Gateway Christian Elementary School

School has been gutted of funding and community support by loss of attendance due to large presence of charter schools in area. School is not supported by district effectively to address behavioral issue, safety or special education. Teachers and staff fight hard for students here, get burnt out and then leave. If your kid has an IEP, I suggest changing zip codes, as SLPS does not have Special School District and does all their IEPs in house and support isolation of students with disabilities instead of integration. Lack of resources increases disparities among marginalized youth, students are actively going through trauma while in the building itself and there is only one counselor and one part-time Social Worker who have way too much on their plate. Probably one of the most violent places I have ever worked, and its an elementary school. School has been unable to get a PTO to form over the years, hindering their ability to involve parents and community.

Today while attending a school field trip I overheard an exchange between a staff member and a parent. Basically what was disturbing was the comment that came out of the staff member's mouth regarding one of the students. The parent asked why her child was not in attendance at the field trip and the staff member said because "she do too much" meaning the child and that she didn't have time for it today. The parent did get upset and this lead to a heated verbal exchange between the parent and the staff member. Unprofessionalism at is finest. Very disappointing to hear and to see.

I love LPA the community is amazing. The teachers work with the parents to ensure their child is getting the best education possible. You can ask any questions to staff and parents and will get an honest answer. The turn over rate is low. All the teachers know the children. This me and my children first year and it was a great choice.