Dear Prospective Parents,
My son recently finished Kindergarten at Annunciation Day School, and we could not be more pleased with our choice. My husband and I knew that we wanted our son to attend a school with smaller class sizes that focused on academics, philanthropy, and faith.
For academics, his teachers helped foster his love for learning and challenged him with a variety of activities to keep him engaged. The small class size allows for more individualized attention. The school also recently achieved accreditation by Cognia, a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, districts, and education service providers. This further shows the commitment of the ADS faculty and staff to their students.
As a whole, ADS also focuses on philanthropy to help the children understand that they can make a difference and stresses the importance of giving back to our community. The children have multiple opportunities throughout the school year to help others from the fundraiser for Heifer International at the beginning of the year to making blankets for those in need on Valentine’s Day and sending thank you cards to the healthcare professionals at Emory to close out the year.
While we are not Greek Orthodox, the religious aspect of the school is exactly what we were looking for in terms of education. Each school day starts with the morning prayer, the children attend Divine Liturgy regularly, and Religion is a special class that is taught weekly.
The school year was progressing when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The teachers, faculty, and staff did not miss a beat. School closed on Friday, March 13th and by the following Monday morning, a list of assignments were in my inbox along with instructional videos recorded by his teacher. By Tuesday, a GoogleMeet link was provided for daily class calls. We never looked back. The ADS team continuously communicated with the parents regarding next steps and what to expect. For students, they organized a spirit week and provided different at-home activities including an online talent show.
My family and I are truly blessed to be a part of such an incredible community of people.
Celyn M. Fennel
Parent of a Rising First Grader—June, 2020