Sherwood Forest Elementary

Bolton is the local school for the Ardmore/Hawthorne community which is primarily comprised of middle-class homes with college educated parents. However, 99% of students come from low-income families—it’s right here on great schools. That is because Ardmore families do not send their children to Bolton. There are six families on my block with young elementary kids and now that I have withdrawn my child...zero attend Bolton. It's private school or home school. Bolton buses children in from across the city for diversity in a huge gerrymandered school zone that doesn’t serve anyone properly.The culture is not conducive to learning and is focused on discipline, procedure, and lots of worksheets. Our daughter was here less that 4 months and we had two incidents of her having to defend herself from pushing and touching her clothes by little boys. We also had to opt-out of homework because our kindergartener was given assignments to complete over the course of a month. You get to choose the assignments, but kindergarteners should NOT have homework.The school looks like the just one I attended for elementary 30 years ago, it’s very old and run down except for large tv’s in every classroom. It did always appear clean though. They use an app called Classdojo to communicate with you, but you have to send written letters to them about everything even with phone calls and app messages. They tell you not to send your child with any sickness whatsoever, yet badger you about an absence. There is no accountability, everything is blamed on their "Systems" and "Procedures."You’re treated as if you should be grateful, you as a parent ,are allowed a modicum of inclusion in your child’s education. We’re completely done with public school and WSFCS in general halfway through Kindergarten due our experience here.If you parent intentionally, please consider other options before sending your child here.

We have been at Jefferson for 6 years and love it! We have 2 more to go and are so excited! We love the experience our kids (and we) have had with the everyone at the school!

Our kids have thrived at Moore Magnet. We have a rising 3rd and 1st grader. The teachers and administrators are world class and love these students wholeheartedly. Our kids are developing a love for learning and diverse interests. We are grateful for the opportunity for our kids to walk or bike to school, and to attend a school where the student population is a good reflection of the population of our city.

My son came from another country with 0 English language 2 years ago. We were enrolled for K last year, this year he graduates from 1st grade and meets most of the expectations. Now he fixes me when I speak English. They have ESL class for students like him, a lot of activities for kids, and they treat students equally. Music teacher Ms. Rogers is his favorite and after the play we watched recently I can see why. If I need to talk to our teacher, counselor or principal, I know I can do it without an issue. I am so glad we chose this school, highly recommend!

My child has been going to Speas for four years now, K-3. We have found the IB curriculum very effective at fostering a love for learning, independence, and international awareness. The dual language program is very effective and our child has been exposed to teachers from many parts of the Spanish-speaking world. We are strong supporters of Speas. The administration is very welcoming to new families and there is a strong PTA supporting the excellent instructors.