Hope Highlands Middle School

I deeply regret enrolling my child at this Islamic school in Rhode Island. Despite its intended mission, the actual environment is troubling and, frankly, unsafe for any child’s well-being — academically, emotionally, or socially.Bullying is rampant and the administration appears completely helpless to address it. Instead of acknowledging or taking real steps to resolve the issue, they deflect, minimize, or ignore it altogether. Our child repeatedly experienced a toxic peer environment, and no meaningful action was ever taken to protect her.The teaching staff is disconnected and unqualified. There’s a noticeable lack of classroom control, accountability, or even basic engagement. Teachers seem unprepared and poorly equipped to support students, and this is reflected in the poor academic organization and chaotic communication.Any attempt from us, as proactive parents, to engage constructively—whether regarding homework, exams, or missing assignments—was met with defensiveness and even hostility. Shockingly, a teacher instructed our daughter to “tell your mom to stop emailing” rather than addressing the academic concerns. That alone speaks volumes.Worse, assignments and assessments are often crammed in at the end of the quarter, with no feedback or grading process throughout. It feels like they are winging it—and our children pay the price.Bottom line: RUN. Do not entrust your children to this school. Find a better, safer, more nurturing environment. Your kids deserve more—and so do you.

This school is great to produce citizens and individuals who do not think "outside of the box". Everything is very traditional, teacher-centered, and geared to prepare students for passing the standard tests, not to become creative thinkers in the 21st century. Any student that has any learning disability will not be helped here - they don't have staff, training nor resources for it. You will be on your own. Students learn only by memorizing facts and filling the blanks. There is no recess for middle schoolers. There is no sports fields.

I am an ex student from sjs, I went there from first grade to seventh grade (I was doing distance learning because of the pandemic). I am now in ninth grade and leaving Saint Joseph’s was the best decision I made regarding the school. My personal experience with the school was awful, and I still suffer from trauma regarding the school. There are many catholic schools that are genuinely welcoming and a good place for your kids, but sjs is not one of them. First off, I have autism and have had an extreme anxiety disorder from first grade. The school was aware of the anxiety, but had no formal “warning” (for lack of better word) about me being autistic, although I showed many traits. At lunch I had cried every day in the cafeteria because it was too loud. teachers were aware of this and instead of helping me or letting me eat something else they yelled at me to eat and let me sit there in tears. My parents were never made aware of this. I was severely bullied the entire time I attended that school, the teachers and dean were very aware of it but brushed it off because the girl most responsible for it “had a hard time at home”. I had one teacher who truly cared and wanted to help me, but I later found out the school threatened to fire them when they tried to help me with the bullying. I was also outted as queer and transgender at that school, where I was in no way supported. I was told that gay rights “contradicted the teachings of the church”. Sjs has lost its “christian love”, and is in no way in accepting or safe school. Ive been out of that school for almost three years now and am still suffering from extreme consequences of the bullying they let happen to me. I in no way reccomend this school to anyone, especially if you’re kid has a mental illness or is part of the lgbt community in any way. Save yourself the truama, because it will follow you.