St James Elementary School

Sewickley Academy offers excellent academic/artistic/athletic enrichment for their students. They listen to the parents requests and concerns and incorporate the parents' feedback into their strategic discussions to truly make the parents and students feel that they are heard and respected. My son and I made the decision to switch to SA in 5th grade, and he could not be happier peer wise or thriving more academically than he is here. This was the best decision we ever made, and can not speak highly enough about the school, facilities, faculty, staff, and administration. We highly recommend SA to any family looking for an advanced level of academic excellence for their children.

This school is not based on Christian values. I would not recommend this school for many reasons. Some middle school teachers are downright rude, condescending, manipulative and everything in between. PS - 4th is great, but do not go to middle school there. Your child will not be the same if they do. The teachers have ruined my children's confidence by belittling them and shaming them. Seriously, I give them an F for failing the kids self-esteem.

As a female student, I have had to put up with harassment from male students, dismissal from staff, and having to figure things out on my own. The staff is severely condescending when you need help as a student, and will only try to resolve an issue when a parent gets involved. I’ve had to lay on the floor due to the lack of space for the older kids to take a break, and the boys are put higher on the priority list than the girls. Even when I’ve been crying or having an anxiety attack, I’ve been pushed aside for a boy having the same problem. I am put up to a higher standard than the boys because I’m “mature for my age”. This has resulted in a boy getting away with lying about harassing me, he has even gone as far as stalking me online, when I was told that he would have no way of contacting me over the summer. I am asked more favors, expected to deal with everybody’s behaviors when mine are dismissed, and am seen as lazy or rude when I don’t. There is constant screaming in the hallway, and even though there is laws that say that some kids can’t be suspended or expelled for certain behaviors, it gets to a point, and when I start to get overwhelmed, the staff just laughs it off. I started to talk to a new therapist working at this school, and she was/is way better than the rest of the staff. They don’t pay the staff well, WISCA teachers are nasty to the Watson teachers and staff, they don’t get enough benefits for the high stress levels and toxic work environment, and then complain when they’re short staffed. I am going back to my home school as soon as possible. If you are a student that is low needs/high functioning, or are a parent of a student that is so, please use every support your home school has to offer before considering this school. The staff aren’t qualified to help with academics, and are really poor at helping students emotionally.