ARIA Plan in Ridgefield by D.R. Horton
Conway, SC 29526

It's a great school with a beautiful campus. All my kids loved it, the staff is friendly, and the teachers are kind.

Over the past several years, this school has definitely been moving in the wrong direction. Education of students, support of teachers, and improvement of the overall learning environment, have all taken a backseat to the pursuit of athletic achievement and the most current educational excellence theme of the year. Grades and class completion are subject to manipulation by administrators in order to artificially inflate graduation success.Teachers are passive, demoralized, and uninspired. Classroom management is nonexistent. Teachers teach from their desk and spend their time buried in their laptops. Students are frequently off task or asleep or on their phones. The school does not enforce the South Carolina Department of education’s cell phone, and personal electronic device policy.Administration is unresponsive and seems interested in only making the symptoms of problems go away rather than solving the problems themselves. Communication is terrible. There is zero transparency in the decision-making process. All decisions are made at the top, there is no distribution of authority, and teachers are not empowered to make decisions. Vandalism, disrespect and student fights are a regular occurrence on campus. Discipline is terrible. As a teacher, I would never recommend a parent send their child to this school.

Where can I even start with this school. This school is easily the worst building I have ever had the displeasure of entering. Some background about me, I am a transfer student who spent my sixth and seventh grade in Virginia. Virginia was a blast. This school has twisted my perception and take on schools. I will break down my review into the six categories.LearningThe learning at this school is actually not that bad, but many of the teachers seem like they don't care if the topics actually stick to the students' mind. I am a little slow at learning, and I feel ran over for it.Special EducationWhile technically not Special Education, I do have a 504 plan. That was entirely ignored throughout my stay at this school. Nothing was done about it.TeachingOnly four of my eight teachers here are teachers I would actually consider good. The others either were the type who didn't care, or the type who hated kids. Also, not teaching, the administrators at this school are borderline manchildren. They are power-hungry, and dish out extreme punishments for petty things.SafetyBullying is rampant at this school, even by the administrators. This is supposed to be an institution of learning, not a juvenile detention center.Social-Emotional supportThis school does not care how the students feel, and didn't care how I felt. No adults here genuinely care how the students feel. I have resented this school since Quarter 2, and they didn't care.Family EngagementNo family involvement at all, or minimal involvement. 1-2 meetings a year at most. Family is not their problem at this school.