The Suzuki School

I cannot speak highly enough of The Suzuki School. As a new mom balancing the act of working away from home with finding the right care for our child, Suzuki was a complete blessing. The attention and investment we witnessed in the development of our son was top rate, as was the kindness, love and genuine care from the entire staff. Our voice was always heard, welcomed and encouraged as parents, and the partnership created with the school provided a wonderful relationship. We have since moved away from the Buckhead community, but remain in close touch with our son's teachers and the school administration -- a reflection of our high regard for the people and the philosophy represented at The Suzuki School. more

We are at East Paces Ferry location, Northside. I love new building, colors and peacefull environment. It seems like a wonderfull place to send your kids. The teachers are very friendly, but this is not the reason we attend this school. I thought there were a very good reason we pay such a high tuition at suzuki school, but not any more. I've recently talked to a lot of parents and realized that some teachers don't even have a 4-year degree in a Early Childhood Education. I am very concerned about overall education. You would expect to have the best teachers here, but that is not the case at suzuki school. I am very dissapointed with management and who they hire. more

We have sent two kids to the Suzuki School over the past 6 years; one of them is still enrolled. The old Cains Hill location was run down and small yet we got the sense that the teachers really cared for the kids and actually TAUGHT them something. Since moving to the new location on Paces Ferry and opening another campus on Northside, the school has become more focused on profits and less concerned with the education of the children. My oldest daughter was able to recognize all letters and numbers by age 3. When you ask my current 3 year old ""what did you do at school today?"" she shows a picture of elmo that she colored. That's what I get for $1430 per month? That's right, it started at $1100 6 years ago and now the tuition is up to $1430 and you can expect it to go up 5 - 6% every year, as though this is a university. more

The Suzuki School seems like a wonderful place to send your children. I?ve researched many schools in the area, and many of my friends send their children there. The teachers seem engaged, and my son has enjoyed his time there. He really loves his teachers! However, I?ve begin to notice a few things over the past few months. My son has recently begun ?pre-reading? activities in his primary classroom, where I notice a lack of phonological knowledge and logical progression through the sound-letter correlations. Furthermore, it seems like all of the activities are about phonics, and not about learning to love to read. Where are all the fun and great kid?s books? While the activities seem like they are useful, I?m concerned about his overall education. more

Our son attended Suzuki from when he was a baby (9 months) to 4 years old. The Suzuki School is an amazing place with amazing people! Our son grew and flourished there thanks to the dedicated, hands-on teachers and staff. From the potty training days when we would get notes home on his progress to the days when our son would rave about the cool projects he was working on in Pre-K he was always happy. The teachers were always available to talk and very personable. The facility is top notch and the lobby with its colors and animals (fish, birds, little lizards) is like sensory overload for the kids. It's not the cheapest place in town, but it's worth the money when you child is happy, and actually wants to go to ""school"" every day! more

Suzuki is an excellent school> The Northside campus is wonderful. No place is perfect, and it is certainly NOT the place the reviewer )who last gave it ONE Star) describes. I am a journalist, and i will say - he has a lot of factual innacuracies. First of all, i have to be at work daily at 730a. I am NEVER late unless i have a planned appointment. The days i bring my daughter in, i come in at 710a...a teacher is there by 715a as promised. I can not speak to the first reviewers experience, he or she is not very detailed...but the school follows standard school hours and days off. What will this person do when his/her child enters K-12?? Pros: atmopshere, education, activities, parking, location, location, location Cons: class size (it's fine but theres lot of pressure to invite every child to every party!) more

Our child has been with Suzuki Learning Center since opening day and we cannot be more happy with the staff and the attention and care that our child receives. The progress and growth that our son has shown since we enrolled him with Suzuki has been tops. I have to say that we are very satisfied and happy with choosing Suzuki. We spent considerable amount of time researching and scrutinizing their competition and could not find a more structured, safe and professional environment for our only child. I am not aware of any other parent who shares the views of the last commentator, and am actually surprised to find that this person chose to express his/her discontent through this medium. We should be more understanding of the fact that they cater to a number of other parents, each of which has distinct responsibilities, schedules and obligations. Not to mention, that Suzuki also has to abide by the terms of their lease. Clearly it is understandable if they cannot please 100% of parents. It is just not a realistic expectation. My words are just meant to give Suzuki a fair shot. They have been great with us. We love their staff and when we needed their support and had to pull our son out of school for personal reasons, they were very understanding. Even with the opportunity to choose another provider for our son, we chose to come back to Suzuki and we are so glad that we did. Pros: We just love our childs teachers. Facility and location are excellent. Cons: None. more

Pros: reasonably good teachers Cons: Management and owners - obsolutely horrible, all about profit and cost cutting more

Attention Parents! Pros: Excellent School Cons: Increasingly Non-Secular Jewish Organization (Despite Claims to Contrary) more

Though I've read some negative reviews here, it seems they come from people who are ignorant to how suzuki really works. The pod system prevents the ""overcrowded"" feel of the place, and I certainly never got that impression. The teachers are always very helpful and open about the children and very good communicators. The director knows each child by name and is very connected with the staff to promote good communication. Her daughter even went to the center when she was a child, so you know that the place is good if the director would trust her child here! Overall I give it 5 stars, and I'd give it more for its new location coming soon! Pros: Director/Teachers are pleasing Cons: Parking more

My husband and I are currently looking for the best place for our child. I wonder...the person who said that Suzuki teaches her daughter AND her something every day has ""piece"" of mind? Do you mean ""peace""? Yikes--the reviews on Suzuki are mixed, but if you are a Suzuki parent and allegedly learning and having ""piece"" of mind, I question how much you are learning. Maybe learn how to use piece vs. peace...is it just me? more

This communication to all of you is the first in a series of updates on our construction, our move, out enrollment, and our initiatives. This school year continues to be one of many changes for Suzuki: a new school facility being constructed, continued focus on teacher recruitment and retention, and the lowest turnover of families we have experienced in over a decade. more

My family recently moved to Atlanta and was very anxious about finding a new school for our son. more

My child has been a student for less than 3 months and I'm enjoying some aspects but not satisfied with others. The high turnover rate is a concern...I want my child to see a familiar face each morning. The classes are overcrowded, especially in the toddler room. We recently toured creme de la creme and I was blown away by the low ratios and the cleanliness of the rooms. I would also like more communication regarding my child's day..the photocopied sheets do not give me enough piece of mind. For what I'm paying, I would love to see lower ratios and the teachers given a reason to stay long term. I'm tired of hearing how we should wait until the new school opens, my child needs care now. But overall, the teachers are amazing and really do care for my child. If it weren't for them, I don't think we would be staying Pros: Staff Cons: overcrowded, no communication, management too far removed more

I have been both a teacher and Director for the Suzuki Learning Center for nearly 25 years. In that time, we have undergone many changes as we have grown from a modest preschool of 86 children to a well-known and highly respected school with approximatley 350 students; the most recent has been the expansion of our new School on Buckhead Avenue. Throughout the process, we have maintained our focus on excellence in education by strengthening the curriculum, recruiting increasingly skilled teachers and ensuring that children are thriving in the classroom. We experienced some initial growing pains, but the vast majority of our families were supportive as we overcame them. more

Our daughter has been at Suzuki for over a year now & we have been happy. Her teachers are amazingly warm and caring. Yes there are issues w/ the new mgmt, but the Director is working hard to bring together the students, teachers, mgmt and parents. She works very hard to make sure that everyone is happy and taken care of. The education standards are extremely high. It's definitely expensive, but well worth it. Pros: Caring teachers, Parent Involvement, Cirriculum Cons: Parking, Price more

It's funny I read all of the good things about suzki. It seems to me that this is the same person responding about how great suzuki is maybe someone from the staff?? We found the pod system to be over crowed. Talking to parents that are still enrolled are not happy with the new owners who seem to just worry about the bottom line...money. We felt the school was over priced for a run down school needing alot of updating. One concern was that the school didn't have a sprinkler system. We where also told the school was accredited which it isn't. As far as the staff seem to be mostly hourly employes with very few educated teachers. We toured the school twice and noticed a high turn over rate with staff. With this and other things, we decided to pass. To some it up, we where really disappointed. more

Our daughter began at Suzuki last spring after 2 yrs at a higher-priced competitor, and we've been thrilled. Suzuki made the move to the ""big school"" exciting for our daughter. The pod system that they employ is great--our daughter gets to work in a small group for most of the day--6 students to 1 teacher yesterday-but still has 40 friends to share special events & outside play. This versus our old school, where she was in a large (nice) room with 40 kids w/4-5 teachers half standing around. Suzuki offers the best of both worlds. more

I have been a long term parent with Suzuki. I remember when it was just one location on Cains Hill. As Buckhead has grown, so has the school. The school has gone through growing pains, however, the School Director and the new owners have been working hard to address them. I have been very pleased with the teachers, the people in the front office, and the direction of the school. Over the last year I have seen lots of improvements to the facilities and in strengthening the program. Pros: children love it, Academic focus, responsive more

If your children are the most important thing in your life and you want only the best for them, STAY AWAY from Suzuki!! Do not assume that because you'll be paying one of the highest tuition bills in the area that you'll be getting the best. FAR FROM IT! The classes are way over crowded, the teachers untrained and unqualified. There is a reason that Suzuki is not accredited. They have no standards other than making money. The health and welfare of the children is not a priority and it shows in everything - lack of toys and materials, the dirty unappealing rooms, the low calibre staff. Cons: over crowded, abusive to children, dirty more