Hilliard Tharp Sixth Grade Elementary School

Mixed bag....less opportunities at this school then we experienced when our older children went here. After school activites have been limited, staff hides behind "district policy" even though they will agree your child isn't in the best class for their ability. Glad it is only for one year.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter is half way through the school year and she is having a very nice year. The teachers on her team are fair yet challenging to her. This has been the best school year she has had academically. I am very pleased.
--Submitted by a parent

After reading the reviews of this school, I'm wondering if perhaps the reviews are submitted by those who are experiencing this approach to school for the first time with their child. We have our 3rd child enrolled at Hilliard Tharp this year and have two other children (now in college) go through the 6th grade school system. Hilliard Tharp has proven to be an excellent school with a caring and deeply committed staff. I can't speak to the various programs like space camp but certainly see several extracurricular opportunities for after school. The programs appear to be well done and we have not experienced any of the issues, even remotely, that the other reviewers have pointed out, i.e. issues with binders, lack of communication, issues of independence, etc. We have gotten good feedback through the grading process and have no issues with reviewing our daughter's homework and signing folders.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is meant to prepare kids for the independence of junior high. Unfortunately, I found that this school forces students to use an entirely different organizational structure (for coursework) than used in the 5th grade. Students have to use 3 ring binders that do not fit in to most school bags. The use of the 3 ring binder causes the pages to rip, get lost and the binders to break. I've spent $50 on binders. Students have to keep track of their own grades and attendance. They have to keep track of homework in the planners and on their individual class assignment logs and then cross check it to the website on a daily basis. Parents are expected to have to sign the planner AND the assignment logs on a regular basis. I think the concept of a 6th grade school is great but Tharp's execution is poor.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has some real issues with trying to instill independence. They henpeck the trivial issues and lack parental communication. They communicate that a child is missing assignments and failing only at grade and conference times, when it is much to late.
--Submitted by a parent