McKinley Elementary School

My child and my family have been a part of MLS for 5 years now. In that time, I have seen the school grow in opportunities for family involvement, opportunities for elective courses, and the ability to give one on one student support when needed. Our family's hope is that MLS would continue to grow and allow for a high school to become a part of the education they offer. The quality of education at MLS is wonderful. We do not have concerns that our child is not on par with the other private schools in Joplin. It also helps that the teachers have been very supportive when our child needed some extra help on an emotional and academic level.

We are very pleased with our first year at Thomas Jefferson. Our family has lived in many cities around the country and have always made top notch schools a priority when choosing a place to live. Our older children all went to public schools and have gone on to earn scholarships at private universities. We have one elementary school aged daughter left at home, and TJ is our first venture into private schools. When schools were shut down during covid our daughter developed some speech issues and struggled with reading. Her teacher at TJ noticed this and offered our little girl the opportunity to stay after school one day a week to work on reading with a high school "Big Sister". Our daughter not only caught up to her peers but developed a new love for reading. The small class size, professional teachers, and extreme focus on academic excellence allows teachers to catch issues before they become problems.At a small private school in a small town, you would expect things to be cliquish. There are definitely people with long established friendships, but everyone has been very welcoming and kind to us. It truly is a community approach to schooling. Parents are welcomed to be involved and there are several family focused events. If you want an academic experience for your children that is personalized and focused on helping them reach their full potential, I highly recommend checking out Thomas Jefferson.

They didn't follow their own handbook guidance and our sin was harassed and exposed to the worst language you could think of. We brought this to the schools attention and we were given 1 days notice not to return. We also had to get a legal letter drafted for return of the advanced tuition we had paid. The school refused numerous times to return over $500 in advanced tuition. After several emails we finally got refunded, but they acted like it was a favor and didn't think they needed to even though their guide book clearly stated all advanced tuition is refunded at a prorated rate. Don't waste your time, it's only Christian in name and the superintendent and elementary principle are completely a fascade. There so much more that's going on there, but I'm not washing another second on this school. The board and founders should be embarrassed.