St. Joseph Elementary School

Awesome school, my daughter is so excited to go to school everyday. We are Cliffwood proud

Ravine Drive is an amazing school. The teachers and staff are highly talented and dedicated to their craft and students.

Have had a very positive experience so far! The teachers are great, can’t say a bad thing about anyone I’ve met and interacted with! My son has been getting special services as well and the whole experience has been awesome!

The school is a run down, out dated day care.The appearance is filthy, there is no hot water!Bathrooms are not clean and no functioning at times.Supplies are limited as director/owner does not supply any!Cleaning supplies are cheap brands and not supplied regularly!There is rodent droppings in most rooms and animals that are in vestibule of building in cages that are not cared for and cages smell!Ceilings in most rooms leak water when it rains and she is in need at a new roof but refuses to get one because it is to expensive so covers up the water stains with paint monthly!Over payments/charges are a daily occurance and she is extremely difficult to work with when director is there.Director has young inexperienced kids run this place with no knowledge in education or handling children!

The teachers at SBS are state certified, dedicated teachers who maintain the highest standards for themselves and their students. Many teachers at SBS believe so strongly in the mission that they have dedicated their entire careers to the school, when teaching in a public school is clearly much more lucrative. My own children were encouraged from day one at SBS to reach for the stars, and went on to St. John Vianney HS, Ivy league schools, and science PhDs. They participated in, among other things, competitive athletics and second to none performing arts activities at SBS. They learned many lessons on the courts, fields, and stages because they got involved and were given so many opportunities to learn and perform in a confidence building, nurturing environment. Religion permeates every aspect of an education at SBS because it is first and foremost a school which strives to live, work and teach the message of Jesus Christ. So even in inevitable conflict, the staff of St. Benedict still wants what is right, what is the Christian way, what is best for the children. My children say to this day that the most influential lesson of SBS, the thing they carry with them into adulthood, is the values they learned - truly the foundation for life. As they are challenged constantly in this secular world, SBS alumni are people who believe in doing what is right. The St. Benedict Community is the place and the people, the family that has seen my family through the joys and tragedies of more than two decades. We pray for each other, support each other in ways we can not imagine we will need. As my children have moved out of the area and my husband works remotely, I can say without a doubt that the thing that keeps me living in Holmdel is St. Benedict Church and School. But don’t take my word for it - come to a first Friday Mass and see the kids with praise hands in the air singing Jesus in the Morning. Come to a Christmas pageant and see the third graders tell the story of Jesus’ birth while the first grade sheep wag their tails. Come to a baseball game or a Drama Club production. Stand in the hallway at the end of the day and hear our end of day blessing. Come to Mass on Sunday and see that there are kids and crying babies and old people who will ask you how you are, and pray for you if you need it. And then decide if you want this kind of family. All are welcome.