JOYCE HALL EL

We have had two children go through this elementary and it is exceptional.

The school functions more like an extended daycare than an actual place of learning. While they go to great lengths to create the illusion of fun and engagement, the reality is that meaningful education is virtually nonexistent. Their so-called "Learners' Showcase" is an empty display of superficial activities, and rather than celebrating it, they should be embarrassed by the lack of real academic growth it exposes. The principal and teachers seem more invested in turning the school into a glorified party zone than in providing a real education. Their focus is on entertainment rather than academic growth, creating an environment that feels more like an extended daycare than a place of learning. The so-called "Learners' Showcase" is nothing more than a hollow display of this misguided approach—something they should be embarrassed by rather than celebrating. The school bombards parents with countless flyers and reminders for events like the Read-a-Thon, which is more about fundraising than fostering a love for reading. Meanwhile, truly educational opportunities, such as UIL or anything that actually benefits students academically, are buried in tiny footnotes within random emails. Their priorities are clear—over-communicate when it involves collecting money, but barely mention activities that contribute to real learning. Rather than investing in academic rigor or meaningful enrichment programs, the school is obsessed with trivial theme days, dress-up events, and social gatherings that serve no real educational purpose. Students are constantly distracted by non-academic activities, leaving little room for actual learning. Instead of prioritizing strong curriculum and intellectual growth, they treat school like a never-ending carnival.

I have been at this school for 2 years and I will say the students aren’t the friendliest. I don’t have much friends there in my grade because not everybody has is super kind or Christ-centered. Most of the teachers are Christ-centered, I will say, but some of them aren’t the best at their job. Almost all the staff is very kind and welcoming though. The education is pretty good I guess. And yeah, the overall environment isn’t overwhelming, it’s pretty chill. We’re a fairly small school. We would love some new students!

This is currently my 8th year going to the school and it sucks, used to be better before, but now over the years it slowly degraded. Teachers seem to have a blind eye towards bullying which I see primarily happen in 6th grade though unfortunately all the good teachers I personally like leave the school. Oh yeah the lunch sucks most of the time, sometimes its alright but mainly its just kind of stale and low quality; they keep serving the worse pancakes i've ever had which for some what reason is their favorite to hand out constantly. Another note on the teachers, primarily middle school ones most of them seem friendly but will get to yelling if you really push their buttons which I personally don't want to get yelled and be ridiculed by them which will happen if you some how make them extremely mad which I've done personally. Only time the staff really intervene is whenever you get into a fight, one time i got into a fight with 2 boys in my class and there was no punishment for the boy who really pushed my buttons and was rather hostile towards me over the school year; except for me with a 2 day suspension. Homework is alright, not too hard really but you will see times where multiple teachers give you homework on basically the same day. Obviously most teachers favor the girls for whatever reason even if the girls are breaking classroom rules. One thing I don't like about our schedule, speaking from 7th grade experience(now going into 8th) is that our P.E. time interferes with the little kids time to eat. If you're wondering the new gym is where P.E. is held and where we eat, so they split the gym in half with a cover, I rarely had a time where I had a full gym, really sucks they couldn't just continue using the parish as the cafeteria, or just make a dedicated one later.

Fantastic campus with amazing teachers and management! The PTO is very active, giving kids plenty of wonderful experiences and opportunities throughout the year.