Loyal Heights

Previously attended this school and I’m not afraid to admit who I am, This is Daphne Peters. This school was terrible for my mental health and whole entire experience as a child in a school, but two people made it as terrible as it was, Julianna Williams former teacher and Micheal Berkenwald current principal. These two claimed to be trying their best to make a comfortable learning experience but I can’t recall a time where I felt safe, involved, or equal to others. I want to shout out one person, Britney Ryder. School counselor and very well may be the only person who actually made this school even slightly enjoyable. I genuinely wish the remodel was never completed because I think those two people are the reason why I go into middle school being constantly in fear of teachers screaming

All the teachers are fine but the history teacher assigns so much work that even the best students in my grade are drowning in work. I get panic attacks and horrible stress issues because of her, she grades and assigns like a high school teacher. She acts kind and understanding until week 3 of her class, and suddenly you realize she's assigned 3 high school level assignments before your first month of 7th grade. All the other teachers are fine.

We learned of Matheia from family friends, and it’s been a great experience. The size of the school (40-55 students total, K-5th) and the fact that every class works with every teacher means that, over the years, Matheia’s teachers really get to know their students. Literacy and social emotional learning are central throughout the curriculum, and for our son, science class with Christina is what gets him out of bed in the morning. The art program is also really robust- I’m a little jealous. ;) They have also preserved outside time- 1 hour- each day, which is rarer and rarer these days in elementary education. Because they are a small school with a small staff, sometimes communication is a little slow, and they don’t have the resources for sports teams or a large music program, in house, but the PTA and staff have worked to find outside resources for extracurricular opportunities. I wholeheartedly recommend Matheia to families I meet, and we’ll be sad to leave at the end of 5th grade.