St. John School

I can't believe the negative comments I'm reading about St. John School. These people have their own issues to grind and should not blame St. John's for their shortcomings. To say that the teachers are lazy and uncaring is just so untrue. They are very educated, caring and will go the extra step to help their students. This I have witnessed. All students from Gr6 - G8 attend great Parochial schools when they leave St. Johns. Boston Latin, Latin Academy, Boston College High School to name a few. So many alumni come back to thank their teachers for their dedication and guidance in helping them pave the way to a great future!!! It seems to me that these negative parents are more concerned about parent "cliques" and don't pay attention to the real focus of quality education at St. John School! The high schools that our graduates attend frequently write to the principal and teachers thanking them for sending our student to their school! If you have any doubts about St. John School, please call the school office and come in and visit with the principal and tour the school. Truly, you will see all the wonderful things and quality education that St. John's is offering!

I am very saddened by the negative comments that some people have given to St. John School. I believe that these negative comments stem from their own private issues (parents cliques?) and have an axe to grind. They are not focusing on the quality education given to all students at St. John's. To say that the teachers are not compassionate, caring & understanding is so untrue...I find the teachers so well educated and caring, they will always take that extra step to give help to any of their students. This I have witnessed! St. John School is accreditated by the NCEA. Our standardized testing scores prove all the good teaching that is going on at St. John's. Most all students who graduate go on to accreditated parochial high schools, including Boston Latin, Latin Academy, Boston College High School...The principal and teachers receive many letters from principals from those schools thanking St. John's for sending them to their school. So many of our alumni come back to thank their teachers for paving the way to a great future. St. John School is now opening a full day 3 yr old program starting in September. Check out our website...Call the school and come in for a visit.

Wow such nasty stuff being written about a solidly good school. There is a gym, and the kids go to the Nazzaro Center for gym, as do the Eliot students. No child has gym in the street...and as far as movies go, most are documentaries which culminate various genre of literature, i.e. Holocaust, the Renaissance, Black History Month, and many more.I don't find the teachers lazy....in fact hard workers who are underpaid...All in all a good Catholic school!

What about the children who get into Latin School and top Catholic schools, and some on to Harvard, yes, Harvard! St John School provided the basics and more .We always have so many alums coming back and thanking us for all we instilled in them which also goes far beyond academics. It's very easy to criticize a school, but look at the facts- kids here do well in standard testing, exam school testing, and Catholic school high school exams. Too bad all that negativity....it is so poisonous and unfounded. It seems that some have personal axes to grind. If so, one needs to take a deep breath, and somewhere in the depth of their being ,begin to appreciate what a jewel this school is... give it a try!
--Submitted by a teacher

As a parent who has children enrolled in st. John school I must say what a wonderful school it is. I have read the negative reviews and I believe most of the information is extremely over exaggerated. I know parents who choose to send there kids elsewhere because they have to find something wrong with a school. The children have a gym at the school and do not play in the street. my kids do extremely well here and I feel very safe with my kids being here. the classrooms are not cluttered as with the local public school, (30 kids) so my children are getting the proper attention and learning they need. Many students have been accepted to great high schools such as: Boston Latin, Latin academy, newton country day...etc. I believe you get what you pay for.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is by far the worst private elementary school you can find in Boston. The majority teachers are lazy (especially math), and the school is paying more attention to the raffles, fund-raise and "coffee time" for the parents. During the morning drop-off the same group of parents are blocking the entrance/hallway chit-chatting to accumulate traffic. Completely lack in communication with parents and teachers to request for the missing homeworks. But if there is something missing to pay(eg.candy sale) the school always find a fastest way to contact the parents. Some of the teachers puts TV on during the class time instead of other educational activities(eg. reading!). Almost every other week is half day and/or no class for students. Yes, it is an easy "A" school because it is not challenging; 7 grade students are still learning addition and subtraction! There is no cafeteria for healthy school lunch and no gym-students are playing on the streets during the gym class! Afterschool program is like a zoo and no one is there to help with children's homework. Just few blocks away there is Eliot school. Save your money and enroll your child there.
--Submitted by a parent

First let me begin by saying not everyone will ever be 100% pleased with the school they choose for their children. There will always be the parent who thinks their child is better than the school and he or she can never be at fault for his or her actions or inactions. The school has stood the test of time for over 100 years. I was a student and I am now the parent of a student. I have no complaints about the education my son is receiving. My son studies hard and works hard in school. I am satisifed with his teachers thus far. They are fair and strict and that's how it should be. Four teachers have each been there well over 25 years and that is a testament to their commitment to educating. The upper grades lose kids to Latin every year. This is a credit to the education the children receive. I did not give my review 5 stars because doing so would indicate perfection and nothing is perfect.
--Submitted by a parent

Three children in our household attended St. John, all starting from K1. I believe the school has some great ideals driven by its long-standing headmaster. This is one constant that I've also heard from my friends' children who also attended the school, and who are now well into their twenties. All of our kids loved K1, taught by another long-standing teacher, who is a very traditional, emphathetic person who managed to treat every child individually, and took great interest in creating a positive, confidence-building experience for each new student. Sadly, this is where my positive experience ends. From both personal experience and feedback from other parents, as the children progress, the growing and learning experience sharply declines, especially for children that are more academically or socialy challenged. While there is no egregious favoritism of greater performing students, there is a far less nurturing of those facing challenges. The "inclusion" factor quickly diminishes after K1. If your kid doesn't belong, he/she never will. I have heard this feedback directly from other children. I have since withdrawn the children from St. John, and pray something improves.
--Submitted by a parent

We were very disappointed with the quality of teaching here. Overall experience from school is below average. Our son's teacher was not enthusiatic and energetic, as a result our son never got to like her. Lack of communication was a huge obstacle in understanding what went on in the classroom. There were no meetings with parents and regular updates (besides those twice a year) were never provided. In general, communication between the teacher and parents is NOT encouraged. We found class sizes, especially in younger grades, very large. As such, much of valuable time in the classroom was spent putting out fires and dealing with emergencies. Although we acknowldge a strong emphasis on penmanship, there was NO reading time during the first year of school whatsoever. The school does have a library which the yonger children attend once a week, however, a choice of books our son brought from school was disappointing, and the selection for younger readers is quite limited. The school has no gymnasium, as such sports are not introduced. There is a very strong emphasis on religion. This school may work for some but our child didn't thrive here at all.
--Submitted by a parent

I must agree with the prior writer's comments. Our kids were actively involved in several extracurricular group activities in addition to the regular school day, so one cannot say we didn't give it our best shot. Parents are not allowed in the school during the day, or afterwards, unless it's for a quick pick-up of our children - that's how much they want parental involvement in education. Over the course of a year there was one 5 minute mid-term review with a teacher, despite requests for more regular and general updates on progress. Only one other child's parents bothered to show up to their time slot. Busy-work dominates, TV is always a part of the day in order to fill the time, and never was reading part of of the day, not the arrangement we signed up for. Better-informed parents who want their child to be actually challenged by their school, and who care to know what's going on with their child at school will run fast.
--Submitted by a parent