Pittsburgh Sterrett 6-8

My son has had access to high level teachers. He has been immersed in a predominantly African American school community with teachers who look like him as well other teachers who bring excellence to the learning environment and hold high expectations. This has allowed him to do well academically, socially, physically and emotionally. I am pleased with the program and his growth.

I worked here in 98-99 and there was constant disruptions, fights and parents getting angry over foolish issues instead of education issues. I quit after 2 years and I am so glad I did. I now teach middle school in NC and love it have been there for 10 years and haven't looked back. I would not send my children to this school PERIOD!

Aa a parent I know there are many great teachers at this school, but there is a lot turnover in math in the upper school and some teachers are not qualified or certified. Young students are yelled at for misbehaving by a teacher who doesn't teach anything and is always on the phone. The principal doesn't value quality teaching and doesnt require some teachers to improve. The principal is not consistent with discipline and some kids never get in trouble. The parents who complain are not valued. The parents who only want their kids to get out of trouble are the only ones the principal listens to. There are lots of nice kids there and my children have made good friends. There are some teachers that are great but the school has too many that are bad, they bring down the rest. I don't want my youngest child to be yelled at all day by a bad teacher so I will not send them back

I graduated from Ellis, and the single year I attended was one of the best of my entire education, including college and law school. It has rather shocked me to read the negative reviews placed here, but from the poor level of literacy in the reviews themselves, I suspect they are written by a jealous and bitter person who could never make the grade at Ellis. That's life. Some of us are fortunate enough to always remember our time at this truly extraordinary school with something approaching awe.

Some teachers here don’t understand how to teach kids to read. There’s little to no guided/small reading groups or individualized reading instruction, bright kids are rarely challenged appropriately, they seem to have no idea how to collect data to back up the grades they give on report cards, they don’t let parents know in what area(s) their child could be practicing at home, and communication is just overall bad. Very disappointing for a private school with the cost of tuition. I would expect all kids to get an exceptional education but it seems no better than a public school in many ways.

The teacher I worked with was fantastic, but we shared a room with another teacher who was not very good. She was creative, but had NO classroom management which led to students not listening, following directions, and eventually not caring. And I know there is a difference between a loud classroom with students all over, which may look chaotic, but is an amazing learning environment, and a classroom that looks that same but the students are not engaged in any way.