5 Buffum St
Salem, MA 01970

This school I thought was going to be good for my kids but it wasn't such a good experience I will say the reading helper was excellent for my children but other parts of school experience wasn't so good my Grandson was bullied from other students I told the school this on many occasions but it was on deaf ears my Grandson was suspended on Many occasions because he stuck up for himself ended up in fist fights which I understand is not accepted I just feel he was blamed for things gs that wasn't entirely his fault he also has adhd and its very hard for him to control himself the school wasn't very good at following through whst was on iep

Bates Elementary School is such a welcoming and supportive community! The teachers and staff truly care about every student and go above and beyond to help them grow both academically and socially. Communication with families is excellent — they make sure parents are informed and involved every step of the way.The principal and staff create a positive, inclusive environment where kids feel safe, respected, and excited to learn. There are also so many fun school events and activities that bring families together and build strong connections.We’re so grateful to be part of the Bates community — it’s clear that everyone here is dedicated to helping students succeed and feel proud of their school!

Carlton School is currently being run by a principal who, in the name of high-stakes testing, gives up on quality teaching in order to teach to the test. Open responses all day before the ELA MCAS? You betcha. Extra hour of math leading up to the Math MCAS? Yep. I have watched my child change drastically this year, and not for the better.

Small classrooms, principal knows every student's name, teachers have fresh, innovate ways for multiple ways of learning. Feels like a private school almost!

Some of the staff seem ok but then you got a good chunk of the school including the principal that could take a class on how to be empathetic and kind to people.

My daughter is in first grade and loves Witchcraft. My daughter struggles with reading and they were quick to address that she would need supplemental support and offered after school tutoring in small groups. I am an involved parent, there are a lot of activities and events geared towards bringing everyone together. I was hesitant at first too, I read all of the reviews, and I don't have the same sentiment as others.

I was a student at this school and it is absolutely horrendous. Do not send your kids to this school or they will end up becoming fake gangsters and get involved in all kinds of trouble and fights and just become an overall bad person because I was at this school 6-8 grade and all of the students were rude and so disrespectful to the other students and teachers as well. The classes were completely out of control to the point where the teachers couldn’t even do anything about it, but call a ton of administrators since they couldn’t even do anything themselves, and most of the teachers even sucked too. They were really rude and when you were having a hard time, they just told you to work hard harder and do better in a sarcastic and mean way, and did not try to help you at all and instead tell you to work with other students instead of giving you a direct help because they don’t even know how to teach you or what to do so they expect you to learn from each other instead as students. The classes are so bad you can barely even pay attention because of the chaos going on around you and the kids are complete bullies like I’ve mentioned before and would call you really mean and nasty things since they were all a part of one big gangster group since they thought that they were all gangsters and basically ruled over The school. From my personal experience, I would recommend not sending your kids to this god-awful school and try finding somewhere else if possible, but if this is your only option, then God bless their souls unless they are able to handle all of the madness and mental suffering and mental issues at the school will give you. Especially if you’re not with the main gangster group. I have needed to get therapy and had a multiple days where I came home crying almost every day because of the school that just shows you how bad it is. So if you want to save your child mental health, I repeat, DO NOT SEND THEM TO COLLINS MIDDLE SCHOOL