Luckney

My big man is absolutely thriving here. He was attending Highland Bluff when we first moved to Brandon, but I found them too large and overly obsessed with tests to the detriment of almost everything else (they were lucky to get recess in a given week, and if Scandinavian educational models are any indicator, exercise and recreation are as important as math and reading to a good student). My child's father took a job with RCSD and we were able to elect to send him to Flowood; best decision we ever made. There's considerably more racial and economic diversity (hard to come by in Brandon, admittedly), the school is smaller and more accessible, and the teachers really work with your child to help them succeed. My son had near constant disciplinary problems at the last school (because why not make them sit and pound the books for hours with no break to blow off steam? What could possibly go wrong?) and I was even strongly hinted to that I should seek an ADHD diagnosis and put him on medication. We come to Flowood and, aside from the odd spate of talking too much on his part? We've barely had an issue. Funny, that.

My daughter has attended JP for 3 years now. My two oldest attended one of the local public HS where, occasionally, I worked as substitute teacher. I loved the interaction with the students but I detested watching teachers yell at students things like: “shut up”, “do XYZ or else”. Once a teacher followed a young girl down the hall and into my classroom where I to stop her rant. The young lady was sad and mortified having to listen to an adult berate her in front of all the other students. I learned this was a daily occurrence with more than one teacher. I heard similar stories from my other two children. Because of this and other negative experiences while in public school, I decided to search for school where they treated students with dignity. I found JP to be a good fit for my daughter for its academic excellence as well as providing an environment conducive to learning and interpersonal maturity. Teachers and the administration encourage self agency, academic discipline and excellence, and personal exploration in the arts and sports. The staff is highly qualified, very professional and the school work is challenging. The students are treated as future leaders in their community. There’s a positive attitude and misconduct is appropriate addressed. A previous comment indicated that bullying was tolerated, that is not my experience. My daughter had two incidents. She is someone that can nip it in the bud quickly and both situations were addressed without my intervention. She’s a 90+ average student and is very happy being at JP. Contrary to what some other reviews stated, many JPs parents are hard working, dual income parents who make sacrifices so their children won’t be subjected to inane indoctrinations of today’s public schools. Not all children come from well-to-do families and the school does not have an atmosphere of snobbery as some may have labeled it. This is a welcoming school for all children.

Hartfield is focused on growing their students academically and spiritually.