Atholton High School

We are a military family on a 2-3yr PCS cycle. This school is fantastic!!!!! The teachers, staff, admin and parents are great. My middle and youngest children attended and were supported with IEPs and 504s. They worked with us before school and during to be sure the kids felt ready and comfortable. They worked with me as a team to teach the kids how to advocate for themselves. They were knowledgeable and had great suggestions and ideas to help with adjustments. I am so thankful that we were able to spend the time here that we did!!! I hope they receive a Blue Star rating for being military friendly.

My son is in 5th and my daughter is in K. We have lived in this neighborhood for 16 years. When we moved 6 years ago we deliberately looked to stay in the Stevens Forest neighborhood. This is a gem of a school. Every student, except 1 small bus load, are walkers which means every friend is walking distance away. There are only 2-3 classes of 15-22 students at each grade level so every student knows each other and every teacher knows every child. Also, teachers who come to Stevens Forest stay at Stevens Forest. Happy teachers create such a positive, happy learning environment. There are tons of resources and supports for all learners. And because of its location I never worry about sudden growth and overcrowding. This is a true community elementary school and I recommend it to everyone when they are looking to move to Columbia.

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!

General flow of day to day for your child: There are plenty of well kept resources and learning that you can visually tell is academically benefitting the children. There is a big emphasis on the children learning independently first before staff support and intervention. I love this part, especially since it helps the children learn more independence at a young age. However, The staff are literally taught not to help the children at all, even if you see them struggling, until they verbally have to ask for the help themselves …..very strange “rituals” especially dealing with children. Children shouldn’t have to feel the excessive need to struggle, just to receive basic help. It’s ok if they try something, can’t do it, and an employee then steps in to help and assist to completion. Not contributing intentionally, just increases the chances of a child having more unsettling reactions based out of disappointment, anxiety, fear, etc. This would be ok, if these were elementary school kids, but pushing these excessive standards and rituals on the young Pre-K to K kids is concerning honestly and just flat out too strict. Culture/atmosphere: SELECTIVE employees are generally bright, kind, and nurturing. Parents are given nothing but respect, though they could be catered to as well, in terms of more updates on their child’s academic learning, physical safety, and socioemotional development and safety. Parents like to feel included and not left in the dark on what is going on with their child in school. The main issue this is all pointing to is the directors and how they choose to run and conduct this business. They view it as a business to make profits off of parents. Your kid will definitely learn a lot here, but honestly for better management, practice, and emotional security, you can find somewhere else that knows how to treats their students and employees better.Because if they’re not treating the employees well, that affects the kids, and the kids affect the parents. So we’re all in troubled waters here, if management doesn’t improve and isnt more culturally progressive with each other and the children.

In our family's experience, Cradlerock is a small community school with administrators, teachers, and staff who truly seek to address each student as an individual and a whole person. Over the years, I've enjoyed speaking with many of them and seeing all of them host several before-and-after-school outreach events for parental input (monthly online plenary meetings) and interactive parental guidance (Math, Reading, Science, and Social-Emotional Awareness Nights). Our child has taken advantage of free small group, after-school, teacher-led tutoring, and above-grade math classes, while auditioning and participating in the school's musical! CRES also has the benefit of last year's best all-around county psychologist. Principal Notari and one of the two VPs are new this year, but doing well and fully invested as far as we can tell. The CRES PTA has been a strong, influential organization each of the several years we've been there too, which also speaks volumes. We're so grateful to have these men and women in our children's lives, pushing and prodding them to be their best selves, academically, creatively, emotionally, and physically! If we could fund all their needs and give them all raises, our family would. They literally ROCK!