St John Fisher 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.

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

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.

We have enjoyed being part of the QM community for the past 5 years. The school families are wonderful and truly look out for one another. At the younger grades I felt my children were engaged and challenged academically. However, as they grew older I began to notice that the level of academics and teaching was subpar; a direct result of teacher quality. Don't get me wrong the staff is very helpful and embody the catholic faith-just not qualified to teach academic subjects at a level that I expect. Additionally, the new principal has been less than impressive. He has been overly concerned with enrollment numbers. By focusing on attracting new families, he has neglected current families. This has alienated many of the families that give their time and energy to help the school community and various programs. Oh, but he brought back football...so there's that? Maybe if there were more concern expressed with ensuring a quality academic education we would have stayed.