Saddlewood Elementary School

Sent my child here, we moved from a state with a better school system. I hated this school...its the worst one I have seen yet. The teacher my son had did not tell us about any problems my son was having until it got worse and I tried to work with the teacher ti find a solution, she was no help. She did not seem to care if her students did well or not. The drop off line and pick up line is an awful idea...it takes forever to drop off your child. The principal however did seem alright...the dean did try to help with things. maybe it was just the teacher he had but I pulled my son out after that 1 year there, we moved to north carolina, they are so much better there.
--Submitted by a parent

I could not be any happier with Saddlewood. The teachers are very caring and there for what ever you may need. Mrs. Laffey is the best principle I have seen at any school district. She is always there for students and family 100%. Would not ever consider sending my children elsewhere. Keep up the good work:))
--Submitted by a parent

This school is a joke! My family has given them chance after chance to redeem themselves but they continue to let us down! We will be transferring to a private school as soon as possible! the teachers couldn't care any less about the success of their students, it is impossible to get in touch with any of them, FCAT is the ONLY focus of education tought here as ive seen over the years and my child's education and learning experience is suffering......please I beg any parent looking into sending your child here to immediately reconsider!
--Submitted by a parent

We have been parents of Saddlewood students since 2004. For the most part I have nothing but praise for the school and school's faculty. The principal and vice-principal are deeply dedicated to the students and their individual success. My older child is mildly autistic and my younger has learning disabilities. They have been patient and supportive with all of us. We tried the home school route for a year and private school for another year. The difference between the quality of education is almost immeasurable. I regret wasting money and valuable time on private school when compared to this school. No matter where your child goes to school you will have great and not-so-great teachers. We have for the most part been very fortunate to have deeply dedicated and skilled teachers. The school is very strict in its code of conduct but I am grateful for the regulation.
--Submitted by a parent

We moved to Florida from one of the best school districts in the country and had heard all the horror stories about Florida schools so we were expecting it to be a little different but this place is horrendous! It felt like we had left the US entirely and moved to a third world country. Absolutely no playgrounds, no recess, no talking at lunch or any other time of the day either. After 3 weeks of school my kids couldn t name one other kid in their class! The teacher s poor grammar and attitudes toward students are both appalling. They do nothing but FCAT drills. There is no other teaching whatsoever. Both school and homework consist entirely of practice FCAT tests. The only thing my kids learned there was to 'guess B if you don t know the answer' We got out as fast as we could.
--Submitted by a parent

bad parent/ teacher communication.No breaks or playtime!!! Teachers talk down to students ,shout at them and humiliate them in front of each other. My child came home very upset every day and said that teacher made them cry and that they are afraid of him. They should be positive with the kids and encourage them instead of bringing them down and making them feel bad......our children are little people learning and growing and they are at a very vulnerable stage in their lives!
--Submitted by a parent

Before moving to Marion County, my children attended only private schools. We moved in the middle of the school year and were forced to enroll them in the public school system. We were very nervous about it. Fortunatley Saddlewood exceeded what we expected. The principal is just amazing! I see all the negative comments about this school. However when Mrs. Laffey showed up things changed. Our kids are in their second year there after attending one of the highest ranking private schools in the state of Florida. We couldn't be happier with the education that they are recieving in this school. Ofcourse, private schools will always have access to better resources, but the most important resource is people. Mrs. Laffey and her troops appear to be filling that need remarkably.
--Submitted by a parent

Great School for my kids!!!
--Submitted by a parent

I can't say enough good things about Saddlewood. As a parent of a special needs student, the teachers and staff went out of their way to make her learning experience a positive one. She was only 3 1/2 when she started, with a development of a 2 year old. After only 6 months in the program, not only has she caught up age wise, but exceeded all expectations. This is because of the loving and caring teachers that Saddlewood offers. the pick up and drop off might be bad, but it's for the safety of the kids!
--Submitted by a parent

I have sent notes to the teacher, calls to the administration and nobody responds. We moved here from CT and expected academic differences, unfortunately we've not been disappointed. There is no recess in this school but children do get gym 2-3 times/week. The teacher put 6 children in a 20 min. time-out for talking in line on the second week of school! Figure the class is about a half hour and they had to sit out for 20 mins of it --- ridiculous! When I called the office about their time-out procedure, they never responded. The drop-off and pick-up procedure is another example of what's wrong at that school. Picture an airport w/curbside check-in. One at a time, each car is loaded and unloaded at the curb. We WILL find another school before the beginning of next year.
--Submitted by C B, a parent