Ethline R Williams Prep School

I have 3 children ages 14,9, and 8. My 14 year old started this school when she was in head start, she is now moving on to high school. 1st lets speak about Ms. Roberts, I have worked for Hillsborough County school board for the past 7 years and I have only come across 1 other principal that I can truly say is a reflection of what a school and it's staff should strive to be like and treat their community. (Ms. Delia yarborough- Gadson, principal of Sheehy Elem.) Ms. Roberts , demands perfection, her approach : I will not ask my staff to do anything that I would not do. Meaning, in the afternoon, its Ms. Roberts the Principal, helping to direct traffic, helping to dismiss, speaking to all the parents, making sure we all feel welcome to be apart of her school. I recently asked my 9 year old , gifted son, if he would like to go to a private school for the 22/23 school year, this school focuses on areas in which he is gifted, and animals... (He would like to be a paleontologist when he is older, we currently have a zoo of animals at our house....) Even though the private school focus4ed on subject he is more interested in he demands to stay at Cleveland Elem. My son was what you would call "a Runner" in 1st and 2nd grade, there was a many times myself or spouse had to come to the school to calm him down, sometimes we would have to pick him up... Through both years Ms. Roberts , ALWAYS, made us feel welcome, she expressed how hard she knew our life was at home with him and she promised to help and maintain the positivity and stable environment for him at her school. Fast forward to now He is going into 4th grade and is a Gifted student makes mostly A's and B's with the exception of a "C" in Pe one semester. He went from the kid that was a runner and at high risk for elopement. To the student who the teacher asks to help his peers when they don't understand. He has been highly motivated to "Do the Right Thing" by the Principal, his teachers and their many staff members who go above and beyond their "Job Descriptions". I am truly grateful for the years we have spent with this school. What a pleasant experience in a world of many unpleasant ones. especially when your child had ADHD, ODD, and a Mood Dysregulation Disorder .

In my experience, teachers at this school are respectful, supportive, and motivate their students to learn

I had to remove my child from this environment due to blatant discrimination by the lead teacher. The lead teacher did not discipline students who were bullying my child, but rather made excuses for the aggressors. She would also write reports up about my child when my child had to defend herself against bullying. The lead teacher would conveniently leave out the aggressions initiated by bullies that caused my child to react. I’d only get a full account of what transpired by asking probing questions that ultimately led her to confessing that my child was first hit by a bully on the playground (this was just one event among many). This and many other accounts where my child was discriminated against both blatantly and passive aggressively led me to remove my child from this environment. Also an award that was supposed to be given by student votes was rigged and manipulated by the lead teacher to favor who she wanted to receive the award, so integrity is questionable. Additionally when my child was struggling in math I was not notified early on or updated on her progress (I found out because I pay close attention to my child’s performance) which made me believe that my child was intentionally not positioned to have support that could have led to better outcomes. Pay close attention to micro aggressions towards minority children because this was not a positive experience.

Hello, I was a former student in this school for the 2018 - 2019 school year. I would not reccomend going here. This has to be the most disengaging school I have ever been to. The teachers dont even care about the students and dont even try to get us to engage, the school isnt safe either, apparently a child got hit by a car on the second day of school that year and they(the teachers and admins) werent looking out for anyone as they leave, a field trip to a christian retreat that you are forced to go, if you dont go, you get expelled from this school, that is utter nonsense. They dont even deal with the bullying either, as I was a victim of bullying there, real life and online, harassed for something that doesnt make any sense, tried to tell the admins but they did absolutely nothing on that. I dont reccomend putting your child here, its a waste of a entire school year and a waste of money.

It’s no longer what it promotes itself to be. The admin leaders and curriculum are disappointing. Not challenging enough and children were behind when we left and put it new school . Teacher turnover rate so high because of poor leadership which means lots of turmoil for the kids. But most sadly is that Christ isn’t being truly represented by leaders and their choices and poor treatment of teachers. Caught up in wrong things to look good. Too many good teachers left and was upsetting to us and kids. Good leaders will keep the good teachers and that’s good for kids. Just sad. Pray it will get better.