Ignite Online Academy

Since coming to Creekside, I have not needed to look any further to be satisfied with my work environment. Teachers work together to facilitate the best learning experiances possible and support students needs and abilities. The administration is personally and professionally supportive as well. Creekside serves a very diverse body of students and is very sensitive and supportive to cultural differnces and needs. It's easy to go to work when you love what you do! Creekside offers a positive environment where I feel valued. It makes a big difference in both daily interactions and in the long term vision for your work.

I have three kids at Ephesus, 2 started in kindergarten and are now in 4th grade. We have loved it here. Absolutely no bullying. The teachers have been great. Almost all classed have teacher assistants (like all Chapel HIll Elementary Schools--which are all great). I have heard about a few bad teachers, but they have "left" after a year or two. Not too much homework which I like. We are moving next year, and I'd really like to find something similar.

I can’t say enough good things about this school. We moved here from another district, hopeful to have more services for our children. One of our children who was falling behind at school and struggling to read, after a year at Estes had caught up with her peers and identified for gifted services. Our other child who has some social emotional challenges, has been supported and nurtured by multiple teachers and is now thriving. The school has a great parent community, feels safe, and many of the students walk or bike to school together. I’m not entirely sure with the other reviewers who mentioned the administration are referencing, but they had an administration shift in 2017 and I don’t see any complaints after that. Their principal and assistant principal are amazing and engaged. We haven’t had any conflicts with our kids, but for my understanding they handle those things really well.

My younger brother attends this school and for over a year he’s been constantly bullied. The bully breaks his stuff, rips his jeans, and recently took my brothers glasses off his face and broke them. Not once has any solution been done they keep excusing the bully’s actions. At this point my parents are done with this school that has done nothing to reprimand a bully that’s been tormenting my brother for over a year.

As both a parent and former teacher at Montessori Day School, I wanted to share my experience for families considering enrollment.I was part of the school community for over six years as a parent and three and a half years as a teacher. While I deeply value Montessori philosophy, I gradually became concerned that the school was moving away from those principles.I observed outdated curriculum materials, limited program growth, and a lack of meaningful support for children with additional needs. Teachers were caring and dedicated but often overextended and under-supported, frequently supplying classroom materials themselves. I also had concerns about maintenance and safety issues within the physical environment.Over time, I found the leadership culture discouraging, with inconsistent policies, poor communication, and resistance to feedback or change. My own experience as both a teacher and parent became increasingly difficult, and ultimately I no longer felt comfortable having my child attend the school.I want to emphasize that many teachers genuinely care about the children and work hard under challenging circumstances. My concerns are primarily about leadership, school culture, and systemic issues that I believe families should be aware of when making decisions for their children.Families deserve transparency, teachers deserve support, and children deserve environments truly prepared to meet their needs.

I attended St. Thomas More for not very long. Overall, I would say that your experience at this school (especially 6-8 grade) depends more on how long you have been there. The kids are usually pretty nice, but there are some mean kids that just won’t learn from all the times they have gotten in trouble. Some boys make fun of quiet kids and it gets annoying. The teachers are pretty nice but the classrooms are a bit empty and the lessons aren’t way too fun. We learn important things though. It definitely is a good thing that it is Catholic. But, the school reads more as a k-5 and 6-8 school than a k-8 school. The elementary and middle school don’t communicate a lot and I wished we were a bit more connected. The only things in common are school wide events and the uniforms. Being sporty also matters a lot. There aren’t really a lot of arts programs in the middle school. The specials are pretty full of materials. We usually just play sports in P.E. I would recommend it but I definitely would look at other schools beforehand.

We have been at MCS for 7+ years, and are very happy! Great curriculum, teachers/staff, gorgeous campus. Our kids are thriving.