Testimonials and Comments
The best way to understand classical and Christian education is to experience it in the classroom. We hope these stories and thoughts that have been sent to us by parents and community leaders will help you gain a better understanding of the classical and Christian difference.
Parents | Alumni & Students | Community leaders
Parent’s Comments
Choosing The Ambrose School
Moving from public school to private school, we have been thrilled with the sense of community and purpose that the board, faculty, staff, and families contribute to Ambrose.
Our decision to send our three school age children to Ambrose was based on the Bible-first focus of the education. God was not an “add-on” to the education that they were to receive, but the foundation for the teaching and from which the classical component would flow.
We have been grateful and impressed with our kids’ desire to learn, and the amount of reading that is both required and encouraged. The kids all thoroughly enjoy the learning and the teachers. The Boeck Family
The memory work makes me so thankful that I didn’t try to “home school” my daughter….I didn’t know she was capable of so much! The Thompson Family
I believe that classical Christian education offers students the best chance to survive and thrive as good citizens and maturing Christians in a society dominated by the post-modern humanist worldview. The March Family
My two older children attend a classical school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and I can unequivocally state that Foundations Academy [former name of The Ambrose School] is – at a minimum – equivalent with the high standards of the Harrisburg school. Foundations Academy has elevated Boise to the top of desired living sites. Commander Marshall L. Mason III, US Navy
Enjoying Our Community
What a pleasure to observe children and young adults learning to be ladies and gentlemen. Every morning, students hold the door open for other students and adults. Those walking through the doors make eye contact and say “thank you.” What a great way to start the day! The Myers Family
After having my children in public school for over five years, I became dismayed at the huge book of rules and code of respect they had, yet no sense of order, respect or discipline. As I have seen at [Ambrose], the place to start with order is in the heart. The children are taught to respect their teachers, classmates, and learning. I have been so pleased at the fruit I have seen and the peace they have when living in a school that is in order. They are both growing and thriving emotionally, academically, and spiritually. The public schools keep struggling to add more rules, homework and discipline when the answer can be found in training the heart.
I was favorably impressed by the students I met during the school tour. You probably hear this quite a bit, but [The Ambrose School] is clearly a cut above other schools, in terms of rigor, pedagogy, and even school spirit. You should be very proud.
Parents are often surprised at the depth and breadth of education at The Ambrose School
We see the teachers at Foundations Academy cultivating an interest in real knowledge, which has resulted in markedly different habits in our children. Learning is both fun and challenging, and they have enjoyed both aspects. For example, our son has broadened his focus many times this year, from rats, to planets, to mythology, to cardinal birds. He has spent hours making a complete map of Greece, and delighted in listing new and interesting similes and metaphors. Our daughter now can gracefully and responsibly complete homework, sometimes a couple of hours of her day. She is consciously working on positive and gracious attitudes toward schoolmates and teachers. As for us old folks? We are committed to the necessary shuttling and even learn a few Latin phrases along the way! I volunteer on Mondays in the kindergarten class. One Monday while I was working on a project in the back of the room the teacher said, “We’re going to do some more art pictures.” I was expecting to pull out the paint, the glue, the scissors, etc., when I heard the class say, “ooh… that’s Monet.” I turned around to find that they were studying art, not just painting pictures themselves. They began to point out the texture, line, space, color, etc. of that specific piece. Once again I was so impressed with the depth of education my daughter is receiving. Every Monday brings me a new and pleasant surprise. The students aren’t just learning how to get by in life, they are learning how to enjoy creation and the Creator while they create and learn.Every parent’s pride and joy is their child. Listening to the children quizzing each other about Latin declensions and conjugations, chants about Alaric the Visigoth, Atilla the Hun, Genseric the Vandal, et al, inspire awe. Their poor parents don’t even know what they’re talking about.
Students recieve a different kind of education at The Ambrose School
My [4th grade] son climbed in the car after his soccer game. He announced in animated fashion, “I’ve just seen something you don’t see every day. In fact, I’ve never seen it before in my life!” “What was it?” I asked with interest. “A one-eyed dog,” he responded. He then began to think and added, pensively, “I wonder if his name is ‘Oculus Unus’?”
One of the most valuable experiences the graduates will have, or, already have, is a skill which carries much more in life, than a lot of other skills…it is a skill of public speaking. Our daughter, Caroline, presenting during 4H meetings, does far superiorly than 15 year olds from other schools…we can tell the difference. The Zieba Family
When my daughter was a kindergartener at The Ambrose School, she tended to be shy and let her older sister speak for her much of the time. Imagine my surprise over Thanksgiving that year when she got up on the kitchen table and began to recite “The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat”, without mistake and with full expression and motions! After she was done and the applause and accolades were finished, I questioned her regarding her poise and acting ability. “Mom, we do it all the time at school!” was her response!
After 13 years of investment…
We initially chose to send our oldest daughter to The Ambrose School (then Foundations Academy) 13 years ago because she was bright and needed to be challenged curriculum-wise, and we felt a Christian education was tantamount. In return we received so much more than the challenging education we sought! The Ambrose School has provided and is providing all four of our children with the skills that they need in order to be well-rounded thinkers and doers in an age where much information is spoon-fed. Our oldest daughter, having received instruction in Latin, Humanities, and Mathematics (and much more), went on to become a National Merit Scholar in her senior year of high school at Ambrose and was awarded a full-ride scholarship to college.
Besides receiving an excellent education in the classical method, our children have formed lasting relationships with the teachers, students, and administration, and would choose to attend no other school given the opportunity, despite the challenging curriculum! We choose to send our children to The Ambrose School because it truly is a school where God is honored and revered, education and the thinking process is held to a high standard, and children are loved and nurtured. The Wilford Family
Alumni & Students
It would be an understatement to say that Foundations [former name of The Ambrose School] has prepared me [for college] academically… Nowadays, education is so driven on making money, but I am learning that focusing solely on this is so narrow. How can a person better the world around him if he is not aware of the human experience and of the histories of the different cultures, from which there is so much to learn? And how can we interact with the world around us if we cannot express our ideas clearly on paper and at the podium? KC Thowless, Elizabethtown College, Ambrose Class of 2006
The fact that Ambrose stretched me everyday of my education in all subjects has prepared me the most for higher education and build in me a strong work ethic and discipline that will go with me for the rest of my life. Christopher Adams, US Merchant Marine Academy Cadet, Ambrose class of 2006
Community Leaders
Former U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth
[The Ambrose School] is a bright light of hope for the future of our children. I have been impressed with the students’ knowledge, the ability to reason and discuss complicated issues, and their Biblical worldview. The Academy’s deep love for God and for children has resulted in one of the finest educational institutions in Idaho.
Butch Otter, Idaho State Governor
I came away from [The Ambrose School] with renewed hope and enthusiasm. The children are positively bursting with excitement and pride at being challenged by the classical curriculum and emphasis on discipline, respect, and values. Freedom, individual responsibility, private property, and an unfettered marketplace are once again being taught to our youth–and not as dirty words. I’m proud to be a patron of the Academy!
Ron G. Crane, State Treasurer
I was so impressed with the teachers and students at Foundations Academy [former name of The Ambrose School]. I have had occasion to be in and around private Christian school all my life but never have I seen a curriculum more impressive or an atmosphere more respectful than what I witnessed on my visit to Foundations. These bright, articulate students and their dedicated instructors give me hope to believe that America’s future is bright. Outstanding! Truly outstanding!
Senator Russell M. Fulcher, Idaho State Senate, Education Committee
I am impressed not only by the quality of the education at Foundations Academy and St. Ambrose [former name of The Ambrose School], but also by the emphasis placed on personal character-building and community involvement. I believe these attributes have been made possible by strong school leadership, and by dedicated parental involvement in all aspects of school operations.
Larry Knapp, International Fellowship of Christian Businessmen
I have known about Foundations Academy [former name of The Ambrose School] since it began in 1995. This is a work committed to training the next generation of Christian soldiers. The emphasis placed on honor, respect, and integrity will bear great fruit in the students’ lives and our community.
Dr. Anne Fox, Former Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction
With over 30 years experience in education, as well as being Superintendent of Public Instruction, I have literally visited thousands of schools across the country. I am delighted to find one of the best right here in Idaho! Children love to learn and the academic rigor at Foundations [former name of The Ambrose School] is providing these students with the opportunity to succeed wherever God directs them.
David Perkins, Professor at Albertson College of Idaho
As a college professor and member of the National Association of Scholars, I am troubled with the nation-wide decline in educational and moral standards. The future levels of prosperity and liberty that we enjoy will be dependent largely on how successfully we develop critical thinking skills and moral character in our children. The classical education offered by Foundations Academy [former name of The Ambrose School] provides an exciting and rigorous curriculum that nurtures and develops students’ intellectual abilities. This education, with its emphasis on developing critical thinking skills and moral character, is important preparation for the trials and opportunities that children are certain to face in the twenty first century. It is deserving of both moral and financial support.
The Ambrose School