Third Creek Elementary School

This school can be wonderful depending on your child. Bullying is not properly addressed and I've seen 4 children removed from different homes and move to other schools or homeschool. The curriculum is a homeschool curriculum with "teachers" that help when it is needed. The teachers as someone else commented are clueless to what is actually happening socially among students. Children can be absolutely brutal and then smile and pretend they are nice and they believe them. If the child needs extra help in something socially or academically they are put into the "star" room which is for mentally handicap children. The school will convince you they are there to help and willing to go above and beyond yet will go against recommendations from therapists and councilors. They also act like it is a inconvenience. After all the money put into uniforms and extra stuff it's not worth it to have the child there less than several years. Even with the scholarship covering costs. They act like they are in financial trouble charging for award ceremonies and sports games, even the children's play!! It gets very expensive especially if grandparents and siblings want to go watch your going to be paying per person and child. It's outrageous the amount of things extra that there is a charge for. I actually totaled it up and with the extra stuff I had to pay for, uniforms, tickets into different things etc and I could have paid tuition at another local school for the year and probably would have had a better experience. They apparently don't believe in mental health because if your child has any issues at all they just use the suck it up method. Some of the teachers are wonderful but I've heard over a dozen complaints about the 2nd or 3rd grade teacher I think is what she teaches from different people and I didn't listen I thought it would be different but they were totally right. And lord forbid you complain because all your complaints will be brushed off like your the one that's crazy.

I’m a recent alum of SMS, and it was such a great place to grow up. It’s a really small school, which is honestly one of its greatest strengths. You get to know everyone, and the teachers truly care about you. They also supported me through a tough time in my life, and I’ll always be grateful for that :)In terms of academics, SMS is a little ahead of Iredell public schools. I got to take Math I in 8th grade and even took the EOC, which was a cool opportunity. I also loved getting to study Spanish from elementary thru middle school; Such a rare privilege!!Fourth and fifth grade were a tiny bit tough for me, but middle school was awesome. Homework can be challenging, but they offer study halls during the day and an afterschool program + homework room, which really helps.Overall, I’d definitely say SMS was worth it. Strong academics, amazing teachers, and a supportive community.