Stonegate

Our first year at Stonegate. Our fifth grader is in a class with 34 other kids. The teacher tries very hard, but trying to teach 35 pre-pubescent kids on your own is the definition of insanity. regardless, under the circumstances, she truly does an excellent job.Main frustrations: lackluster communication from the administration—truthfully, no engagement at all. You generally find out about new clubs or events a week or so AFTER they’ve started. There's no attempt to engage parents whatsoever beyond requests to come volunteer for events. there’s zero community building. There appear to be zero consequences for kids who actively disrupt the classroom. The principal actively blows off parental concerns.If you are new to the school, they have no interest in helping you acclimate or understand how things work: trial by fire is the way and too bad if you don’t understand they don’t respond to email or their social media posts (pointless because you can’t get information). Good: There is dedicated music twice a week, and dedicated science twice a week. The only art class runs 10-12 times per year, and P.E. Is once a week. AGain, the teachers do the best they can, but in an incredibly wealthy district like IUSD, there seems to be little interest from administration in trying to improve conditions, experiences, or communication,

Honestly, we've had a really tough time with Orchard Hills school lately, especially when it comes to student safety and how they handle bullying. Our kid recently got hurt by another student, and what happened next was just shocking. The school seemed to twist the story and even blamed our child, which was totally unfair. They even told us to keep it quiet, like we shouldn't talk about what happened. Turns out, this other kid has a history of causing problems, and the school seems to just brush it off as "conflicts" instead of real bullying. It's like they let these things slide, and it makes you wonder if our kids are truly safe there.What really got us was how they kept our child and the kid who hurt them without any clear separation after the incident. It felt like they just didn't get how serious this was. Trying to get a straight answer from the principal was a nightmare – constant cancellations and delays, and we basically had to go over their heads to the district just to get someone to listen. We're so incredibly disappointed with how everything was handled. Because of all this, we're actually pulling our kids out and sending them to a different school, which is a huge hassle and a big burden on us since we have to find something outside our neighborhood. Until Orchard Hills really gets its act together, with clear rules and real consequences for bullying, we just can't recommend it.