have been impressed by the many levels of learning that occur within each class. Also, the school is incredibly responsive to parent questions and engages in candid discussions regarding curriculum, differing studies and approaches to teaching, etc. A great school.”

“A 'grind' school but generally a pretty good place for high school. Fairly traditional 'prep school' atmosphere with a healthy dose of athletics thrown in. Good faculty - not the highest caliber of coaches.”

“Hackley lower school has a range of teachers from extremely competent to just coasting by. In general teachers are very responsive but don't seem to focus much on how children interact on the playground. The school is very wealthy - and is rebuilding the environment. In fact it seems that a lot of effort is spent on infrastructure.”

“Great experience during the admission process. I felt that the school understood my child's need very well and was able to provide very specific reasons justifying their tuition. As our kid goes through the school we will provide more details to this community.”

“Excellent school. Solid academics.”

“Top-notch academics: be prepared for insane amounts of homework, such as four or five hours per night. Excellent teachers, prepares you well for college students very nice, great sense of community very liberal, leftist student body great school if you are willing to make a huge academic time commitment, fancy cars, clothes, parent with high expectations, but this doesn't taint the Hackley experience too much. Hard coursework means lower grades. Could hurt college admissions prospects, but will prepare you well for entry into college nonetheless! Excellent college counseling/placement department. Would I do the Hackley experience again? Probably.”

“As a parent of a student who will graduate this year I think my son has received one of the finest educations he could have hoped to receive from Hackley. He tells me and I agree that he is more than well prepared for college. That said, I also beleive that that the administration including at least one of the class deans can be rather agressive and tend to go over board with their punishements. Other than this and the removal of almost half of the boarding community due to several factors, the school is examplary.”

“Our child will be a senior next year and has attended since 3rd grade. Each year there has been 1 or more experiences/assignments that have justified the tuition to me. If there is one description that describes the general culture, it is parents who care about good education and a school that does its best to deliver it. It is not always perfect, but the abilities exhibited by alumni over the years (and by our child in various situations) leave me with the belief that Hackley compares well to the best anywhere.”

“Hackley is a school I would never recomend to any one. It is very 'clicky' and full of children who measure worth in a person by the clothes on your back and the money in your wallet. The teachers are average at best and excell only in their ability to rend any love of learning from the students with an overload of homework (in excess of four hours every night) and a joy in mocking any attempt which does not suit their ideals regardless of the passion or effort a student may try to bring to an assignment.”

“It's hard to imagine a better place to educate your child. This school brings out the best in each student. It is competitive, but not cut-throat and the children are taught to treat each other with kindness and respect. English is a strong suit. The campus rivals that of a small college and a new middle school is under construction (2003). Teachers are enthusiastic and obviously happy to be a part of the school community. Student body is fairly diverse. Families are not snobby compared to other private schools in the New York Metropolitan area.”

“This private school offers diversity, much financial aid, language, music art and physical education at an earlier age than public schools. I was hesitant at 1st, but both of my children are thriving beyond belief and still have great friends in their neighborhood.”

“This is a stupendous school. All 3 of my kids have attended or are attending this school. Hackley brings out the best in a child. Cant recommend it highly enough”