Theresa Primary School

Amazing and caring staff! They go above and beyond for their students. My children have had a very good experience here and I’m very thankful!

This school is absolutely amazing, not only do they provide a quality education but the small classroom and small town feel bolster the performance and enables the school to also teach creative thinking. The staff of the school are warming and always willing to communicate. This school is very professional and likes to take an active role in the community and ensures students and families are aware of all sorts of events to keep the children plugged into the school and community. The school has also promoted cultural diversity by assisting with Fort Drum Heritage Observances.

Theresa Primary is by far the worst school either of my children have ever attended. And being a military family, my children have attended schools all over the country. When we moved to Fort Drum last summer I was dismayed to learn that my kindergartener was assigned to Theresa Primary, simply because of the absurdly far distance Theresa is from Fort Drum -- and because of Theresa's lackluster ratings. Against my better judgement, we did give Theresa a chance and enrolled our child there. And all I can say is that I now know to always trust my initial impression. I realized immediately that the administration at Theresa is extremely inflexible and unwelcoming to outsiders (the military in particular) and that their attitude about everything is that they have always done things a certain way and they will continue to do so. I was so used to schools that welcomed and encouraged parental involvement. But Theresa Primary interpreted something as simple as wanting to drive your own child to and from school as interference -- basically shunning you if you chose to do so. Additionally, and from an academically speaking standpoint, their curriculum is completely uninspired and ineffective. It's no wonder to me now that Theresa's students are so far behind their peers who attend other schools when it comes to reading and math proficiency. The complete disregard for safety is another issue I could just not get past at Theresa either. In this day and age I could not believe Theresa's cavalier attitude toward leaving the front door unlocked for anyone to enter the school! Especially with their remote location, this was both absurd and dangerous to me. Further, I have never encountered a school -- until Theresa Primary -- that thinks it's perfectly acceptable to transport your child off of school property without a signed consent form or permission slip! We lasted a little over three months before pulling our child out of Theresa Primary. And we never should have waited that long. I cannot urge you enough to not send your child to this school. It's a shame that children on Fort Drum are forced to attend Theresa Primary. Theresa certainly enjoys the monetary benefits they glean from the military. But they do nothing to enrich the lives of the military children attending Theresa.

Because of my child's experience with this school, I now know that a lack of flexibility is one of the biggest problems a school can have. And this lack of flexibility means they are unwilling to overcome it.I have a sensitive child with a high IQ. She was tested and placed into a 2nd grade class with a teacher and a teaching assistant who would yell at her when she cried. They would threaten to move her clip down and give her a hard time for crying, which would, of course make her cry more. I was so upset with this school that I tried to get a waiver to switch her to another school. The school district told me I could request a waiver but they wouldn't approve it.This school's one size fits all mentality was so detrimental to my child's academic career. She used to love school until she attended Theresa. To this day, even though her 3rd grade teacher was much better, she dreads going to school. I wish I'd followed my instincts and homeschooled her. If you're on Fort Drum, or moving to Drum, and have a smart and/or sensitive kid, I'd try to get housing to place you in the Carthage school district. Theresa is in the Indian River district and I hate it.