Other schools would tell me, basically, that my son is incredibly smart, but that it won't matter in his life because he's lazy. They would show me papers he'd torn up and pictures of his messy desk and then pull out 5 page long papers he'd written brilliantly and tell me, “He's clearly capable, but just doesn't care.” Other schools would tell me how he's so kind to the other students, especially those getting bullied, and then he'd come home in tears because of how he saw others being treated – by teachers and students alike – and I could feel how isolated he felt.
Now he runs a Dungeons and Dragons campaign with 4 other students on the weekends and their laughter fills our home. Now he's a peer mentor and helps resolve disputes, at a student level, when they arise. Now his teachers tell me how amazing and intuitive his questions are, how funny he can be, and how dedicated he is when he finds a topic that really interests him.
My son comes home now and tells me about his day. My daughter wants to go to school and pretends not to be sick sometimes, in the hopes I won't keep her home. I feel like Kino is all the best of what homeschooling is, but with teachers better than I could be at this point in my life. I don't feel as though I'm failing every morning when I drop them off at the front door. I feel, instead, that even when we can't do family dinners or I'm so busy with other obligations I barely see them for several days in a row – I feel like, it's okay because I'm doing something right. Arguably the biggest thing I can do right for them at this age.
As the parent of neuro-diverse children, I am grateful that Kino School exists. I firmly believe children know their own needs and can thrive when those needs are acknowledged and filled. The teachers know their students and work to make this an inclusive school, while encouraging students to discover new interests, follow their passions, and be an active participant in making the world a more beautiful and compassionate place.
We absolutely love Kino which has been a life-changer for us! Our son started public school in first grade which did not go well. He would literally fight us every day about going to school.
Even in first grade, they were given homework which created conflict at home because he was so resistant to doing homework after just having been in school all day long. I don't blame him and I think homework at that age is ridiculous and not healthy.
The teachers and students at the public school were all kind and helpful, but our son just could not fit into the mold forced on children in public school.
Thankfully we discovered Kino! If your child is unable to conform to public school then Kino is the place them.
It has been a total life changer and now our son actually wants to go to school. As we were nearing the holidays he even told me "Dad I wish all holidays fell on the weekend so I didn't have to miss any school". He even wants to stay in after school most days because he loves it there so much. Kino is the way school should be done.
I only wish I had Kino when I was a child. In my opinion, the most important thing is to teach a love of learning, and public schools drive that out of many children. Our lives are so much better since we found Kino!
We considered a total of five private schools and our final choice was Kino School. We appreciate the family-friendly start time, small class size, diverse student body, animal center, no homework philosophy, and frequent updates from teachers. Our children enjoy telling us about all that they learned through projects, experiments, and games. Conversations with our children are much more engaging now, we can hear the depth of understanding when they talk about what they learn. We enjoy volunteering, feeding the animals on the weekends. Our time spent talking with teachers and staff about our children is not rushed and we talk more than just academics. Often our conversations include social skills, learning style, and how we can work as a team to benefit our children. Our children are enjoying learning! We are beginning to understand first hand why 90% of Kino School graduates go on to complete college education and become contributing members of society.