BELFORT Plan in Sawmill Branch by D.R. Horton
Palm Coast, FL 32137

Some teachers at the school do not support student growth. In fact, they stifle it. My child is objectively bright, with off-the-chart FAST test scores, straight A’s in advanced and accelerated classes. There are a few teachers who are excellent: advanced science, advanced history, and advanced language arts, but then there are the lazy ones — the ones who engage with students as little as humanly possible, aiming only to meet the bare minimum requirements. An assistant principal is not there for the kids, but to advocate for lazy teachers. My kid loves to learn, but dreads going to this school because of how lazy and dismissive some teachers are.The atmosphere is demoralizing to inquisitive young, growing minds that are being crushed by apathy, bureaucracy, and laziness.

I am a student, who is on track to graduate in May with 50 total credits between high school and college. I did not enjoy my time here at all. From my experience(and others), Matanzas High functions more like a basic education facility that is geographically isolated from my city, rather than a school that supports emerging adults like a real high school. The environment is heavily divided between the standard classes and advanced programs (AICE and a few AP classes), with very little actual integration or community between them. The environment often drains me for no reason. The leadership follows an "adult-first" model. Decisions are made based on administrative convenience. They lean heavily on favoritism toward certain families and students(mainly those in the Student Government Association) who give them money, rather than what is best for all of us. Discipline is awful since they often don't hold bullies accountable for their actions. Only a few teachers here actually care for their students, or have presence in the broader community of Palm Coast outside Matanzas. For serious musicians, like myself, the band program has become a low-quality operation focused more on using students for local gigs or concerts/MPA than on actual musical education or professional growth. They do not respect the legacy of successful alumni, and they often ignore individual needs—including medical safety requirements in favor of their own schedules.Even if you encounter great teachers who want to help you learn (primarily in AICE), it is not an institution that treats you like an adult. They often ignore seniors. Ultimately, I had to prepare myself for the real world through my job at Publix and the way my family raised me; the school provided almost no support for that transition. If you are a high-achieving student, Matanzas is just a place to get your credits and leave where you never look back.

The kid to teacher ratio is way too high. They do not have enough teachers for the massive influx of kids they now have. They have “lost” my child saying she was absent when she was in her class. The bus was late picking her up so the teacher marked her absent and then I called to the school to see what was going on they said she was on a field trip. My child got home that day and I found out that she never was on a field trip and was in class the whole day. They have to split the class every time they do stuff and leave half behind because of the teacher to kid ratio. Anytime I’ve needed to call the school I am sent to a voicemail and then half to wait 1-2 days later for a call back. I have had a teacher lose my child’s book that was brought in for a school project and was never informed that she lost it. I then proceeded for 3 weeks trying to get it back or have the teacher look for it. The teacher finally told me that I had to apply for a “pass” to access the classroom to look for the book myself since she “couldn’t herself”. My child’s teacher also would not stop pulling my child by her backpack to the point that it hurt her shoulders. I had to schedule a meeting with the vice principal to get her to stop. She then proceeded to do it again and when I contacted the school and superintendent about it I never got a call back until 3 days later and calling more than once after. Just for a person at Belle Terre to say that no other kids saw it happen so they did nothing. The buses are also overwhelmed so my kids bus has to make 2 separate rounds of picking them up at the school and coming back for round two. My child and the other kids also have to stand outside, in direct sunlight from time school lets out at till about 4:15 give or take while waiting for the bus to come back. They don’t have them wait inside or in shade. One child actually pooped themselves the other day because he couldn’t go to the restroom while they were waiting. On a more “personal opinion” I also feel that the school doesn’t provide nutritional breakfast items. There have been many times that they serve leftover pizza for breakfast and other items that are questionable. Meals are free so I don’t complain but I do know that it teaches the kids very unhealthy traits for later. This school also does A-LOT of activities that you have to pay for your child to participate or be included. There have been many times my child has not been able to feel included because of this.