Adams Elementary School

Academics are of primary importance at this school. The students have excelled at the MEAP tests and the school has won various awards for reading. The 2nd Grade Teacher in multiage won a Presidential Teaching award in 2009. The Principal is very hands on and the PTA is very involved in getting the school the things its own funding can't get. There are lots of activities for everyone at the school. My children have been involved in scouting, 4-H, Math Pentathlon and much more.
—Submitted by a parent

Great parent involement. Teachers and staff caring. Good and ok teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

I currently have 3 children in school there, have been involved in the PTA, boy scouts, and girl scouts. The teachers both are fantastic leaders, and great teachers, garnering awards and inspiring the kids to produce newsworthy results in the community.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started at adams and is now in 4th grade and I am very pleased with the school. As has been said in other comments the parent participation has been tremendous in everything from the classrooms to the PTA to scouting. This school is definatly using the village to raise the child and its great to see!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is in 2nd grade and is in the multiage class. I have been very happy with the school and she loves it. However, I do feel there are issues with communication between staff and parents and staff and administration. I think the principal could make more effort to keep everyone involved academically, I find there isn't even much emphasis on conferences or parent participation when it comes to the academics. I feel the PTA has dropped the ball on what is best for the kids too. The latest fundraiser prize is a week of fast food lunch brought in for the top 3 sellers, that is absolutely uncalled for and should have been stopped by the Principal!! Overall a great school that needs some better leadership all the way around. The parking lot is a nightmare and dangerous!!!
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent I can see that reading and writing is one of the main focuses at Jayno. Waterford adopted a math program to improve math skills and Jayno is piloting the same series in the primary grades in the hopes of adopting it in the future. The science staff development team has, to my knowledge and observation, developed a program under the state guidelines, the social studies program is effective in teaching students how to read information, life skills, history and geography. The MEAP test is a good measurement of success and Jayno receive a an A on the state report card. The students scored exceptionally well. Math scores were: Gr.4 89, Gr.5 83, Gr.3 92. Reading proved to be as successful with a 95, 92, 95, respectively. I have experienced a positive, differentiated and nurturing environment for my child. This is truly a Blue Ribbon staff that cares
—Submitted by a parent

My children attend Jayno Adams and I can say that the lower grades are wonderful. However, 3rd grade seems to be the turning point for this statement. There are a few wonderful teachers in the upper grades, but that is no guarantee that you will get one of them. Reading is the main focus of the school and math seems to be falling to the wayside for my children. We had planned on sending them to private school after 5th grade, but are now considering pulling them out now before they fall any further behind (as so many of our friends and neighbors are doing with their own children). There is great parent participation at the school and it saddens us to pull our children from their friends. A well rounded education is the key to our children's future and they don't seem to be gett it at Jayno.
—Submitted by a parent

I have two students enrolled, first grade and forth grade. We have been a part of the Adams family for seven years now. The best thing I can say about this school is the parent participation. The community is very involved with their children. In my opinion this keeps children strong. I see as my forth grader grows, academics could be a bit broader and responsibility should be more enforced. There are many teachers at this school who are in high demand. (Often requested) However, there is a lot of student teaching going on and the valuable teachers are not always what you get in practice. Overall, we have enjoyed this community but we will be seeking out schools with higher academics next fall.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is in 4th grade and I am now truly seeing what Adam's has to offer ... reading and that is about it. When she was in the lower grades, I thought 'How terrific!' But now she is in 4th grade and her only homework is 20 minutes of reading. There math program is truly lacking. In 4th grade they are doing greater-than-less-than, rounding and basic subtraction. This is what many districts are doing in 2nd grade. It is apparent that the principal's sole goal is achieve her reading accolades and not offering the students a well rounded education. Since this school, like many, worries about the meap and now that the meap is in written format for math, this is one reason they also focus strongly on reading. FYI: This school received it's blue ribbon award when another principal was there.
—Submitted by a parent

Jayno has a very good reputation, (Michigan Charter School-Blue Ribbon) and has some great attributes. We have a 5 year old enrolled in Kindergarten, so we are new to the school, but haven't found much to complain about. Homework amount seems just right, and my son looks forward to going every day. One slight concern of ours has been the kindergarten class sizes...High 20's in each class with one teacher and one aide. I give them high marks for patience, but there seems to be a lot of disconnect between the teacher and the latch-key teacher. May get better in time, but if that's the only problem, I'd say we found a great school!
—Submitted by a parent