African Road Elementary School

Excellent School. Teachers are dedicated to what they do and just easy to communicate with as a parent!
—Submitted by a parent

I have two daughters, one went to ARE k-5 and the other k-3. As a certified teacher myself, I am rather picky about the experiences my children have. I have to say that the teachers we have had (9 total) have been pretty darn terrific. Vestal has a bit of a reputation for hiring young teachers to save money, but the kids in this neighborhood are a pleasure to work with. I have always found our teachers responsive to my concerns. I have also volunteered in the school and very impressed by what I see. The teachers are caring, enthusiastic and hard working. PTO runs a very well organized program of volunteerism which includes after school activities. This is a superior school, with superior test scores to prove it!
—Submitted by a parent

I just moved to the area one year ago, taking my son from a private Montessori school into a public school system for the first time. I was worried but have been very pleased with African Road Elementary. His teacher is extraordinary--as a parent who helped to staff 'centers' once a week, I got to watch her in action and was consistenly impressed. She worked hard to tailor her teaching to my son's special skills and need for more challenging work. She communicates effectively with parents through notes home and even by e-mail. The principal, Ms. Mitchell, and secretary, Ms. Ellis, are also fantastic--helpful, concerned about the kids, cheerful under stress, on top of things--I really couldn't be happier. Now, I'm just hoping for another super teacher next year.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has had an excellent experience thus far at ARE. She has had absolutely outstanding teachers and has flourished as a result. That said, I know there are definitely some teachers there who should not be teaching - I just have not had the 'pleasure' of encountering them. I find my own ability to get involved as a parent limited by the school, PTA, and other parents - many activities are scheduled during work hours and they frequently do not provide enough advance notice for me to make arrangements to participate. I also find many parents up in arms and making a lot of noise about things that they really know little about -jumping to conclusions and making assumptions without doing research. They seem to be in attack mode - no wonder some people feel the principal is unresponsive! I can't really blame her!
—Submitted by a parent

African Road Elementary has poor leadership. The more veteran teachers are very rigid and stuck in their ways and the newer teachers with prompting, are headed in that direction. Very little opportunities for parent involvement in classrooms. Principal and teachers seem almost afraid of parent involvement. Students are smart, coming from an educated community, so test scores will always be good. 'Us against them' (teachers/parents) attitude can be felt across the board. Overall not progressive in their thinking, which is somewhat surprising since there seem to be quite a few younger teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

Having had several kids in and through ARE I am very pleased at the quality of education, which is why the students are there. Parental involvement is lacking at the PTA level. A few parents seem to want to substitute their educational opinions for the teachers. I have found the principal to be open, very kind and interested in each child. I have never had one of my, or more importantly my child's , concerns ignored, however small or large. Extra curricular activities are parent run and therefore inconsistent yet excellent. The community is loaded with activities for all levels and interests. In school opportunities are appropriate and supported. Student gov't is a long standing positive, highly sought after student positions that directs creative community service opportunities for the students.The size of the school creates a close environment. The school secretary knows each child (over 300) by name. A real gem!
—Submitted by a parent

Teacher quality is inconsistent. High teacher turnover and many inexperienced (and experienced) teachers in the building who lack motivation to go the extra distance for their students. Communication home is lacking, as is teacher limitation of parent involvement. Most likely coming from the principal, whose methods and thinking regarding school-home collaboration is very outdated. Student body is bright on the whole, so testing scores are consistently on the high side. But those statistics are misleading for parents moving their families into the district for this school. Very limited parent involvement into the classroom, at parties, etc. is allowed and there are no creative projects at the school, such as science fairs, 100BookChallenge, grants for art and innovation. Field trips are uneventful and sparse. It has been a very disappointing experience overall.
—Submitted by a parent

Not impressed with principal. This school needs an injection of new people!
—Submitted by a parent

Not open to parent involvement. Not very informative to parents. A sort of 'us against them' scenario. Principal is not honest...Good reputation for Vestal High, I don't think the reputation carries over to African Road Elem. The principal seems to think that parents are ignorant and exaggeratng when it comes to student related issues. Yet, the school is still not bad. It needs to be more progressive, though.
—Submitted by a parent

Teachers are often insensitive to childrens' feelings. Extra ciricular activities are costly and sparce. Special education is inadequate. mild bullying is common and not addressed. This school needs a lot of improvements!
—Submitted by a parent