364 Oakland Rd
Madison, AL 35758

The Madison mayor and city council have destroyed what was a fantastic school system by allowing unchecked new residential building and all they've done is stick it to homeowners by raising taxes. Over 1200 new students enrolled this year and it's been like this the past 6 years. Schools are so overcrowded, my daughters waiting 45 minutes for a bus to arrive, one way traffic in the school halls, no lockers (50+lb backpacks), etc. Teachers used to be so enthusiastic, no they're just overwhelmed. Such a shame.

I moved my family to Huntsville 6 months ago and 3 months later we chose this district for my child. It was the worst decision Ive made. Its not the school that a black family should consider. I have had nothing but bad experiences. My child is in Kindergarten and 3 weeks in the teacher “retired” leaving substitutes in and out of the classroom. They finally hired a new graduate, who treats them with Skittles of all candies, despite the harmful dyes in the candy. My child told me that. Then on a separate occasion, my child was placed on a bus and sent to a location she was not supposed to be at- despite the dismissal manager being updated 6 days prior. I was made to go pick her up. On a later date, The principal called me and said his secretary said I cursed her out when calling to ask about my child's attendance record being incorrect. That was a flat out lie, and no reason for it. Fast forward, today I realized that all of her checkout’s and absences were counted unexcused although some were presented with doctors notes to the online website the school requires you to upload them to. I would recommend black and brown families to choose a different school zone. We came from an elite school zone that scored 10/10 so I am no stranger to being the minority- its the school not the district that I loathe.

Overall, James Clemens is a decent school. We get an hour of lunch to eat, study, or socialize. However, this hour is when staff supervision is at its lowest. It's the reason why so many fights break out every day. It's just a normal occurrence. The amount of fights and lack of supervision makes me concerned for my safety here. As for Academics...it's a hit or miss. Almost all the AP teachers are super passionate about teaching. Many of the non-AP teachers are coaches who spend more time coaching their sport than actually teaching. Sports here are prioritized wayy too much compared to the other things they offer. I understand that the South heavily favors sports, but this school takes it to another level. Pretty much every assembly/event is sports related. Favoritism towards student-athletes is blatant, while the students in the Arts are hardly recognized at all for their achievements. The Arts are basically ignored by the admin and they will often turn a blind eye to athletes discriminating and using slurs. There have been news stories of one sports team using homophobic slurs and only getting a slap on the wrist. Many similar incidents at the school are swept under the rug in order to maintain its reputation as a top school. In reality, they care more about test scores and their reputation than the mental well-being of the students. The district put up these QR codes for mental health resources, but they were on every visible spot on the walls, indicating to me that they only wanted to look like they cared, when in reality, they don't. Most of counselors aren't open to communication and you can't easily talk to one when you need them. I would say this school is decent, but I don't think they prepared me for college.