Hilltop Elementary School

I can’t say enough of how wonderful Gearity elementary school is. The teachers are on top of things, caring about their students, they go above and beyond to not only help the students but they also help the families, specially providing help during times of crisis and with communication. I saw the review about the testing, however, if you look at the student population, they have a lot of non English speaking students and children with disabilities which they offer a lot of support to, those children are tested by the state, when they don’t speak the language! So that has to lower the school testing scores, even though the children are learning really fast and the teachers are spending a lot of time with them and their needs. Doesn’t seem fair that a school is judged for scores they have no way of changing.

Shocked by the reviews stating that this school "only cares about the money," as this was 100% not my experience. This is a group of educators that genuinely care about the students. My children absolutely loved the years we spent here. Mr. Griffith is kind and engaging. Coach Dom is fun and energetic. Nadia has great communication. All of the teachers were loved by my kids, and really put their hearts into their jobs. My kids made wonderful friendships with really great kids, and learned incredible things they never would have learned elsewhere. The only thing that I don't like about Ratner is that it doesn't go up to high school, because I would put my kids here K-12 if I could!

The school provides very limited support in core academic subjects, and the overall level of learning appears lower compared to same-age peers at other local schools. Communication with teachers is minimal, with progress updates largely confined to basic, checklist-style report cards rather than detailed feedback.The structure of the school is also challenging for working parents, as many projects, conferences, and events (teacher parents conferences, kids projects) take place during regular business hours. Additionally, there are frequent vacation days and cancellations.The school may be a suitable option for families seeking a strong emphasis on Jewish heritage and community, but this may come with a compromise in academic rigor

Outstanding elementary school, great size for children to experience diversity and be prepared for a private or public HS. Love that Gesu has a STEM program. And it’s Best in it’s kind in World languages. They actually have their very Own World language Experienced teachers (instead of like OTHER elementary schools who have sub-hired a for profit company who hires anyone and “play pretend” and don’t really teach World languages. The children learn Spanish, French and Latin and move to HS with language and cultural knowledge. It’s a diverse school who through their daily lives teach the kids good moral character.