Gem Prep: Twin Falls

“Gem Prep Twin Falls has been an incredible school for my daughter, and I can’t say enough good things about the amazing staff. From day one, we’ve felt welcomed, supported, and genuinely cared for. Miss Jen in the front office is an absolute gem! She’s always warm, helpful, and goes above and beyond to support families. Whether it’s answering questions, patching up wounds, or being a safe person for students, she truly makes a difference every single day. We’re so grateful to be part of the Gem Prep family. The staff truly cares, and it shows in everything they do!”

— Carrie, Google Review

“We like the main focus of the curriculum at Gem Prep being Math, Language Arts, and Science. We also have been happy with a personal and tailored education experience for each of our children. The staff is great, and they seem to be very flexible and comfortable with adjusting to what each student needs. The overall culture of the school is student-friendly, and academic-driven. Overall, we are really happy with Gem Prep Twin Falls, and our children are thriving here!”

— Tal Thorty, Google Review

“My family and I love Gem Prep! For the area of Twin Falls, I feel like the school is above on the education aspect. I love that it’s a rigorous program for all scholars. Mr.Hale(Principal) and Ms. Rosales(Vice Principal) are very welcoming and care so much about each scholar. The teachers are AMAZING and communicate well with parents.”

— Gretchen Martin, Google Review

“I am going to give my honest review as a portion of the positive reviews are current staff. I was a sub & Kinder parent. I suggest you sign up as a sub if your kids will attend to see if you like GPTF. My son was selected during the lottery process after we toured the school during the 23-24 school year. During this tour, I specifically asked about the speech program. I was told, and was introduced to a lady, who apparently ran these services. The principal told me how great the speech program was, which made me incredibly happy as my son has an IEP. Was even shown the office use for IEP services. I was also told there was a school resource officer to protect to school as I was concerned about the gun range located less than 50 yards away. Both things turned out to be over exaggerated. The speech was a zoom call with a lady who was not familiar with Twin Falls, and honestly I’m not even sure if she resides in the state and an SRO can be called if there is a problem- so not on campus if something terrible were to happen. Additionally, I saw how discouraged children were being on laptops the majority of their school day. This broke my heart seeing them forced to sit quietly at their desks with no interactions and their entire grade being reliant on their ability of staring at a screen. As a parent, not a single worksheet or paper came home during the entirety of attending. I witnessed a special needs student sit at his desk for at least 3 weeks because he was unable to use a mouse. By the 8th week, he was finally given a touch screen computer. This same student, whom I have known since preschool, was not under direct supervision serval times on the playground when he also suffers from dangerous medical issues. The other part that broke my heart was watching these kids be forced to sit in the dark, “at a level zero/no talking” in the lunch room, in assigned seating while they eat. They are not allowed to sit with their friends in other classes or siblings. The final straw for me was when the high and mighty school board came to visit the school. These people apparently cannot speak to concerned parents about student safety until you pass their order of command since they are very special. They toured the school and I was sent an email of their findings where they expressed how happy they were with how quiet the children were when they sat in the dark eating their lunch without speaking. To be proud of something like that is very off putting to me. Lastly, my 5 year old son who was in Kindergarten, was sent out as a “walker” several times without my knowledge or approval. While I was waiting in their comically long pick up line, my son was on the side of the road looking for me. They told me the walkers are watched until they are picked up by an adult. What they did not understand is that I was also a sub. They couldn’t just tell me what they tell all parents to blindly reassure them. I know for a fact that they were not. The person walks them across the parking lot street then said person goes to the #1 car line cone to assist kids get to vehicles. With these reasons, we left the school and my son has never been happier. His joy is back and he learned so many new things within 2 weeks time than he did over the 2 months at Gem Prep. None of this is personal against any of the staff members, this is just my honest experience of our time at Gem Prep Twin Falls. Recently my son’s lunch account was being used by someone as of a few weeks ago, resulting in me getting notices of a negative account balance even though we stopped attending in September.Everything just felt very disorganized to me. A good portion of the small amount of staff were related so when I addressed concerns, it felt like it went no where because they were family members. This includes the glowing review left by the last name Hale, which is the principals wife btw. I get people want their work to look good, but reviews for something as important as school should be unbiased because it’s children’s academic future that will pay the price in the end.”

— Cierra C, Google Review

“Good school except some teachers/admin can be harsh and a little overboard which explains the reason why it's a college prep school but otherwise the dress code on the clothing for pants or dress pants can be strict mainly because of leggings/ripped pants/cargo pants/sweatpants and for the reasons. The physical education specialist/art sometimes can be mean towards students and handles things differently then usual schools. From experience the line up system can be brutal for waiting outside, teachers 'punishments' for talking in line and other activities. Bus seating on a specific driver (not current I yk substitute) can make things difficult because of their additude towards children and how they talk to them, most make reports and not many admins listen. Remember that this is from a student's experience and their opinion.”

— Akshata Shrestha, Google Review