Parkwood Elementary School

DIS was wonderful under the leadership of Shaad Ahmed. Following his departure, Sophia Shalash was leading the school to great places until the board pushed her out. While there are some lovely teachers, DIS faculty and staff include discriminatory, judgemental, and unkind individuals. My child was belittled and stifled by teachers, and good teachers have left this school due to the problems they have experienced. The entire board should be replaced. Be aware that the leadership covers up serious incidents such as a gun scare at this school that was attempted to be kept secret from teachers and parents by the principal (the weapon later determined by Beavercreek police to be a BB gun). Other things were covered up and when children reported to their parents, the leadership of this school actively gaslit kids and parents. Ultimately I decided it was not a healthy or safe environment for my child.

We left in 2020. Teachers don't communicate with families. Neighborhood kids are often spraying graffiti and pestering kids during recess (even throwing rocks at them). Principal doesn't want to hear criticism of the school. Current name is Montessori School of Dayton.

The teachers at this school seem wonderful. The school feels understaffed compared to the number of students it serves and the rooms are overcrowded. My child has almost thirty kids in their room, which is counterproductive to learning, considering the teachers do not have aides. So that is one teacher trying to teach 30 kids with a lot of different needs. They also only have one recess a day, which is 10 minutes long, and no playground equipment. Just a parking lot to play in. That is not enough time for play. Recess is also frequently taken away as punishment, so some kids don't really get to play. I get it's a Catholic school, but really? They're kids. They're going to make some mistakes and taking the only 10 minutes they have to relax seems harsh. I never really get to see work, just grades on the report card. Their is a ton of pressure on kids to test high on map test and lots of pressure for good test scores. My oldest child is in tears over the testing pressure. They handed out worksheets this year with their previous test scores on it to help the kids try and "beat" that score. It is a LOT of pressure. My guess is funding is tied to these scores? I'm not sure. Just a LOT of pressure on test scores and my child feels like a walking number.Overall- the school feels like it's less focused on child development and more focused on how many kids they can cram into a classroom and how high they can score on a test. I plan to pull my children and find a better school that is more child-focused.