St Marys Elementary School

My children have gone to this school for many years, but over the past few years, there have been changes to the school that have significantly lowered my opinion of the school. The current principal clearly caters to the whims of white, wealthy parents. In the past, diversity was embraced, but now it is white-washed and ignored. Children used to learn about different cultures and traditions in their classrooms. Parent volunteers would come in share about different traditions in their cultures, kids would learn about the origins of the Hanukkah dreidel, they would do a craft for the Chinese New Year, and learn about why people celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Day of the Dead, or Diwali. However, that is gone now. There are no lanterns hanging for Chinese New Year. Children no longer celebrate Halloween by wearing costumes and participating in a parade. Kids no longer pass out cards spreading kindness on Valentine’s Day or do traditional holiday crafts, such as decorating boxes to collect Valentines. Classroom parties are on random days of the year and devoid of food (presumably because parents of wealthy kids think that their kids don’t need more sweets). This, of course, ignores the fact that cupcakes and candy are a treat for kids whose families who can’t afford them. These changes were supposedly made because Farmland is a diverse community and the school is trying to accommodate all families, but by ignoring cultural traditions, the opportunity to teach and embrace the traditions of others is lost. Kids are left to think that cultural traditions are things that you hide from others, because others may not like them. This year, they cancelled the open house for parents to come see what their kids do in the classroom during the school day. The announcement of the open house cancellation was made the day beforehand without explanation or consideration of the fact that some working parents took the day off work to come to the open house. They seem to assume that most parents who come to the open house don't work or have flexible work schedules. The school has a number of good teachers and overall, I have been happy with most of them. However, some of the good teachers have left to teach at other schools. The teachers are often the ones who have to announce and implement changes to school policies, and sometimes they seem to be left doing the dirty work of implementing policies and changes that are unlikely to be favorably received by parents at Farmland.

This school is great my only real gripe is the fact that the 4-5 grade counselor is part time so when I needed help she usually wasn’t there and when she was there the advice see gave me wasn’t very good but the principal is pretty good the food is good most of the time the building is gorgeous the and teachers are great.

Our child is in kindergarten and has had great experience so far. He really likes his teachers and looks forward to going to school every day. He also enjoys the aftercare and the after school clubs. All interactions with the staff have been really pleasant.

I wish I could say great things about the school. It looks very good on paper. They say all the right things. But they are not a partner to the parents. They are not a support to the students. I’m in the process of removing my child from the school. From an educational perspective, I’ve got no complaints. But having a child that struggles with mental health and anxiety, the school has totally totally failed us. I’m not sure what our other options are, but I’m not going to keep spending $40,000 a year For a school that is totally unhelpful to my child who is struggling. That said there are many positives, and if you have a child who is not struggling with stress and anxiety, then I wish you the best. If you have a child who struggles, then I cannot recommend the school for you. They’ve only cause my own child additional stress and mental pain. And what I’ve gone into ask for help, it’s fallen on deaf ears and I’ve been dismissed without any consideration of my feedback and recommendations.

Our experience at White Flint Children’s house has been great. Our children started from the toddler class to Kindergarten. It is a very nice diverse community. The staffs are very supportive and genuinely care about the development of the students. The academic program is really good and helped our children transition into elementary school easily.

Having been through lower and middle school I can say without a doubt how grateful I am that my child attended GAS. Everyone hears about the horrors middle school in general and here, it’s the exact opposite. The school allows kids to be kids without the pressure of having older ones around. They become leaders and self-advocates and have solid social circles. And the academics are deceivingly tough. Most students found that after leaving for high school they are placed in advanced classes and seem much more prepared than their peers. I know some parents are so concerned about whether their child will get into their high school of choice, but I promise that if you trust the process, you will reap the benefits. So happy to have been part of the Green Acres community. It’s a fabulous school.