Madison Traditional Academy

Run Run don't stop to look at MTA! We waited overnight to get our daughter in this school.. thinking this was the best place for her.. Instead we found out, it was a "bully" school the teachers don't even know where the kids are half the time. The pricipal is a "bully" as well. Do not put your kids in this school!
—Submitted by a parent

Several parents including myself were not happy with the 3rd Grade curriculum last year. Not only did we see our kids' reading and math levels decrease, their enthusiasm for school did too. We weren't whining about too much homework or expecting MTA to fix our kids because most of us have had our kids at MTA since kindergarten. However, there was a legitimate problem with 3rd grade and the administration has responded. What gripes me about these parent reviews, is if a parent dares to complain about MTA, the Kool-Aid crowd snarkily tells them to send their kids to another school because the world needs ditch diggers and hamburger flippers. For your children's sake, I hope they never struggle in school because it's obvious they won't get support at home. No school is perfect and that includes MTA, but I still think it's a great school.
—Submitted by a parent

We started with MTA 6 years ago - when parents were willing to overlook the lack of facilities and extracurricular activities in lieu of advanced curriculum and dedicated staff. Now that we have a new campus and great test scores, people want in for all the wrong reasons: proximity to home, convenience of having all their kids at a k-8 school, thinking MTA can "fix" their kids, that if their kids are currently struggling, a tutor can "catch them up". As a frequent volunteer, I have been in the office when prospective parents come in to inquiry about enrollment. I want to shake some of them! If your child isn't currently excelling - why would you consider moving them to a school with rigorous academics? When I overhear a parent say that their child isn't doing well at their current school because they are bored... or don't like their teacher ... or will "catch up" , I cringe. As a public school, MTA can' t turn away students... but it really is the parent's responsibility to make an educated and wise choice. MTA was never intended for the "average student".
—Submitted by a parent

Our daughter started attending full-day kinder at MTA & we are loving it, best of all, she is loving it!!! She wakes up every morning thrilled to go to school; she loves learning. She is now reading a bit {recognizing words in books} & doing additions with doubles (9+9) and we are only 2 months into this school year. I really like the parent involvement at this school, it is mandatory. We love her teacher, Mrs. Gullette; she is great at sending us emails with updates & to let us know what the kids are learning. The school sends out weekly emails too to keep us all informed. I like that the uniform policy is strictly upheld. Kids are also taught to be respectful of one another & there is no tolerance for rudeness. We truly enjoy our child attending MTA.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended MTA for 1st grade and half of 2nd grade. He learned a ton, but honestly was bored to tears with repetition. In addition, both of his classrooms had kids with serious behavior problems, i.e. kids running from teacher, hiding under desks, writing mean notes to the teacher. I think it is very important for parents to realize that MTA is not for every kid, but the administration does not communicate this message at all. MTA is a school of choice, it has NO services for special needs kids. I also found that the teachers received no support from the administration in dealing with very disruptive children. In addition, the drop off and pick up situation is a nightmare and many of the parents are very type A. See the review below that says if a parent chooses a different school with less homework, then their child will be stuck flipping burgers. I'm so glad we left this school!
—Submitted by a parent

Many of the parents are the ones to say MTA is a bad school, but it isn't. MTA is a great school! I am a student and have been there since day one. I love the school and will be sad to leave next year. The ecpectations and amount of homework are the way they are for a reason! So if this is one of your concerns find a new school. Also many of the parents give the school bad reviews, because they do not attend the school and experience what great staff and what a great learning environment MTA is! I highly recommend MTA if you are looking for a school where your child will excel and have a good learning experience

We had great experiences in the elementary grades but there are serious issues in the middle school grades this year, especially in math. The teacher doesn't review homework so she doesn't know if a kid (or a bunch of kids) are struggling until they fail the test. By that time, it's too late because they've gone on to other topics. Parents have tried to address the issues with both teacher and principal, but their concerns are brushed aside with the same "love it or leave it" message that is posted here by some parents. At the same time, the gifted kids aren't getting the challenge they need, either, and those concerns are ignored, too. MTA was created by parents who wanted to be involved in curriculum decisions, but it is veering off course from that original concept as parent concerns continue to be ignored. Bottom line: MTA caters to above average kids, leaving the struggling and gifted kids to fend for themselves.
—Submitted by a parent

Ditos with the Feb 4 review....For all of the belly aching about the time it takes to do homework and the lower grades kids are getting..Maybe your kid is not ready for this school...Kids are here to learn, and at a higher rate than an average public school...So do yourselves a favor...Leave and find a school where the homework does not interfere with your life...Then you can have a "happy child" that is content with just getting by...The world will always need hamburger flippers...
—Submitted by a parent

MTA has done AMAZING things in its 5 years of existence. If you are not getting responses from a teacher or administrator, then you are not going about communicating the right way. 3rd Grade is a tough transitional jump of a year but it seems to smooth out quickly. But the previous poster is correct...it is not the right school for every kid & sometimes thats hard to accept when we thought we were making a great academic choice for our child. This site drives me nuts because people can say whatever they want about a very successful school to justify their complaints. My favorite is an early post from 2010 where it states that the "director" resigned. That did not happen. That very dedicated, smart & passionate "director" never intended on staying more than that first year. Her mission was to get it up & running & then search for a great candidate to take over. This school wouldnt even be a school if not for that "director". You may not like everyone but to go online anonymously & post untruths about someone is just plain cowardly! A lot of people researching schools look to this site for input. If you're going to post something (esp. negative) at least get your facts right!
—Submitted by a parent

I have been so disappointed in MTA! My daughter transferred here for third grade and her grades and confidence have plummeted. I think the school is getting to big, huge class sizes and little to no one on one help available. My written concerns have gone unanswered by both the teacher and principal. Beyond sad, as we had heard such great things about this school prior to enrolling. Teachers read lessons right out of the book, 8 year old students are on their own in taking AR tests/not organized. Teacher website not up, and nothing but math and spelling comes home, no idea what they are learning in social studies, science, etc, or when tests are or what they are going to be tested on... little to no materials available for parents to use at home to help students succeed. Emails go unanswered, notes to school receive no reply. Really sad, as the parental involvement and the "idea" of MTA is great. We will not be returning next year.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is also in 1st grade, and it rarely takes her more than 30 minutes to complete her homework. I agree, it's a lot...a significant increase from last year, and I agree that, on occasion, some of the homework might seem like "time filler", but I believe it's preparing her for the work-ethic they must develop to succeed in this advanced curriculum. This school is not for everyone...the homework load is incredible, especially in the upper grades.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to respectfully disagree with the previous parent. My children have been at MTA since the beginning and we are very pleased--especially academically. MTA is a school of choice and its challenging academics are a large part of why we send our kids here. The curriculum is a year ahead for a reason--to challenge kids. I don't want "little robots" but I really don't want my children to go to school just to "be happy". Sometimes work is hard and the feeling of accomplishment after doing that hard work gives kids a real sense of accomplishment. I understand the previous parent's frustration--I have been there many nights helping my kids. There have been times when talking to the teacher was in order. I get it. The big picture however is that MTA is not a regular school in the district--it is Excelling and continues to be so for a reason. There are other schools in the district that offer different curricula and we have a choice. My oldest child is prepared for high school next year--does she complain about homework at times--of course! She is also very proud of all her hard work--it had paid off. Oh and she is also a happy/well rounded kid--ready for the future.
—Submitted by a parent

This is our first year at MTA. At first, I was so excited for my child to be attending a new school (beautiful campus, I must say) that is academically challenging. My child's 1st grade teacher is wonderful! Love her, no complaints! My child LOVES to learn, in fact, she always comes home telling me how much she enjoys doing homework. BUT...when the 1st grade team decided to change the policy and ADD more homework (nothing more than time fillers, really), I was upset. Even though they claim it should only take 15-30 min. per night, realistically, it is 45-60 minutes per night - FOR A FIRST GRADER! My child no longer likes to do her homework. Are we teaching them to dislike school? I think MTA is losing sight of the fact that at the end of the day they are children and as parents our ultimate job is not to turn out academically excelling robots, but happy little people.
—Submitted by a parent

Well, it seems everyone rated this school lowly. I, however, think this school is the best thing that has ever happened to me. The new campus is amazingly beautiful! The extra-curricular activities are great for the 5th-8th graders, they offer everything from P.E to drama to music to art, the sports are fun and competitive, (volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, cheer, softball and baseball) The kids are very accepting and bullying is practically non-existent in this school. I am a seventh grade girl and all of the kids in my grade accepted me this year although I was new and they all are great! Also, the principal is new this year, but that doesn't mean this school is going to fail! He is an amazing leader and strongly believes in the rules. The school's only downfall for me is the academics in some areas. I came from an extremely academically-focused school and I feel this is not as challenging as my old school was. However, they do teach one to two years ahead of the grade (whereas #1 and Meadows *do NOT*) so this school is very challenging for most children, but the teachers do not overload you with homework like some advanced schools I have been to. Great school.

I had high expectations of Madison Traditional but unfortunately I found it to be very disappointing!
—Submitted by a parent

We are disappointed in MTA this year. Last year (4th grade) was fabulous. This year the kids began changing classes & have multiple teachers. As a general rule the teachers believe that at this age (11) kids should be solely responsible for their schoolwork, They are resistant to following even the school's stated policies for reporting required or missing work to parents and forget trying to handle makeup in some classes. It often takes several days for an email response from a teacher. I fear we had lost signifcant academic ground with our child
—Submitted by a parent

Perhaps MTA has improved since my child was there. I had prioncipals from 3 different schools review my child's records when I was told to retain. They all called and said there was no way they would retain! The previous Director (do they call it Pricipal now?) was part of the problem as she would not confront the bullies, who were her friend's children. She resigned. Disgraceful that a teacher and Principal ruined a child's year of school. It was confirmed by another parent I didn't even know!! I guess money talks.......

We moved into this school this past week and I can tell you that I am thrilled about the responsiveness of all of the staff and also the manner in which the principal leads this school . My daughter is a bright girl who is Bi-racial (black and white)and I must say my concerns about the articles here regarding the racisim at this school were totally alleviated when we met the staff and students...there is ALOT of teacher involvement and parents are very active. My daughter has NEVER been challenged like she has a MTA. I am excited she has this opportunity to attend this school -Ignore that comment about there not being a mixed ethnicity in this school -there are children of all races ! This school is located in an area which is in a mostly white neighborhood..its not the schools fault! Anyway 2 thumbs MTA YOU ROCK
—Submitted by a parent

Accelerated curriculum, involved parents, diversity of school, and character building program.
—Submitted by a parent

A few students of color does not equal a diverse student population. Look at the student ethnicity graph on this site. MTA is 78% white, while the state average is 45% white. Can t argue with stats. Anecdotal evidence of individual students behaving badly to other students is not indicative of racism at the school, though. Kids are learning social skills, ethics, and morality as well as academics at this age. Making mistakes is part of the learnign process. We deal with the individual cases and move on. I just don't think there is a racist or classist undertone at the school.
—Submitted by a parent