St Cajetan Elementary School

Our child started at Clissold for PreK 4s and is now in 1st, and has grown so much - academically and socially. We have been very pleased with the education our child receives.

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.

Great school. Not sure about special needs so voted in the middle.

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.

St John Fisher has many wonderful attributes. The principal is great and in tune with students and staff. Staff we have encountered have been friendly and caring. This is definitely a 'local' community school, meaning that many or most students are from the immediate area surrounding the school. I think many school families have old ties to the school and each other and it seems to show when it comes to parental and volunteer involvement. This would be the negative or minus one star. While I wouldn't use the word favoritism, it is difficult to describe what it's like as a parent. Many parents feel the disconnect and inability to easily get involved, and have thus given up. This is a shame and I was really hoping for something different as a school experience, as making the investment in Catholic education for us was making a whole family investment of being involved with our child's schooling and community. Overall we feel SJF is a great school, that is lacking in inclusion from the family and parental perspective. I have noticed comments about lacking in Catholic values, I don't believe that is necessarily the case. One and one, I have had only one experience with a person at the school being awful, basically, and everyone else has been wonderful....