Central Park Village

Kindergarten through fifth grade was pretty good. Not going to count it against the school for Covid procedures, even though that was extremely miserable. However, sixth grade is an absolute nightmare! This is the year where they try to get the students prepared for middle school. What does that mean? That means that the kids are responsible for carrying around all their schoolwork and their backpack all day every day in folders in our responsible for keeping everything organized and turned in on time. I definitely support this! However, the lack of transparency to the students and to the parents for knowing what assignments are being given out, and when they are due is non existent. My son has been struggling all year to keep his grades above an F, which is never like him throughout all the years he’s been attending the school. To get me wrong, I have held my son accountable for his lack of accountability, talking to friends, simply not staying on task, but when I’m trying to work very closely with the teachers, it’s like pulling teeth to get answers from them. It is literally becoming a second full-time job trying to stay on top of everything school related on top of my regular 9 to 5. My son is confused, frustrated, to the point where he is in tears almost every night, and I can’t get a straight answer from any of the sixth grade teachers to figure out what we need to do.

I have proudly taught at John Jacobs Elementary since 2017, when I first moved into the neighborhood. Over the years, I’ve watched our “tiny but mighty” school grow into an A+ School of Excellence—a reflection of the incredible partnership between our students, staff, families, and community.In a city with many school choices, we are especially proud that families continue to choose John Jacobs. Our staff is made up of passionate educators whose dedication truly shines in every grade level. We offer a rigorous, research-based curriculum along with a variety of programs designed to meet the needs of all learners, including Project Potential (gifted services), Literature Lab for reading intervention, push-in and pull-out resource support, and self-contained classrooms. Our goal is to meet every student where they are and support their growth toward grade-level success.Collaboration is a cornerstone of our school culture. Teachers work closely across grade levels and programs to ensure students receive the most effective instruction and support. We engage in weekly data meetings, ongoing site-based professional learning, and monthly district-led professional development to continually refine our practice.Beyond academics, John Jacobs offers opportunities for all students to get involved through sports, family events, community activities, and fundraisers that strengthen our school community.Although I no longer live in the immediate neighborhood, I have chosen John Jacobs for my own child, who will be starting kindergarten next year. That decision speaks to the trust and confidence I have in our school. She is already excited to become a Jag!

The amount of fights I have heard about are unbelievable. The fact that this school brushes bullying off like it's some excuse is awful. I seen so many kids get harmed from just attending to this school. Ever since I seen my child go to this school, they have been less engaged and they are now having eating problems because they are too stressed about being perfect just so they could meet the level that the teachers want them to be. They treat them horribly. An another reason why this school is terrible, is that ever since my kid transferred here, they started throwing up almost daily from the lunches here.

Small classes! Great community! No parent cliques. Everyone is extremely inclusive and it feels like an old school elementary experience. The students are not in a high pressure environment and still perform well academically due to the positive atmosphere. It’s a child-centric school, and you can feel the warmth the moment you walk on campus.