Elephant Fork

My first experience with EFES was attending an orientation with the then “new” principal and assistant principal. We shared enthusiasm and energy to a new relationship. The Pitchkettle community is packed caring people but I do not see that carrying through to the school. I met only two parents in my child’s class so far. I see the classroom environment vicariously through the eyes of the teacher, my child and the other students. According to your website EFES rates among the bottom 3 schools in this city. This rating is based on a variety of measures, including academic performance and equity. Question: Are the GreatSchools ratings official? Why is the gap so huge? What can the community do to close the gap?My evaluation below is based on their potential

Good school for the most part, some of the staff is rude. Lately I’ve been having issues with the tag pick up staff. They look at you as if you don’t belong and rushly wave their hands at you to go even if the car infront of you is going slow. They try to target people who they feel they can get away with. Every day since February has been a nightmare picking and dropping my son off from school because they know my car by now and are very rude to me everyday although I drive slow and watch for kids I am still a target. Other than that my son has obtained honor roll since kindergarten and has had some really great teachers.

As a Christian family, my parents and I chose this school with the sincere hope that it would offer a safe, respectful, and faith-based environment—something I didn’t experience in public school due to bullying and racism. Unfortunately, what we found was not better, but worse.Despite the school’s Christian foundation, the values of kindness, fairness, and inclusion that we expected were not reflected in the culture here. I will not name individuals or go into detail, but I have personally experienced repeated instances of being singled out and mistreated, including blatant racism from a staff member. I have documentation of these events and brought my concerns to the appropriate channels, but meaningful change did not follow.For African-American students and their families considering this school, I urge you to reconsider. Being one of very few Black students (often 1 in 15, rarely more than 3 in a class) already makes it difficult not to feel isolated. But what makes it worse is the lack of support and understanding from both peers and faculty.This experience has been deeply disappointing. No student should feel unsafe, unwelcome, or unworthy—especially in a place that claims to reflect the love of Christ.

We love this school with the majority of our experience being with the Harbour View Campus. The classroom size and instruction has allowed our children to thrive and grow while also receiving additional support in areas that are more challenging for them. They look forward to going to school every day and we attribute that to the school environment that feels like an extension of our family. All staff and teachers get to know teachers whether they are directly teaching them or not.The opportunities to experience activities and events at both campuses increases the community and culture experience. Our children particularly love the chances they’ve had to interact with older students and the learning partnerships that are created. Highly recommend!! If cost is a concern, they do have opportunities for financial support that would be worth exploring.