Liberty Pines Academy

Excellence in action! This school is run very well. It has caring, loving teachers, and wonderful, supportive families. The caliber to which the teachers and students are held makes for a professional, educational atmosphere. The greetings of teachers and the principal inside the halls is warm and inviting. My daughter adores her Kindergarten teacher, and I am confident that she will be happy through 8th grade here. :)
--Submitted by a parent

Liberty Pines Academy is wonderful!! The vision the administration has for the school is truely inspirational. The only problem that I have encountered at LPA is the parents! What a bunch of spoiled people. Everyone thinks their child is "gifted" and belongs in a gifted class and if their child does not perform well then who's fault is it?????.....well the teachers of course. I have never lived in a community with so many people who feel so entitled!! I rather have my kids play with kids from the city. I need more down to earth people that don't try to pass of responsibility for their children's actions on to thoes poor teachers that just want to teach children!!! Anyway, I feel sorry for the teachers constantly getting abused by thoes parents. I have seen it happen too much! Leave them alone so they can teach our kids instead of kissing your butts.
--Submitted by a parent

Beautiful new facility. Principal is friendly, big on social aspects, interacts nicely with the children, runs a smooth though highly regimented facility, that produces good FCAT scores. Overall the principal is nice, and school is good except for all ESE segments. Some teachers are wonderful, some are not at all. Nurse's office is excellent. Front desk is awful--run like a prison camp and very unfriendly and not completely competent. The one AP is nasty to children and parents alike, like a truancy officer, undermines parental authority with children and disregards their insights. Needs for gifted students are not understood or addressed, and grading practices are discriminatory against them, in the interest of equality(??). No exceptionalities are handled well. Many parents of ESE students from the area have pulled their children from this school, and go to private options, which is just sad. Parents have expressed unusual levels of resentment toward this school, which leaves one wondering. It sounds like ESE students are grouped in separate classes like outcasts, while gifted students are treated like average students. One size fits all.
--Submitted by a parent

LPA is what you would expect from a larger public school. There are some wonderful teachers who communicate well with the parents and monitor their students progress. Then there are some very questionable teachers who I honestly think are just there to collect a paycheck .I truly have nothing positive to say about the VP. She is harsh and unfriendly both to parents and students alike. The P is very well liked by the students and is responsive to parent concerns. The regular receptionist is awful. I dread going into the school because she will give you a problem about everything! The school nurse is increadble!
--Submitted by a parent

What a great place for kids to grow. As an employee (non-instructional) it is rewarding to be part of a staff who truely care about the kids and each other. Everyone is involved in the education of the students. We believe in growing the whole child by setting goals and standards that teach life skills and respect. The administration is strong and passionant about our mission to educate life-long learners. The majority of our parents and students are happy and supportive.
--Submitted by a teacher

This is the best school my child has been to. The teacher has been extremely easy to communicate with. The front office has always been professional and held to the standards. The curriculum in on par or ahead of national standards, cant help that fcat is holding everyone back, and the behavior of the children seems good. I havent heard of extreme or problematic children in the classrooms. The facilities are brand new. The only knock is the school lunches. Do not buy school lunches. They are horrible and wretched.The school lunches should be boycotted. I cannot believe we would ask children to eat that junk and request their parents to pay for it. Shame on the Supervisor. The school is great though, I highly recomend it.
--Submitted by a parent

I was extremely unhappy with the leadership at this school. The principal is a wimp who does not "lead the school" but is lead by a select few on the PTO and a VP that makes Cruella Deville look like Shirley Temple! The school is so big that if you need an answer to a question you need to "e-mail this person, or go on the school website." Parents are not made to feel welcome at all, at least if you have any input or understanding of what your child needs... or questions etc. Heaven forbid you have a complaint, they have no need for any improvement at LPA, Just ask them lol. I got my child out quickly.
--Submitted by a parent

Many of the reviews here seem to have been written by teachers/staff of Liberty Pines. Not a single parent I know there has such positive things to say. The teachers are very difficult to communicate with, the assistant principal is very unfriendly, and the principal himself is a marshmallow--and not in a good way. The school is far too large to function well, many of the teachers are very weak, and children who do not fit the mold are made to feel unwelcome. Liberty Pines is everything a school should avoid becoming.
--Submitted by a parent

We moved here from NY and heard great things about this school, however it was anything but! My daughter is in 2nd grade and was in the gifted program at her school in NY, but here they wouldn't put her in anything. She became so bored in her class! Another thing that annoyed me and I felt was just unfair...because it is a K-8 school, the younger children do not get to use the gym during PE class! They only have Gym every 2 weeks, which is just crazy I think, but they had to either go outside or they ended up in some room playing board games! how ridiculous is that! Ok and last but not least, the vice principal is seriously not a nice woman! She might be fine for older kids, but does not know how to talk to elementary aged children at all, she terrified my daughter!
--Submitted by a parent

The staff is hit or miss available. Some of the teachers are very available. But several times last year I had to make phone calls to the front office to get a few teachers to respond to an email or phone call. I would best describe this school as, a middle school with too many elementary school teachers. 6th and 7th student expectations are not elevated to match other middle schools. My son will not be returning after Christmas break. Because I don't feel they are preparing him for high school educationally or socially.
--Submitted by a parent