Riverdale Middle School

Parent & Volunteer Experience at Tara SchoolI began my journey at Tara School as a volunteer and later became a parent with children enrolled. Unfortunately, my overall experience has been deeply disappointing due to ongoing issues with professionalism, communication, leadership, and, most critically, student safety.One of the most troubling aspects has been the school’s lack of transparency around serious safety incidents. Over the past few years, there have been multiple threats—including gun and bomb threats—that were not communicated to parents. Additionally, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several outbreaks on campus that were not disclosed to families. These decisions, made at the administrative level, created unnecessary risks and left many parents feeling blindsided and excluded from essential information about their children's well-being.The front office staff has also been consistently unresponsive and disorganized. Phone calls often go unanswered, and routine administrative tasks like registration have taken up to two months due to poor coordination and a general lack of accountability. Interactions with office staff often feel rushed or unhelpful, and there seems to be little effort made to assist parents in a respectful and informed manner.Leadership within the school has been equally disappointing. The principal, in my experience, lacks effective leadership skills and is often dismissive of parent concerns, with little to no follow-up on important issues. While the assistant principal does appear to care about the students, her professionalism at times feels inconsistent.Family engagement—a priority in most school communities—is nearly nonexistent. Events are rare, poorly organized, or not communicated effectively. Teachers also tend to fall short in keeping parents informed when students begin to struggle academically. Often, parents only find out once the situation has already become serious.Overall, my experience at Tara has been marked by a lack of professionalism, poor communication, ineffective leadership, and concerning lapses in safety and transparency. I sincerely hope that the school takes urgent steps to improve in these areas for the benefit of all students and families.

I’m a student at this school. The 5th grade teachers are actually so cool. But… some students here are rather questionable. They curse, and “roast” people for no reason. The gifted program is cool, they give us homework, but not TOOO much. There are a lot of activities for after school! I’ve been here since kindergarten (Covid), and the school is pretty educational.

Worst school to ever send you’re child

Horrible!!! Would not recommend at all!!! Especially not for kids with special needs. Horrible, horrible, horrible! I told the principal I would report to the board and her response was “all they are going to do is call me and ask me what happened” like what!!!!?

If you care about your child’s safety find another school for them to learn and grow. This school will place your child on the wrong bus even after submitting proper paperwork for change . When reaching out to the principal Dixon character , she doesn’t respond to parents concerns . This school’s focus needs to be towards running a school and not a janky daycare . The teachers are always absent in kindergarten and they especially do not ensure safe dismissal home for the younger children. The school should be shut down and it’s sad that this is how they are treating a predominantly people of color community