Ortley Terrace

I love this school, my kids are in second and first grade and they really enjoy going there. Class numbers are very low so teachers have time to work one on one with students and accommodate different learning styles. My son is an overly active seven year old and his teacher has different work stations so students don’t have to sit in their desks for hours at a time. He can move to different areas where he’s more comfortable working, which is a huge plus for him because he could never sit still for long. They have after school mentoring programs for students who need extra help or attention, my daughter struggled her first year so she took part in the program, she loved it so much she requested to continue with the program and it’s been extremely beneficial for her. They do really cute special events for students and families like the Christmas concert and dance, World Book Week where students dress as favorite book characters and walk in a parade for the parents to come see, and other themed days that week. I feel like the majority of the staff there knows my kids by name, the teachers make themselves available daily at pick up to speak with and always respond to emails promptly. When my kids were struggling with a personal situation at home and I wrote to their teachers to just let them know what was going on in case they weren’t themselves, the school counselor came to talk and make sure they were ok. It really feels like the staff truly cares, the teachers have all been there for years, they are so kind and supportive. We are really happy with their experiences there so far, their development academically is where it needs to be, my daughter has been on the honor roll for the past six marking periods so we’re extremely proud of that. I honestly have no complaints. If they decide to close the school and send the kids to Toms River we’ll be very disappointed. We like the little community we have here and the personal attention our children receive. In our opinion it’s one of the best things about living in Seaside Heights and the main reason we’ve stayed here this long.

Teachers are not good at picking up learning disabilities or other needs of students. Ex: students with speech impediments, major vision issues and mental health wasn't noticed until the end of school after being urged by parents. The difficulty in subject manner isn't great either. Ex: learning goals/sight words are same for 3months. I compared Lavallette's summer homework for 1st grade to another school and great GAP. Lavallette is working on sight words & the other school is past sight words with 20min reading, journaling, and vocabulary that Lava hasn't even touched on.