Mountain View Elementary School

It’s a great school but there are incidents that occur such as the recent arrest of Mareno Smith who was a fourth grade teacher.

I really didn't like my experience! The school doesn't have good communication between school and parents.My daughter has ADHD, her teaching was horrible, and the feedback was never specific. And they decided to take action in the last week of school. I was surprised and disappointed.I once read that if your child's performance is average to excellent, Murdock is a great school, but if they're average to poor, it's terrible. And I experienced that firsthand.

Both my sons have attended this school, and my youngest is set to graduate. We have had a wonderful experience in every facet at Shallowford Falls. The Special Ed dept is overseen and facilitated to meet students where they are. The team mentality on IEP teams is such a heartwarming feeling and reduces the stress of advocating. The volunteers who assist SF are amazing--from the PTA, Foundation, Super Dads, the library restockers, and everyone in between. Teachers are attune to students' social and emotional well-being and issues are dealt with fairly and compassionately. My sons are Black, and finding a school where they are accepted has been monumental. In regards to a previous review regarding the discrimination during AM carpool, we have never witnessed or experienced what the original poster claims. Each morning, what we do see, are teachers assisting to unload the cars of Special Need students. We are currently in our 8th year at this school, and in all those years, the only cars who we have witnessed where teachers open doors and help unload the kids are those cars with Special Needs students who pull all the way to the front. This is our 8th year, and each and every day, that is what we see. Teachers are trained to not open doors or assist any students except those who are disabled. I'm disheartened the previous poster finds this "comical" and it shows their own lack of inclusion and acceptance. If we could go back and time and do elementary school again, we would pick Shallowford Falls in a heartbeat. It has been instrumental in providing a safe and inclusive environment where our children have been able to grow into the humans they are now and ultimately ready for middle school. The passion of the teachers is untouchable and this example starts with the admin team. Shallowford Falls = 10 out of 10 stars.

I've had two children at Nicholson over the past 4 years (one of which is now at McCleskey MS). We moved from a larger elementary school (Mountain View) and having both a larger and smaller school experience, I can 100% without hesitation recommend Nicholson. The students are extremely well supported, the teachers are communicative, and the school goes out of their way to ensure families are connected. The school is much smaller than many nearby elementary schools, and even though I never thought that would be something I cared about, I now firmly believe in the smaller, familial environment that Nicholson provides compared to the colder "you're just a number" environment we had before. Everyone at Nicholson knows my kids names and even asks about my son even though he's moved on to Middle School. The teachers truly care about our kids. They also take safety very, very seriously. The doors are always locked and now require ID to get into the building. Even though they know my face by now (4 years of volunteering and coming in/out of the buidling for lunches with my kids), they still stop me and ask me to sign in and provide ID. I appreciate their dedication to ensuring everyone in the building has a reason for being there. The musical theatre program that Ms. Stephan (the music teacher) leads is top notch. Through the program, PSB Creative, the students learn invaluable teamworking skills and how to work towards a goal as a team. I can't emphasize enough how lucky we are to have found this program and this school. I cannot imagine a better environment for my kids to be in.