Powell Elementary

Conn practices tracking at a very young age, putting kids with higher tests scores (who are predominantly upper class and white) in more challenging classes, which reinforces racial and class inequality. It's a common yet extremely disturbing practice, and it needs to stop.

We switched schools to come here in 2nd grade and I'll just quote my almost 8 year old - "Hunter is the best school on the east coast!" He is a nerd and he has found his nerdy people! The electives are incredible, the teachers are incredible, and everyone is just so kind and normal and excited to be there. He goes to school happy and comes home happy. I couldn't ask for a better school for him and I'm thrilled to be a part of such a special place.

It breaks my heart to write this review. Our time at Joyner has stretched over many years. Joyner used to be a great school, very community oriented, warm, welcoming, and fun. My older child had a fantastic time there. But this isn’t the case anymore. A few years ago some redistricting occurred which brought in a large group of new kids. These kids have needs which clearly cannot/are not being met at Joyner. There are almost daily fights, angry and violent outbursts directed at staff and students, scary behavioral meltdowns - sometimes leading to EMS being called, horrible curse words are screamed during these events, fire alarms being pulled by students, etc. Most of the staff’s time and energy is spent dealing with this. At this point my child is mostly bored, working at a much lower level than her ability. She is doing a large amount of busy work which she believes is meant to keep kids occupied while the teachers deal with other situations. She is irritated, anxious, and sometimes afraid of the outbursts. The teachers are trying their best to deal with it. The resources are limited and the entire situation is sad. We are glad we got to be a part of Joyner at its best, but if we had to start now we would look for something different.

This school's biggest advantage is it's GT/AIG program and the variety of electives it provides to enrich the kid's forte including but not limiting to ELA/MATH AIG courses, Orchestra, Choir, Dance ensembles, Art to name a few. Most teachers are very supportive to the kid's needs and they work as a community for the betterment of the kids. The parent involvement is awesome and the school welcomes ideas/inputs from parents to a great extent.