Pointers Run Elementary School

I absolutely love the staff at this school. Both my children are having a great experience here. One of my kids has an IEP and the specialists have done so much to help her develop her skills. I like that the parents are kept well informed of potential concerns and issues, lockdowns are handled well, and I really trust this school to educate my children and keep them safe. Thank you Swansfield!

Learning/Teaching: If you have a self-motivated kid, they'll do fine. Any shy/ unmotivated kids are ignored and swept under the rug. Half the teachers are there just to get a paycheck- lazy, lack of grading, want the easy way out without challenging the kids. Other half of the teachers are wonderful, but your kid's trajectory is impacted if they get a subpar teacher. Staff and administration relies on a rich demographic to make up for their teaching gaps with private tutors. Such a joke. Bringing up issues to administration is met with precanned language just to cover the school's liability.Special Education: Jump through hoops to get IEP meetings, makes parents prove issues above and beyond just because there aren't enough resources to truly support all the kids that need them. Again, the school just relies on parents being able to afford outside help. Safety: Front staff acts like any person coming into the building is an inconvenience to their day. They just buzz anyone in without properly vetting ID/ reason for their presence. Downplayed events in 2024 where adults were watching/taking pics of kids from other side of the fence and blamed it on "excited grandparents."

My wife and I cannot say enough good things about St. Louis school after 5 years with multiple children attending. The small community feel makes our experience feel personal like that of community schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and other North East schools. Why in the world Marylanders think county run schools can be better than community schools is beyond me. Maybe some families like the idea of redistricting, we certainly don't.Reading the comments of many critics makes me think either there are bad actors responding or simply some families leaving St Louis families "drink the cultural cool aid". The fact that people here are suggesting putting kids in public schools as a better alternative means they weren't actually a good fit for St Louis. In a state and county that calls up down and assigns pronouns to kindergarteners, if that is your thing public school is just for you. But when you want your kids to be held to a high standard that fosters respect, responsibility, and reverence then St. Louis is an amazing school and community for kids to learn and grow up.