Merton Intermediate School

As a parent of 4 boys, my overall opinion is such. Good intentions with unintended negative results. Cliques are a problem. Bull horn used to yell at kids in lunchroom. Curriculum too easy for majority of the students. Average public school with average results.

My daughter goes to Richmond and likes the teachers and students there. The school puts a lot of efforts to straighten the communications and interactions with parents, so that I am kept updated with what's going on in her class and the school. The school uses different tools to enrich students' academic, social and emotional experience at school as well as home. The teachers provides students and parent resources to help each individual to be successful. Per the School Report Card for 2017, Richmond received highest Overall score, highest Student Achievement score and highest closing gaps score in 5 years. It is a great school!

Swallow Elementary is amazing. They should change the school name to Swallow Academy. The staff is top notch, the academic rigor is top notch, the facilities are top notch and the surrounding area is amazing - best place I can think of to raise a family. The school prepares students well for Arrowhead High School. The combination of Swallow Academy (Swallow Elementary) and the University of Arrowhead (Arrowhead High School) will truly prepare your son or daughter to be anything they want to be in life.

I attended Merton for many years. This school may seem appealing based on the academic numbers, but that often coincides with an environment that values power, status, and appearances. When you value fairness, trust, and empathy, you get punished for being "different." At Merton, I learned that sensitivity and honesty made you a problem, while cruelty went unchecked and even admired. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Over the years, multiple parents pulled their children out for similar reasons. I even recently reconnected with a former classmate who shared the same experiences of isolation and mistreatment. Administrators and teachers frequently did not practice what they preached when bullying was happening right in front of them.Through therapy, I learned I was never the problem. In fact, I would have been a model child and friend in a healthy environment. All the kids and even teachers who bullied me were part of a larger broken ecosystem that rewarded power and image over integrity and kindness. Today, I have a good life that I made for myself. I'm an advocate for many causes and a voice for the voiceless. I turned my trauma into action.I’m sharing this in hopes that Merton will look deeper than test scores and PR campaigns. True excellence is measured in compassion, not status. I hope one day, students like I was will finally be seen, believed, and cared for like children are supposed to be.

I can only give our experience 3 stars as this was our first year here and unfortunately very under impressed with the classroom, dedication to understanding each individual child, ourdated teaching methods and more. Strong sense of community was a plus but overall was hoping for more.

I have sent several children to Zion and love Zion more than ever! The teachers truly care and work very hard to reach every student. I count my whole family SO blessed to be part of Zion!