Cardinal Forest Elementary School

My children have attended Keene Mill for several years now, and I have been very impressed with the high quality of education and caring teachers. The school also hosts special events throughout the year, which truly build a welcoming community that celebrates our children. I very much appreciate this school.

This is the worst school my kids have ever attended. Many of the young white woke female teachers seem to have a problem with boys and my son has had to feel it. If this county offered school choice they would be out in a heartbeat. My son is bullied for being special Ed and instead of doing anything about it he’s been bullied and accused of outlandish things that he is incapable of and wouldn’t understand by teachers who should be supporting him. It’s appalling and completely inexcusable. The school offers no explanation. Neither one of my kids enjoy going to this school and have anxiety in the morning when it’s time to go. My son gets sick from it some mornings. These “educators” should be ashamed.

Unfortunately, our family can validate the negative previous reviews. When we started there, the principal was WONDEFUL! She knew every student by name, wrote them personalized birthday cards, and had the confidence of all the parents. Since that principal retired, the school has not been the same. If you have any doubt about the school, I encourage you to take a tour. Walking into St. Bernadette feels like walking into a mausoleum. The vibe is quiet, morbid, and totally lacking joy. The current administration is incredibly toxic; the principal gives lip service to being welcoming and liking getting feedback, but if you ask for a meeting your child is blamed and/or you are accused of gossiping. Ironically, when you ask for facts, the principal is defensive at best, and won't provide them. The principal takes no responsibility, and has no investment in working with you to improve things for your child. Parents are often condescended to. There is an emphasis on Catholic Compliance Culture and being right over what is right for the children. When you approach the administration with any issues, there is gaslighting and defensiveness. My child had some wonderful teachers initially, but many of them have moved onto the resource department, which is still woefully understaffed. Teachers are inconsistent and there's a lot of staff turnover. The good staff also do not like the current principal and they literally get school policies shoved at them too. If your child has any learning differences at all, I highly discourage this school. If your child is sensitive to bullying, this is NOT the place to be. Teachers use discipline/classroom management issues as part of grading. For example, if a child has one slight behavioral issue in the class, the child is given 0/10 on participation points. Likewise, if your child's spelling is correct, but the handwriting isn't neat enough, the word is marked wrong. Parents are exhausted from having to advocate for their children. One teacher in fifth grade is so underqualified she literally had an argument with the kids about the Prime Meridian, then yelled at them for being right! Parents and children are stressed and overworked, and feel that the school year is something to get through. Our child was coming home stressed, depressed, and vomiting daily. Our child hated school, so we left in the middle of the year; happily, our child has been thriving since starting elsewhere. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend St. Bernadette!