21601 Brys Dr
Saint Clair Shores, MI 48080

My daughter went here for one year, and that was plenty. The principal is subpar, way below community expectations. Learning environment is herrendous.

I would give the staff and administration at Elmwood Elementary 4 stars. I believe they work tirelessly to ensure the children are well-rounded individuals while seeking above average academic outcomes. Conversely, I do wish there was a stronger focus on teaching Black History and acknowledging other cultures within the curriculum. The school has a large population of color, and the aforementioned topics are not strongly recognized by each teacher.

If you're considering enrolling your child at this school, I strongly urge you to look for an alternative placement.As a parent of a child adopted from foster care with multiple diagnosed disabilities, I’ve found this school to be completely unequipped to meet the needs of students requiring support. There is a severe lack of follow-through, accountability, and appropriate behavioral interventions.The principal—nearing retirement—has no meaningful engagement with students or families beyond superficial weekly posts. The special education director repeatedly fails to follow state and federal regulations and demonstrates little understanding of her responsibilities under IDEA and Section 504. Most concerning, the superintendent destroyed three surveillance videos I formally requested to review, despite district policy requiring retention for 45 days. My requests were well within the permitted timeframe.It took over 55 days of suspensions before the school even initiated the proper evaluations, which should have been conducted over a year ago. I had to push relentlessly for basic evaluations and supports that should have been provided without a fight.If you do enroll your child here, I strongly recommend bringing a neutral facilitator or advocate to every meeting. The district has a pattern of misrepresenting facts and ignoring parent input. This has been an exhausting and deeply disappointing experience.In my opinion, the leadership at this school—including the principal, special education director, and superintendent—have completely failed their responsibilities. If I could give a zero I would have.

It saddens me to see the decline at this school while others in the area have continued to grow and attract families. How and why it all went wrong is hard to say, since the other schools also have school of choice. Perhaps part of it starts with what is or is not allowed and how strict other school districts are by comparison. For example, kids that have any suspensions and behavior issues are simply NOT allowed in to the other schools. AT SL, they seem to allow anyone in just to get the money in the door and stay open. But then the culture starts to degrade with kids who fight and have disciplinary problems. Over time, the good kids and families who try finally give up and leave. Then more kids with problems are allowed in and it just spirals downward. I don't think you will see this school system improve until it stops allowing kids with discipline issues to even get in and the ones who have issues get kicked out for good.