Greenfield Elementary School

Bon Air Elementary is a pretty special place. This is the 3rd year our kid has attended and we really appreciate the little community that has been built around the school. There are a group of very active parents and PTA which has helped enrich the school experience with extra activities like Pizza and Pumpkins in October or Field Day at the end of the year. Volunteers also help lead run club every Wednesday. While there are a lot of activities, you can choose your adventure. There doesn't feel the competitive pressure of needing to keep up with other families.

My youngest three children will go anywhere but here. This school was horrible in the 90s, and it was an absolutely abhorrent school for my son. I got beat up for being white in this area on the 90s, he got beat up for being white in the 2010s, then got suspended for pointing out that he got jumped by a bunch of "not white" kids. If you get a chance to send your kids here, pass on that. James River is right down Robious. Don't move to North Chesterfield if you're white or have money, stick to Midlothian or Moseley. This area has gone down the gutters.

JB Fisher has exceeded all of our expectations. The staff — from leadership to teachers — are deeply invested in the whole child, meeting kids where they are and embracing learning differences without expecting them to fit a mold. The school’s diversity creates real, daily opportunities for my child to learn from peers with different backgrounds, races, and languages — lessons that can’t be replicated in a book. Small classes, personalized academics, and the staff’s openness and availability make this a truly special place. I highly recommend coming to see it for yourself.

The teachers are wonderful, but the students and the principal are the problem, especially if you're coloured, queer, and/or a minority. Students use slurs, such as the R word, often. If you are not popular, you become the next headline of gossip; everyone knows everyone, whether good or bad.

We moved from an amazing, large public school in another state to Sabot. We enrolled our children in elementary school and middle school. It has been an absolutely fantastic experience. My first ah-ha moment was in our first month or so when my older child was in 6th grade and came home to tell me they had learned how to solve for circumference alongside tree species and age identification one afternoon while playing in the forest. As a bright child, they could coast and do okay, but Sabot challenged them to develop ownership over their education and to challenge themselves to strive for growth. When there were struggles, the school was there to support. What’s more, Sabot provided a safe environment to explore self during middle school - which is such a hard time. Rather than striving to confirm my child and their peers became more sure of self. They left middle school going into their top choice high school program, confident in testing, abilities and self-guided learning. I could not be happier. My younger child is a very different learner, much more tactile and energetic. They have been equally as successful at Sabot and bolstered by unique relationships with teachers and staff that constantly challenge them to pursue passion and interests. They actually need time outside to be able to focus and regroup in the classroom, and the outdoor time both in the forest but also outdoor learning spaces is essential to their learning. The integration of nature and exploration into learning core subject areas has led to a phenomenal understanding and ownership of subjects. For both of my children I had to let go and learn to trust the process as it is different - and I am so glad that we have as my kids are incredible learners and ready for whatever comes their way!

We spent nearly a year going through the application process. The administration was horrible at communicating with us and I had to frequently reach out past expected timelines to schedule the next step. During the child interview, the owner was distant, barely answered our questions and largely ignored us. It took nearly two months for anyone to get back to us about enrollment, and this was after we had reached out multiple times requesting updates and information.