4029 Chicken Foot Rd
Saint Pauls, NC 28384

Massey Hill is a Choice School in the County. (Apps to attend usually due by Jan.) Students are eclectic & many are advanced learners/over achievers/gifted & LIKE learning.The student/teacher ratios are very low. Downsides: - Transportation (school bus) is not provided (unless you live on Ft. Liberty). - Special Ed: their weakest point. If have an IEP & minimal needs, they’ll likely be ok. But consensus seems to be you must keep tabs & be consistent when things go left. (Frankly, the entire school district is poor for EC kids.) - Sports - There are none. But students can participate in sports at the school their home is districted for. (For on-post this is EE Smith HS). Be sure to contact the home school directly and be persistent. - Hate to point out one specific person/position, but it’s important. The counselor who works with students deciding a career field or post-secondary education lacks. To be fair, they are the only counselor and have 300’ish students (55-65 per class) & have not been out of college long. If something small or pointed is needed, you’re good. But parents be prepared to tackle this yourself. - Family engagement: they’re trying! Much improved over last few years! Neutrals: - the surrounding area. Don’t be put off by the appearance and “talk” of the area. It’s still tying to rid of a reputation from the 80’s - 10’s. Security at the school is paramount. - Physical building - know the building is 100 years old. It’s well cared for, but expect all that comes with such. - Uniforms: love ‘em or hate em. They are required. Prices are reasonable, but not inexpensive. The school hasn’t quite figured out how to make buying a smooth process. But you can buy “unbranded” pieces from wherever. Positives: - Teachers & administration - #1 They are very supportive & understanding with students. Turnover is very low and that says a LOT about the entire school. There are a few teachers that are a bit hard to get ahold of, a couple that prefer to post grades every couple weeks versus daily, but your student isn’t likely to be plagued with this more than once per semester. And if needed, a quick email to admin will straighten things out. - If a student is “weird”, they’re just that. Nobody cares. Few students pick on them. In fact, they’re likely to find a friend or two who is also “weird.” Bullying is not tolerated by students & squashed. - Drugs and shenanigans - don’t bring that mess to The Hill! It’s not tolerated AT ALL.

It is unfortunate that the city and school system does not provide more school choices and education options. The options are very few within the school system and many of the schools are failing and low performing. It sucks

We love this school. The teachers are great and you can tell the new principal Mr. Parker loves being there. That's all my kids talk about. So glad we chose Reid Ross.

Racism and discrimination is at a all time high at this school and is very "cliquish". The act of voicing your concerns is met with retaliation from the staff members. As a parent, you are up against the determination of escalating your concerns to the school board or remaining idle for the sake of not creating an uncomfortable environment for the child/children. Either way, it is shameful that the educators and adults that we trust our most prized possessions with daily can not be trusted in good faith!

I'm completely dissatisfied with my child's experience as a special needs student. I don't feel like it's been a positive experience for him. The teachers and administrators haven't shown leadership or respect to him or I.

Great, the teachers really care about their students.

Not good for working parents. Great teachers but random “holidays” in work week, no before school care, lots of extra activities for parents to join which leaves you taking many days off work and everything has to done in person (they won’t tell you anything over the phone and usually have an attitude when you ask basic question). Most days you have to leave work to get any information or do anything pertaining to the school. Most frustrating school I’ve ever dealt with.

I rate the school 10 out of 10. My daughter is senior this year and she has had an amazing experience.

It's hard to find a good school in this area, but we had heard good things about the High School and our kids were entering middle school. It was close to home and a choice school, so we chose to send first one child, and then the next year their sibling.Our first year experience there was mostly good. We had little to no communication from the teacher, but our child thrived in their first year of middle school and we were thrilled, coming out of virtual learning and back into in-person school.But the following year they promoted the principal of the school and brought in a new one for the middle school. As our second child entered their first year there, we noticed a big change. First off, while my first gifted child did well, my special needs child went ignored. When we tried to communicate with the teachers, we got the usual no response. It took calls to the administration and weeks to get responses. Meanwhile, our child was failing most of thier classes. We discovered thier 504 wasn't being followed, they had ignored our concerns about placement in advanced classes, and ultimately we had to choose homeschooling mid-year.Meanwhile, events at the school were poorly planned, awards ceremonies were a mess, dances were cancelled at the last minute, and an culture of mass punishment took over.My first student began to hate the school. They disliked most of their teachers, and began to do poorly. My once thriving student was very unhappy. There are also nowhere near the extra-curricular opportunities I would expect from a school like this. Few clubs, and the ones we tried were run so poorly that they weren't really functioning clubs. No field trips.School morale is currently very low, and this school has lost its shine.