St. Anthony of Padua School

The principal and assistant principal are nice however a lot of the teachers are mean spirited and incompetent.

My children HATE this school. The teachers are impersonal, the admin staff are uncaring and the whole PTO is very unoriginal. It’s a shameful example of a bunch of adults wasting their children’s’ time. Go anywhere else, this place is just bad.

I agree with the other comments. If your child has a disability please run for the hills. This place was horrible from the first day that my child started. They will write your child up for EVERYTHING. My child previously attended a school in the woodlands that was AMAZING but was only a pre-k. They worked with my child and his disability. We were instantly treated poorly as soon as we walked into Buckalew. We are also Black which has been the icing on the cake here. If your child has a disability or is of color DO NOT COME HERE.

I cannot in good conscience recommend this school for someone looking for an independent, creative, supportive learning environment for their child. A happy joyful student leads to a successful learner. We had by far the worst experience we’ve ever had at a school with having children attend international school, private independent school, and parochial schools as we have moved around the world and the USA. The John Cooper School presents itself on paper/social media very differently than reality. The vibe on campus is just flat, no real excitement about learning or sharing life. Our children were bored and not challenged academically. The grades are not posted until quarter ends so the students have no idea how to manage their GPA. Students can ask teachers for their grade average, but this is discouraged and most students typically do not want to create extra work especially when talking about their GPA which can be subjective. Grades should be transparent so students are prepared for real life experience in college. Administration relationship with the parents non existent- the head of school nor the high school principal could place a name to our face or our students after 2.5 years of attending the school. In a school this small that is mind boggling and shows a lack of care and effort. The first time we stepped foot on campus (parents not allowed during covid the first semester we joined mid school year ) was in August at parent teacher night, and the Parent Forum asked for donations to the school. In all the parent teacher nights we’ve attended through the last 20 years, never has there been a request for money like we saw at John Cooper. It showed us that if they need to ask for money at first introductions when focus should be on meeting the teachers- then the money is being mismanaged.