2409 Eddystone Rd
Raleigh, NC 27612

Most of the teachers and school counselors are great. Unfortunately, the members of the administration possess poor leadership and communication skills . The leadership style of the Principal could most easily be described as someone who is more focused on "clearing the inbox" than providing a collaborative environment for children, parents and staff. Our personal observation from the actions exhibited by the Principal were that of someone who's methodology was to use her current position as a stepping stone on a path to achieve a long term goal to be promoted to the central office as an Assistant Superintendent or similar role. It was clear her focus was not on educating but instead rising through the ranks as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the school administration as a whole seems to be a poorly matched team. We only had multiple personal dealings with one of the Assistant Principals however we quickly observed that both that Assistant Principal and the Principal had aversions to the truth in several instances. The administration pays a large amount of lip-service to the importance of being a "partner" with parents however we only observed contradictory behavior from them. Unfortunately for both the students and their families the current administrative team suffers from a lack of adequate leadership, the inability to accept responsibilities for mistakes made and poor judgement in decision making. The school itself has great facilities, a dedicated group of teachers who are clearly devoted to the success of their students and tremendous potential to become a credit to the Wake County system. However, a restructuring of leadership is the only way for this to successfully occur.

We have 3 children a JGES and have enjoyed our experience here over the last 4 years. The teachers (and staff) are fantastic - really caring about the kids and making the classroom fun. They also teach positive character traits and reward good behavior in fun ways that encourage the kids to be their best selves. There are a few curricular opportunities that are neat. There is a great teacher-run after care program as well. Involved PTA that support the teachers and kids. Our children love it there.

My daughter attended this school for four years and had good teachers. However, the counselor was not very helpful, so she had to seek assistance from a different counselor. The art teacher is wonderful. The school infrastructure needs updates, and there should be better communication with parents.