St Matthew School

The teachers really care and are involved. Fun activities to help a child grow.

This school is academically very, very poor. In two years here, my child has learned less than nothing. And I mean that literally; my child is backsliding due to lack of stimulation and presence of qualified educators. Worse than a daycare. I may as well start homeschooling, since I'm already doing it to keep my kid from falling behind despite being enrolled. This school uses substitutes, including long term subs, that are not equipped to teach or even tolerate children. My child has reported alarming behavior from staff, like refusing to let kindergarteners use the bathrooms until they wet themselves (multiple students), using cotton swabs inside kids ears in the classroom, not disclosing incidents to parents, yelling, and refusing to release an entire class (to lunch, recess, end of day) because of one or a few students behavior, but refusing to actually intervene on physical misbehaviors that put students at risk. Communication is poor; you're expected to constantly monitor multiple sites for updates, which they may or may not actually give you access to. Policies change frequently and are inconsistently enforced. Leadership is incredibly ineffective (especially for whatever a "leadership academy" is). This school also encourages kids to be a friend to everyone, which is all well and good until you're being bullied, harassed, and/or harmed and your teachers response is to 'just keep being nice' while they do nothing about it. It's a toxic life lesson in how to accept abusive behavior and kids don't need it. The golden rule and fairness is always better.I have yet to meet a satisfied parent with a child who has attended this school. I suspect the only decent reason to attend this school is it's level of ESL support. I grew up in this city, and if this is the quality of education I had received, I think my parents would have left. If you have a choice, stay away.

This school cares more about indoctrinating kids into a very specific kind of fundamentalist Christian viewpoint than it does about their education or well-being. It lacks any sort of diversity or academic rigor. It doesn't teach actual science. They don't teach about evolution. They teach that dinosaurs walked the Earth with men. An extremely discredited belief that has no scientific foundation outside of that weird Ark museum in Kentucky. The "head of school" is a sexist. Their dress code is enforced in the most sexist and racist ways possible. There is very little diversity. They make no accommodations for students or families with different needs. The message is "suck it up and deal or leave." They take tons of tax dollars and give back nothing to the community. Go here if you love Donald Trump.

My highschooler was observed not paying attention in chapel. As a punishment he was denied lunch. When I tried to reach out to the principal he would not respond. This was not a one off. Their approach to discipline is punitive and shame based. The principal mostly avoids conflict, so cannot be relied on for help. This school is exceptionally terrible. If you want your kids to have a picture of God who is angry, punitive, shames, and is far off, send your kids here.