Dudley Elementary School

O'Connor is not what I have in mind as a magnet school. Some of the teachers are rude, and seem to be waiting for the end of the day bell. The "magnet" part is inappropriate, since they lack MANY of the programs that are associated with "magnet". Even some of the more "low-funded" schools in this area have better programs for education and student involvement. Safety-O'Connor needs to seriously get with the program here. The before and after school pick-up is a disaster, and I find it utterly amazing that there have not been any kids hit -yet. One of the crosswalk teachers allows the kids to run out ahead of her before she has had a chance to see if the lane is clear due to vehicles passing the line of parked cars. Maybe I am over-cautious but I would think as an adult, she should walk out to the middle of the crosswalk, stop traffic, THEN let the children cross. What really takes the cake for me though is when my child comes home and tells me that his teacher has told the class that one of the kids who is acting up "Did not take his medication today". Seems to me that this falls under the child's right to medical privacy act. My advice do not willingly send your kids here.

Lots of teacher turnover, especially for crucial grade levels like K-2. Teacher & administration communication is lacking. These days Class Dojo is utilized as an effective way to talk to parents. FACTS is another program to keep up with your students grades. You won’t find either at this school. They don’t do baseline testing. How do you know if your child is progressing throughout the year? You don’t. Safety wise- parents are given a code to enter the gate. The cons to this are that anyone could share this information and who knows who could be walking through those gates with access to YOUR child. Parents give their codes to their kids. There is no one to greet your child at the school in the morning. It’s very doom and gloom walking in. Good luck meeting with admin before 8:00 am. No one in the office gets there until right at 8. There are no opportunities to volunteer. No field trips. No grant writing to better the school. They are dismissive and uninterested in any of that. The reply you will get is “we are doing the best we can”, or “we rely on private donations”. Yet, they are uninterested in anything that COULD help them. There is no true library, there is no computer class/time, no art class, no sports. From my understanding, VCS raised money to build a gym, yet can’t furnish it with sports equipment. There are better schools than VCS, especially if you are paying for it. Remember, you are paying for this. For a little bit more money, there are better options.

Our family originally chose Trinity for their known academic curriculum and Christian learning environment. We have been very pleased with both, but have also watched our daughter grow in more ways than we could have imagined. While flourishing in all core subjects, she has also learned how to do research and present that research to her teachers and peers (in only 2nd grade). She has learned how to extend a helping hand to her community by participating in service projects the school participates in as a whole. She has been encouraged each day to be responsible, honest, and hard working- all qualities we teach in our home and qualities valued in the real world. The staff at Trinity has come alongside us, as parents, and invested time into helping create not only intelligent children but also children of upstanding character. Joining the Trinity family was one of the best decisions we have made for our child.

Overall I was very unhappy with Nazareth Academy. The teachers were not allowed to deviate from a set curriculum, to better help or challenge students that were ahead. Often resulting in many bored students. Many times during the year PE was withheld from students as a punishment, which I find unacceptable. Safety was a concern due to the allowing of anyone to join the kids during church services and walk into the school without checking in at the office. Doors were often unlocked.Inappropriate behavior towards another student was ignored by principal, even with multiple meetings about the subject. High turnover rate of teachers, and other staff as well were reasons for concern. School activities like church and campus gatherings were scheduled to start before or at school start time.