Bellview Junction Academy

The leadership and staff at this school appear to be on a constant power trip. Simple requests turn into drawn-out conflicts, and parents are treated more like adversaries than partners. The overall atmosphere is tense, unprofessional, and unnecessarily confrontational.This is not the kind of environment most parents want their children in. If you value cooperation, respect, and a school that actually works with families, you may want to look elsewhere.

This school is highly frustrating in their measures to ensure that the children get the proper help. No summer school is available unless the child is disabled. No after school programs to help the child catch up. No reading help when your child is more than two grades below on Math and English.

My daughter went to Sherwood Elementary from 1998 to 2001, and had a great experience. The school was old, but clean, and not run down, and dirty like it is now. I recently attended grandparents day to have lunch, and attend the book fair with my grandchild. I didn't expect lunch to be good, so no surprises there. The children served themselves hot food of their choice, not always the best choices, onto flimsy styrofoam plates, and miraculously made it to their tables with out the need of cleanup from the disgusting mop bucket full of black water in the main walkway in the cafeteria! My grandchild's kindergarten teacher is by far the greatest disappointment. The children have no desks, and no appointed seating at all. They have stations that they just migrate to, and basically do as they please. The rooms decor is rundown, and dirty. Not bright, and colorful to spark imagination, and learning. Her teacher was an ill tempered woman that sat at her table filled with "stuff" and yelled at the children that she was "Fixing to have to take away points if they didn't shut up. You are supposed to be reading not talking in reading group." I left this once loved school with tears in my eyes, and pain in my heart knowing that my grandchildren have to attend this school. What happened?!

I pick up my sister from this school every day and have never had any issues—until recently. This past Friday, my car unexpectedly shut off while I was in the pickup line. I had two young children in the car, including my autistic son, so I was trying to avoid blocking traffic or creating a safety issue.I moved to an open area and repeatedly tried to get the attention of the staff member directing traffic (an older woman with gray, shoulder-length curly hair), explaining that it was an emergency. She ignored me multiple times and made no effort to assist, even after responding that she could hear me. She did not make eye contact or acknowledge the situation at all.Eventually, another staff member stepped in and helped by calling my sister over the intercom. The lack of response from the original staff member was extremely concerning. In a situation that could have been more serious, the outcome could have been much worse.I understand that pickup can be busy, but staff should be trained to respond to urgent situations and communicate respectfully with parents and guardians. This experience left me feeling completely disregarded and concerned about overall safety during pickup.

The school and faculty is more concerned about the length of students' haircuts than they are about an inclusive and safe environment. Almost no students stand for the pledge of allegiance. Students yell out racial slurs during class with no repercussions. Teachers bully kids and some trauma dump their own issues on students. Toxic environment with unavailable principal. A few quality teachers, but no solid discipline policies in place leaving teachers to handle disruptive students on a daily basis. No reading program in place at all. This school is like a last resort for the catholic system and does not live catholic values. Waste of money and should be shut down or overhauled.