Keller Elementary Gifted Magnet School

This school is terrible. The diverse learners hit each other and bully each other and no one is doing anything about it. The principal and assistant principal are dismissing it and not doing anything helpful about it. A diverse learner boy got his face smashed into the wall right by the stairs with no supervision and his tooth got chipped. Do not let your child come here. This is the worst principal I have ever seen and she needs to be fired. They didn’t give the girl who did it any punishment or repercussions. Then she has been bullying the boy for years, she kicked him in his leg and sprained something and tripped him during one of their trips and broke his leg. The teachers tried to cover it up saying he just “fell”. In one of the pictures they send out to parents after trips, you can see the girl trying to hit him and him cowering away. Nobody ever did anything or told anything as to what happened and we had to find out because she chipped his tooth. This school is very dangerous and overall terrible.

My experience with this school has been very disappointing. One of the biggest issues is that students only get 15 minutes of recess, which is not nearly enough time to relax, socialize, or get physical activity during the day. Breaks are important for students’ mental health and focus, but the schedule here feels too strict and limiting.Another problem is that many of the rules feel unnecessary and make the school environment less enjoyable. Instead of creating a supportive and balanced atmosphere for students, the policies often make the day feel stressful and rushed.Overall, this school does not provide the kind of positive and supportive environment that students need to learn and grow. With such limited recess time and strict rules, it can make the school experience frustrating rather than enjoyable. My kid does have better grades since attending this school, but it feels like there is less emotional support for students.

Terrible experience here. The parents and kids are bullies. The school discriminates.

I am so pleased with the education that my child is receiving at St. Christina. She is way advanced of other children in the same grade as her and I give the credit to this school. The teachers actually care, this is a family place, not a factory that just wants to get the days over with. I would recommend this school to anyone in the area.

Overall, I have had a terrible schooling experience at MPA. I started in first grade and have been here 12 years. The problems truly start in middle school when we move into “harder” topics. If you do not understand what is going on, you will NOT receive any 504 plan or extra guidance. If you are neurodivergent of any sort, I would absolutely stay away from this school. The students don’t want to learn and often complain about ANY work given. Majority use ChatGPT on everything, but if you are related to the school in any way, shape, or form, you will not receive any disciplinary actions. Teachers kids are given special treatment and often bully others. Yes, their parents know, and no, they do not do anything about it. If you are Black, you will generally not be discriminated against. However, if you are any other ethnicity, people will judge. I have experienced this almost every year I’ve been at MPA as a mixed person who is white passing. I will note, many teachers love and are great at their jobs, but many do not know the content they are teaching because they are forced to teach classes they aren’t qualified for or interested in. I’ve also never had an issue with safety here, you are definitely in a bubble when on campus. MPA loves family engagement! That is, if your family offers a surplus of money on top of tuition costs. The galas they host are over $300/person, where the gala activities are things like fundraising or auctions. Notice how they all involve giving away more money. A huge issue is also the heating and air conditioning. The school is old, yes, but there are truly some days where it is so hot people are borderline passing out. I’ve seen it happen to a very close friend when a classroom was 86°. MPA also doesn’t call off school for these issues most of the time. We have had weeks where we had no heating and their solution was just to get rid of block periods so you could move around between classes, but that doesn’t work when passing periods are only 3 minutes. My main personal issue with this school is the lack of theater. Even in upper school, the shows are barely funded, if at all. We put on a singular musical every school year, while neighboring schools have student led plays, multiple performances, and A BUDGET!! Our director refuses to make schedules, is always late, takes copious amounts of smoke breaks (mid show), and promises more than he can give. MPA is simply way too expensive to have this many problems and not work on them.

My two kids have been going to St walters St Benedict School since Pre-school. I can tell you for free it's one of the best decision we made as a parent. We contemplated changing school because we live far from the school but, the school always out perform themselves in academy, school culture and etc. So we are going to be sticking to the school for a long time. They do have excellent teachers who pay attention to every detail. The school's communication with parents is topnotch. I see improvements on one of my kids this session. My mind is always at peace whenever they are in school knowing they are in good hands.