Jones Elementary School

The school seems to teach for the statewide test that are given. My daughter had lessons on the same topics for months at a time. The Leadership is there to say no more than to help the kids grow. There is not a real sense of community. Through online learning during the pandemic it as obvious teachers were not teaching. Her teacher meet with the students for a short time and then assigned them graded homework that it was up to the parents to teach and help the student with. Bottom line before the pandemic and after the pandemic, the school seems more interested in their ranking than actually teaching the students for the long term and providing a strong foundation for them to succeed in a highly ranked university.

I had three kids at SJE and each had good years and bad years. The quality of the teachers is extremely inconsistent. One year, it feels like your kid’s teacher is the best and then the next year, it’s poor instruction, poor classroom management and disorganization. There’s no social emotional curriculum and it’s sorely needed. There’s kids having all sorts of problems that go unaddressed - learning difficulties, bullying, - and it just gets ignored for years. The middle school has overcrowded classrooms (there are no lockers and full backpacks on the floor) and no electives to offer. The discipline policy is inconsistent and negative. We didn’t really connect with other families and the kids don’t have good opportunities to bond. We switched to public school and feel like it was the best move we ever made.

Our son started at SMES in 2nd grade and just graduated from 8th grade. He is a better person for having gone to SMES. There have been bumps, challenges and big changes along the way, and obviously we went thru COVID, but in the end the full St Martin’s Community is rich with love, care, and passion focused on building kids with character that can go out into the world and make it better. There is every kind of sports and activity you can imagine (they are always working to come up with new options) & it’s very inclusive…for kids of all skill levels that want to have fun. The school is rigorous but not cut throat. The kids are pushed but aren’t stressed 24/7. At Smes your kids is in a community that lets them be a kid and stumble and grow. I grew up in public school (which I loved!) but having seen one of our kids go thru a K-8th independent school education (and one not) there is a noticeable difference in their confidence and readiness to jump into high school!