1690 Pine Ridge Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30324

Horrible organization and horrible leadership, in unsafe area, horrible bus transportation that doesn't even come half the time with kids missing, tons of bullying and toxic school environment . Prison like yard for lunch and play. Toxic sludge for food. No regular fitness and only 15 minutes of outside time a day with NOTHING but grass and concrete (not even a ball). Aggressive, unprofessional, bullying, raging teaches who treat young kids like they are criminal teenagers. Teachers don't teach and just rely on tech button clicking multiple choice software for their lessons. Kids are treated like robots and allowed to bully other kids, learning best from teachers that a bullying is okay. Hateful place and kids using dr*gs in bathrooms

I attended Grady for two years (junior and senior) after attending a DeKalb County high school for two years, and the change was unbelievable. Granted, I took 10 AP classes during my time at Grady so my view is not holistic, but I absolutely loved my two years at GHS. I had many, many amazing teachers (notably Nichols for AP Calculus and Pope for AP US History), and I was heavily involved with the school's theatre and chorus programs. Grady students are very passionate about their interests (of which there are many), and the growing culture of academic competitiveness did wonders for my grades. That being said, the administration is kind of a mess and the school is not without its problems, but if you don't go looking for trouble you probably won't run into any.

It is time for someone to ask why Morningside elementary only has 1 counselor for 900+ students. Part of the reason is because they have a lot of students who qualify for gifted. The gifted teachers all somehow qualify as support staff which means the students who are not gifted and have no contact with the gifted teachers, all have to rely on one counselor. It is easy to see why there have been 4 different counselors at Morningside in the last 4 years. If it's not working for the adults, how do you think it's working for the kids?The students at Morningside are generally performing above grade level. It's mostly because they come from well educated homes. This seems great at first glance. However, the students are pushed to continue making "progress" so that the school has good data. What this looks like in a classroom setting is a never ending push for more "growth" Students in a 3rd grade classroom made to use a computer program to teach themselves 6th grade level math. Students in a 5th grade classroom so far above grade level in reading that they use a computer program to learn about symbolism and figurative language on an 8th grade level. What these students need is real connection, not computer programs and MAP tests to give them anxiety. Pretty soon these kids will need more than a counselor who already has 900 kids to look after. Tell the administrators it's not right. Stand up for your children. Let them enjoy school instead of being pressured to perform for the State of Georgia and its precious data. Better yet, skip Morningside all together and enroll your children somewhere that you won't have to fight for them to be treated like the children they still are.