Sandy Ridge Elementary School

We moved from SRES last year to New Jersey, but I have to admit that SRES is an excellent school. The AIG program is fantastic there and I miss that here in NJ!! The teachers here in NJ said my daughter adjusted easily to a difficult curriculum here in NJ, not knowing about SRES standards and AIG program!!!!!!
--Submitted by a parent

In my three years at SRES, I have been impressed with the quality of the teachers and administrators. Parents are very involved throughout the school. School events are well atttended. I feel very fortunate to send my kids to SRES.
--Submitted by a parent

This is our last year at Sandy Ridge, my daughter will be starting Middle School this fall. We have had a very positive experience at SR. Mr Childers is an excellent principal. We have been very fortunate to have had great teachers, with the exception of one year. Our 5th grade math and science teacher has been fantastic. Overall, I would give this school very high marks. Keep up the good work Mr Childers and the staff!
--Submitted by a parent

My children have been happy at Sandy Ridge. Neither has had any issues with the school being too strict. As far as pulling "cards" - even my perfectionist child does not find this system to be a problem, since they get to start over daily (enforcement varies greatly by teacher as is typical in most schools.). Besides, who wants a classroom of 25 kids "freely expressing" themselves all at the same time? My shy daughter has made plenty of friends at school and has time to chat with them at recess or the second half of lunch. Our experience is that Tom Childers takes very seriously the individual needs of each child. Each year you get to fill out a questionnaire about your child - your chance to "request" a certain type of teacher (not by name but by teaching style that works for your child.) Academics- our children are in the AIG (gifted) program and the (Singapore) Math program is very strong-wish they had AIG for all subjects. They take EOG standardized tests seriously because of the implications if they don t. This school is probably as good as you are going to get around here unless you spend the $10-20K for private school ($3K-13 more than public schools has to work with.)
--Submitted by a parent

Sandy Ridge Elementary is indeed strict--it is not a country club. There are high expectations for learning here. This place is a blue ribbon school for a reason! My child enjoys going to school each day, and yep--he gets card pulls. It's all how parents address these tickets at home that can either make learning here stressful or you go with the flow. Kids are kids and often have a hard time focusing or staying on task. If your child comes home with a card pull, you should understand that they are like most of the other kids at SR. Don't take the cards so seriously, our teacher gives them to my son (and most others in the class) but he comes home with great grades on his report card, etc. Parents need to chill out with these cards--they are not the end of the world. We've been at this school since the beginning, and have not seen a decrease in quality. Overall, this a top-notch school. It isn't perfect, but it's as good as it gets for free education in the U.S. We feel pretty lucky to have our kids go here and not have to pay a dime for it. It's elementary school, people! Our kids have a long way to go before we get all twisted up about a few cards and other minor things.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter was at this school a few years ago. when it first opened it was the greatest year my daughter has ever had. by the time she was about to graduate, the school was like a military compound. I agree with the person bellow me. no free expression aloud. ridiculous. no reason for it. these were well behaved children and now they are stifled. all the good teachers got transfered and left the school. I don't know what its like that. the better choice is Rea View in that area.
--Submitted by a parent

People always make the mistake of thinking a school is itself good or bad. the 10 schools are excellent because of the children that go there. airlift the school into downtown charlotte and lets see the test scores. that being said, this is not the school for open, free spirited children. don't think your child will meet any kids here because they are essentially unable to speak, look at, or smile at another child without drawing the card. can't speak in the bathroom, don't dare get too close to the walls and touch them(cards) . just sit for six hours (this is kindergarten) and fold your hands, don't move and do as the teachers tell you. do not squirm or you will draw a card. i originally couldn't understand why so many neighbors had all their kids at latin school and paid for education, now i see why.
--Submitted by a parent

I think this school is fantastic! The faculty and staff are very professional and care so much about their students. The teachers go to great lengths to provide the best education possible and really care about their students. As for the comments about reading, research shows that children learn more from reading alone then they do from any other curriculum. How are students suppose to practice what they are taught during lessons if they are not given time to read on their own. Not to mention students are not really reading alone that long, the teacher gives a lesson, then conferences either with a group or individually. In my child s class the assistant helps out and so do any parent volunteers. Plus this reading program was created in the Northeast, so students taught up there should be very familiar with the program and it would not have changed test scores when the school first opened. The spelling program could be stronger, but it is the same all over Union County and students are tested for this aside from reading. I have been very pleased with this school overall and know that the teachers are doing their very best for our children!
--Submitted by a parent

I took the time to point the Principal of Sandy Ridge to the comments here and had the pleasure of speaking with him... He called me within minutes of the email I sent. What's unfortunate is that he wasn't aware of these 'issues' or 'complaints' since he never received a call or email from the parents who are making these negative remarks. I would encourage anyone with concerns to make the administration of the school aware.
--Submitted by a parent

I was disappointed to see that the reading test scores for the school have gone down over the past couple of years. There is a large population of kids that have transferred from schools in the Northeast, most of which used a more traditional reading curriculum, often a Scholastic reading textbook that correlated with vocabulary and spelling . I can't help but wonder if the students' test scores were higher in the first year or two they attended Sandy Ridge because they were transferring in with a solid reading foundation. If the students' reading scores continue to decline, it would suggest that the current reading program is not giving them the skills they need. Though the school selects strong choices of books for independent reading, the reading curriculum itself is weak.
--Submitted by a parent