Lower Richland High School

As a preschool parent, I cannot say enough wonderful things about Hopkins Elementary. From the moment we stepped through the doors, the school felt warm, welcoming, and safe—like a second home for our child. The environment is thoughtfully designed to spark curiosity and joy, and every staff member we’ve encountered goes out of their way to make families feel seen, heard, and supported.Our child has made incredible strides both socially and academically this year. When we first started, she was shy and hesitant in group settings. Thanks to the patient, nurturing approach of the teachers, we’ve watched her blossom into a confident, engaged learner who looks forward to school every day. What sets Hopkins apart is how deeply the teachers invest in their students. It’s clear they see each child as an individual and are genuinely committed to their growth. They communicate regularly, celebrate milestones big and small, and create a classroom culture rooted in kindness, curiosity, and respect.Hopkins Elementary is more than just a school—it’s a community that lifts children up and helps them shine. We’re so grateful to have started our child’s educational journey here and wholeheartedly recommend it to other families.

This school is horrible! My children have been bullied and assaulted numerous times! Teachers do NOTHING! I needed tutoring for my child and it took 5 months to get anything. Teachers threaten to “snatch kids up” and tell them “I don’t care if y’all come or not, I’ll still get paid”. I’m getting the state board involved. Many police reports have been filed and yet they still fail to protect our kids!

Currently, I have mixed opinion of Mill Creek Elementary. I’ve talked with other schools in the area to see what they have to offer and how they conduct business. Mill Creek doesn’t have as many programs as some schools, but they also have more/better programs that lesser schools don’t have.Con: At the beginning of the school year, there was some disorganization administration wise. They didn’t put their best foot forward for the first orientation. The lack of organization may have been a fluke, but if other orientations/meetings are as disorganized as the first one, a self-evaluation needs to be conducted because some internal processes are broken. Pro: Mill Creek Elementary seems to have some good incentives for the children to learn. They had a great “Night of Reading” a few months ago where the school taught parents ways of helping their children read. It was very good for parents and they had pizza for the children afterwards. I expected a bigger turnout from parents, but I thought the program was great. I would like to see something like that offered once a month.The school has various reading charts they give out that offer rewards such as free pizza or free USC basketball tickets if a certain number of books are read in a certain time period. They have a treasure box in my son’s class where if you help students or do very good on assignments you get points. Once you get a certain amount of points you can get something from the box. You can also lose points for being bad. It is a very good reward and punishment system to help build character for a child that age.It would be nice to have the school teach a life skills/parenting class for parents of students. That would most likely be too controversial though.