Martha Vinyard Elementary School

Martha Vinyard has been brutalized by the public for many years. Children pass the 4th grade LEAP test. As they arrive at Vinyard, 5-6 grades, they are being prepared to pass the 8th grade LEAP. All skills in math, social studies, and science are new ideas the students have not had prior knowledge of. The curriculum is aggressive. The students who complete their work meet all the expectations of the teachers. Unfortuately, parental involvement is very poor. You see the same parents all the time (not that many). My children have had great experiences at Vinyard. The teachers were warm and caring, yet get through the discipline problems and the students who do not want to learn. Yes I am a parent who volunteers and also subs. My kids were involved in the clubs and the maintained good grades, but we had to study and work at it.. Vinyard has made my students better people. Maybe I was lucky not to have seen a bullying teacher there. The teachers want the students to succeed by setting goals and expectations for the students.
--Submitted by a parent

I attended this school in 2009-2010, and I have to say that this is the worst school in the parish. The teachers bully students and leave us unattended in the classrooms, and one teacher even presured us to make a good grade on our iLEAP test because that would make the school better and it would give her a raise.

my daughter has been an A/B honorroll student in every school she has been to before she when to martha vinyard school .the teachers blame her for failing on her beening a bad student .my child came home crying and not wanting to go to school because the teachers were so mean to her and they refused to answer her questions when she tryed to ask them something she didnt understand .and for the 1st time ever i had a parent/teacher conf.where the teachers try to tell me how my child refuse to study and learn.But how can these kids ;earn when they are so scared of the teachers and other poeple who work there. Well u can make ur own call but if a great student goes to this school and becomes scared of teachers she has would u really want ur child to go though
--Submitted by a parent

Vineyard has good teachers with good leadership. There are music, art, and 4-H programs, but no sports programs. The parental involvement is not very good. I also find that the discipline program is quite weak. What would I change? Encourage parental involvement, implement some type of sports program, and do something about the overly aggressive children and those that are nothing but a disruption to the classroom. I understand that funding must be obtained to implement a sports program, but the discipline and parental involvement can be achieved at no extra cost.
--Submitted by cheryl bolotte, a parent

As a parent of two children who have attended Vineyard Elementary, by far, this is the worst school in Ponchatoula. Many teachers not only bully students, but also try to break their spirits. Instead of focusing on teaching, their focus seems to be on too strict of a discipline, and trying to intimidate students. Children are left alone in the classroom, unsupervised, for extended periods of time, while teachers mingle amoungst themselves in the halls. This school is, by far, one which I would hope no grandchild of mine would ever have to attend.
--Submitted by a parent

I find Martha Vinyard to be more focused in displinary measures, than academic quality. I believe the reason for this lies in the lack of teaching skills and interest in individual student success by the majority of the teaching staff. Although, not all teachers at Martha Vinyard are lacking in these teaching skills. Unfortunely, a few can't do the job, it takes teamwork by all. The low percentage numbers show my opinion is not far off. Especially, in the math department. Empathy and understanding combined with displine are what young people need to succeed. Martha Vinyard doesn't have this combination.
--Submitted by a parent