Shady Side Academy Junior School

The school has no counselor or social worker. Their behavior person is a nice man but there is only 1 for the whole school and he is not a counselor. The school went without an assistant principal for a while because of drama between the district. The school has a poor leadership team. The principal is fake, gives empty promises and says she will follow through with an issue but fails to every single time. My child was not receiving the support he needed to be successful and I honestly feel like it has to do with the color of our skin. I’m not the one to throw that around but I felt it in my gut. The behavior at this school is out of control, not enough discipline or effective help to get these kids under control. My child did not feel safe so I ended up moving him. Growing up in Rankin I know it’s not the best area but our kids deserve better!

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

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.

We have had an amazing experience at PUCS for our daughter. The teachers and staff so clearly care about the students and their development, academically, emotionally, and socially. We love that PUCS really values play, whether that’s in the classroom learning, or just making sure the students get at least one recess each day to burn off energy so they can better focus later in the day. The smaller classroom sizes allows the teachers to better tailor the lessons to the individual students and give them more of the attention they need. So many PUCS parents are engaged with the school life and there are opportunities to volunteer and get to know the teachers and other students in the class. We really appreciate how easy it is to drop our daughter off there knowing she’s safe and going to learn and have fun. We love this school and are so thankful for it.