109A Arnold Rd, Jacksonville, NC 28546

I tried so hard for this school to be a positive experience for my kindergartener and 4th grader when we moved here summer 2023. My 4th grader was ahead and loved math at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year he was emotionally drained, teacher used him as a helper to help other students who didn’t know how to read. He learned very little that year. My kindergartener had gone to two years of private preschool and knew how to write letters and numbers properly and was on her way to reading. She lost those abilities, never learned to read. She learned how to throw a huge fit, she learned to swear and scream when she was angry. I tried volunteering in both kids classrooms, I offered to come daily. I don’t think the teachers wanted me there to see first hand how bad it was. I met with the vice principal and principal multiple times. Had my youngest switched from one classroom to another. That helped slightly but not nearly enough to justify sending them there for another year.The single biggest issue at this school is how admin has chosen to handle discipline. When other children misbehave they are pulled out of the class and taken to a counselor or principal and allowed to calm down, given a drink or a snack. They are not given a consequence and there is no reason to change the behavior, in fact I would say it’s encouraged. The kids who behave and are there to learn go unnoticed, fall through the cracks, and ultimately lose their love for learning. It’s very sad.