Stephens Elementary School

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"Man from where can I start? straggle after straggle affter straggle. lack of strong leadership and professionalism makes it hard to work with the teachers to achieve the level of excellence that we expect from our kids. unfortunately I am taking my kid away from that school."This post is in reply to the above comment.I have 3 kids go to Huda Academy. 3rd, 1st and PK-4. School has its shares of issues and problems but then which place is perfect. It depends on the priority that we as parents have.School has excellent Islamic curriculum and strong environment that supports its islamic foundation. At the same time good curriculum for ELA, Maths, Science and Social Studies.As a parent I make sure I spend time with my kids to know exactly where they are in their respective classes. If i have an issue I approach their teachers, all the faculty including our principal are approachable, and valid issues gets addressed. I have nothing but praise for the faculty and principal who demonstrate excellent work ethic to compete with other schools in the area with such limited resources in comparison to better funded private and public schools.School participates in city and statewide science and spelling-bee competitions. Has great after school clubs such as chess, writing and drama. The teaching staff comes from all backgrounds and has a great diversity across faiths and races.I would recommend future parents to please contact the school administration and experience yourself, after all you are responsible for the future of your kids.

As a Black mom, I’m very thoughtful about where I place my child. I want an environment where he’s supported, where teachers communicate openly with parents, and where young children are given patience while they learn. Unfortunately, that was not our experience here.For months, we were not told that our son wasn’t speaking much in the classroom. The first time it was brought to our attention was only after biting incidents began happening. What was especially concerning to us was that our son had previously been bitten himself, and the biting behavior only started after that. Earlier communication would have allowed us to partner with the school and address things sooner.The school later suggested an evaluation. The results were eye-opening for us. On the paper-based assessment, our son performed ahead developmentally. However, the observation portion raised concerns about how he was interacting in the classroom environment. It appeared that he had largely shut down at school.Based on what we later learned and observed, it often felt like our son was spoken to and corrected much more sternly than other children his age. While I cannot speak to anyone’s intentions, the experience left us feeling that he was being treated unfairly and that the classroom approach was not supportive for him.Ultimately, we made the decision to remove him from the program. When we arrived the next day to pick him up, his belongings were already packed. We did not receive a follow-up conversation, note, or any expression of care about his departure, which was difficult after trusting the school with our child.I’m sharing this so other parents — especially Black mothers — feel empowered to ask early questions about how concerns are communicated, how toddler behavior is handled, and how schools partner with families when challenges arise. Our children deserve patience, transparency, and care while they are still so little.