James Gettys El School

Best working environment for teachers and staff. Very accommodating to families. Great location north of Gettysburg.

Worst school experience any of our kids have ever had. We move for work every few years so we’ve dealt with all sorts of schools around the country and this is hands down the worst one. The cliquey behavior of the staff, teachers, and parents is nuts. Everything revolves around who you are and who you know and, horribly, how much money you have and can give to the school and parish. The fundraising is over the top, even for a parochial school. The academics are ok, the one good thing I can say about this place is that they use phonics to teach reading even though it’s a more time consuming method compared to teaching just sight words. We wound up pulling our kids out after just a year which we’ve never had to do before. We’ve always kept our kids in the same school until we move but this place was simply intolerable. We wanted to have a difference school to deal with and our kids some days all out begged to change schools or be homeschooled instead of having to keep going there. Bottom line is that if you’re wealthy and generous or you know people there your kids will probably be ok but if you’re a normal person without bottomless pockets or the right connections this school will be miserable for you and your kids. We wound up moving our kids to the public schools, which we’ve never done before (always parochial, secular private, or homeschooling) and it’s been a pretty good experience. The regular public middle school and Lincoln elementary as well as the public Montessori school for Gettysburg have great for the kids, they’re so much happier and we’re happier with the other parents as well as the staff and teachers. Bonus is far fewer fundraiser hassles and all that tuition money going into college savings accounts. Academically the kids are excelling, the teaching is solid and the facilities, especially in the middle and high schools, are exponentially better than what SFX could offer.

As a mother of 3 choosing the right school was SO important. Gettysburg Montessori School is so amazing. We couldnt have done any better!