Garrison-Jones Elementary School

The teachers at this school are fantastic! The adminstration leaves alot to be desired. They do not work well with the PTA and even ask parents to break the rules of the PTA.
—Submitted by a parent

I am one of the parents that always raved over this school. I loved everyone, staff , teachers and adminstration. I had heard other complain but never saw it myself. I was a very active volunteer for 9 years and was treated great. Until this year, I was told to only help in class, and ignored when I questioned why. I volunteered to take a prominent position in PTA and was ignored and recieved no answer. I still love the teachers who try their best but the adminstration ruins this school. Past Vice Principals have told me they had issues with the principal which caused them to leave.
—Submitted by a parent

You guys need to call the superintendent especially the ones that have already left because of this school for good reason because of this principal.. don't go with ridiculous reasons go prepared but don't let her get away with this. She only gets a year to year contract and either she gets rid of the people in her office that doesn't know how to respect people and great them with a smile and talk to them with respect or she can hire someone who can. Its a principals job to step up and lead not her staffs. If she doesn't know her parents and her students then shame on her for not being able to have her own backbone. You need to report her. In Florida you need to set up a meeting with her superintendent I first then if that doesn't work set it up with the county if it gets to the county you will be her and her head will roll trust me! I work for the county! I know who your talking about and she already has a record of not doing her job well and her staff has been reported more then once and there is a big clean house about to happen with this school if something doesn't turn around this year so hold tight!

We had very high hopes when picking this school and was inspired by the talk we had with the principal in the beginning. however we noticed very quickly that it was just talk and no action. Even the first day at the school was very awkward and not inviting. The PTA last year was non-existent and this year there was suppose to be a strong one that was 'hand picked' and fell apart before school even started. The teachers seem to be great in the classroom, but I have no experience with them beyond the classroom. if something doesn't change soon they will drop from an A rating (probably should already have but the area we live in is fantastic and many people are still migrating to the area keeping the enrollment high). The leadership needs to change and the parents need to be involved. The current situation is the parents that are leaving fail to complain, they just move on to charters, magnets and privates instead of putting a bug in the ear of those who can make the changes needed like the Super which gets voted in much like the post below me says " {The principal} only gets a year to year contract ".
—Submitted by a parent

Unfortunatly I have to agree with the last post. I have had several children in the Pinellas County School system (incl. charter schools and magnets). This school is by far the WORSE school any of my children have EVER attended. It is way to big and overcrowded for the staff to care for the indevidual. I also agree with the last poster that even though they claim to want parental involvement, it is not easy for parents to do so. The school is very impersonal and doesn't even embrace the parents to bring the kids to class (to actually form a personal relationship with the teacher). Every morning feels like they are hording the huge amount of children to their class rooms like cattle. How can you claim you want parental involvement, but you keep the parents away like no other school? The entire school is super unorganized, impersonal and some of the staff is downright unfriendly. Like I said I have several kids in the school system, but this is by far the worse school. Now if your a parent that just wants to drop their child of at school and don't bother much with the teacher or your kids general education (leaving it all up to the school) this might be an isntituation for you...
—Submitted by a parent

Not sure what the other parents are seeing in this school. They must not be very involved with it. My child is now in his 3rd year here. If I was able to go to a different public school I would! Kindergarten he had a wonderful teacher. However the staff, including teachers are so unorganized. They beg for parent involvement, yet they do 50% of the parent activities during school hours, and the other 50% they do at 6pm. With most household having dual, who can attend these? You can ask a staff member a 10 staff members a question and 10/10 will give you a different answer. This is with everything there, nobody knows what's going on with anything at most times. They need better communication between staff members. God forbid you get a teacher you are unhappy with, they wont move the child. In K my son was in a class with 2 bullies him. I begged to have him moved! Nope! would you believe it, after all the issues, they put him in the same class with both those kids again in 1st grade. They stress no bullying, but when it's brought to their attention, nothing gets done. My son is quiet, gets good grades, and great discipline, not fair he is subjected to this, no child should be.
—Submitted by a parent

Excellent teachers. Great communication with parents. Awesome school pride and spirit. I see my 5 year old son flourishing here every day. I see the lessons they are teaching in class carry over into after-school life, such as "self-motivation" and "respect". He may be the only person in the world who looks forward to Mondays so he can go to school again!
—Submitted by a parent

This school is a circus act. The teachers are wonderful. Sadly I can't say that about the staff. They are so disrespectful, and treat parents like children. One staff member says one thing, another says another, and you have no idea what direction to turn. If you turn the wrong way they literally discipline you like a child. I have always be nice and respectful, and just killed with kindness, but I no longer can handle the staff. I have spoke with a dozen or more parents and all say the same, they may be an "A" school for academics, but they "F" school on how parents are treated. Makes me wonder how the children are treated behind closed doors. Not one parent I have spoke to have said they really liked they school. All have said the same, the teachers are great but not staff.
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers and staff at this school go above and beyond to teach academics, as well as foster a sense of community and promote student responsibility.
—Submitted by a parent

Garrison-Jones is a caring nuturing environment. They allow children to grow through education, expression and involvement. A pleasure to attend a school with strong teacher and parent involvement.
—Submitted by a parent

Both my daughter and myself love this school, including the teaching st, ms buckley, and my powers, president and vp. They truly care for all their students and ms buckley is out there every morning and after school to make sure all the kids are safe and go home with whom they are supposed to. Last year they found $ even with this reduced budget to supply locking fences around the whole school which makes me feel very secure and confident that my daughter is safe. My daughter is going into the 2nd grade and can't wait for school to start and see who her teacher is; she knows all the teachers already great jon mrs b
—Submitted by a parent

My son is now in his second year at Garrison Jones Elementary. We've had a great experience so far and are very impressed with both the facility and the entire staff. He is now in the first grade and doing extremely well. Garrison Jones is a school where the children come first. Each child is encouraged to do their personnel best, with an emphasis on consistency and kindness and compassion for others. The teachers are highly skilled and work hard to bring out the best in each child. The principal is kind and knows each child by name. She is a great example of a leader and we will miss seeing her everyday as she takes a new position with the school board. Thank You to the teachers and staff of Garrison Jones for a job well done in leading, teaching and encouraging students to be all they can be.
—Submitted by Hugh, a parent

This school is excellent and the teachers are wonderful. The principle does a great job of keeping parent informed on what is going on in the school.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an awesome school-my daughter attended since kindergarten (now in 8th) and had a great experience. She is currently in all advanced programs at middle school and I credit the great teachers at Garrison for guiding her along. My son is now in 5th grade and has also had a great acedemic experience.
—Submitted by Ronda, a parent

Garrison-Jones is brimming with extremely well-qualified teachers that are sincerely caring in their task and demeanor. The office staff is exemplary in every facet they serve. Would not choose any other school than Garrison. I am extremely happy with this facility.
—Submitted by a parent