Sullivan James J School

This school smell when you walk into the hallways and in the front door. The children are horrible and may influence your child in a negative way. On the flip side it is one of the better school in the neighborhood but if you have a choice choose another school because this school is not good for my child. The teachers are great and will work with you but the school conditions make it hard for them. The school district of Philadelphia has gotten worse and it shows in their classroom sizes and lack of extracurricular activities for the children.
—Submitted by a parent

My children have attended Sullivan for many years. The present Principal cares about the students and the former teacher who says she talks down to the staff is not telling the whole story. The principal abides by the rules. Sullivan has mostly excellent teachers. I do have issue with the lunch aides who I have personally witnessed yelling at students and giving out detention without good cause. Parents aren't notified . Besides that issue, I feel Sullivan is a good school.
—Submitted by a parent

It is a school where employees truly care about each students and conmtinue to strive to educate them!

I have been a part of the Sullivan family for about 16 years not. Both of my children attended Sullivan and are now successful adults. I began working at Sullivan 15 years ago and I think it is a great place for children. The staff at Sullivan and very dedicated and strive to make every year a success for every child. What do I love about Sullivan? I love the children, staff, and parents who all work together to make the educational experience enriching as well as fun.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a former teacher at Sullivan and I can honestly say that I sympathize with the parents who complain about the prinicipal. She is a major contributor to the school's poor image and performance. She does talk down to the children in a loud voice; she did the same thing to the teachers when I was there. I am so sorry that more cannot be done to dismiss her due to incompetence.
—Submitted by a parent

I truly believe this school's problem lies in the principal as well.The woman does not speak to the children very nicely.She speaks down to them & she is very loud about it.The organization is disgusting & pathetic.Rain days are always a mess, the children don't know where they go because someone is always at the front door telling them to go here, once in the school their told to go somewhere else.I don't think the principal does too much to improve the school.My son is going into 2nd grade this year,& I am worried to be honest.I don't think there is enough help around the school for each child individually.I think if we didn't have this principal our school would be run a little better organized, safer & more child friendly.
—Submitted by FORMER STUDENT CHILD ATTENDS, a parent

As someone who attended Sullivan from kindergarten through the 6th grade in the 1970's and now has two children of his own who attend the school, my observation would be that any problems that the school may be having are a result of poor administration and even worst parent participation in their children's education. The quality of the teachers is as high as it was in my days as a student, and this is HIGH praise considering that I was educated by the likes of Mrs. Walters, Dugan, Collete, Carbone etc. A principal of Mr. Spanglers quality is wanted and needed, but I am truly disturbed by the lack of parent participation I observe at the school. A proud Sullivan alum.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been with Sullivan for 13 years , my fourth and last child is now in second grade , I have to say , I have seen many , many changes in the school , but the teachers and the administration really do care about the children , my two older sons have attended the best high school in Philadelphia because of the caring and support they have recieved from Sullivan , my 12 year old son is attending a middle school that requires good grades and he owes a lot of that to the teachers at Sullivan.
—Submitted by a parent

I truly believe this school's problem lies in the principal as well.The woman does not speak to the children very nicely.She speaks down to them and she is very loud about it.The organization is disgusting and pathetic.Rain days are always a mess, the children don't know where they go because someone is always at the front door telling them to go here, once in the school their told to go somewhere else.I don't think the principal does too much to improve the school.My son is going into 2nd grade this year,and I am worried to be honest.I don't think there is enough help around the school for each child individually.I think if we didn't have this principal our school would be run a little better organized, safer, and more child friendly.For some reason Dr.Bainbridge believes that appearances are far more important then the feelings of a child.
—Submitted by a parent

This school definitely needs some improvement. The academic curriculum isn't as challenging as it should be. It also needs to have better organization, my son currently attends the 4th grade and his teacher has been out for a month and they haven't even taken the appropriate action to find his class a proper substitute teacher. So for a month now he hasn't had any real lessons, they are doing my son and his classmates a disservice, I have had to pick up the slack so that he doesn't fall behind on his lessons.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended Sullivan school. The school is dated and could use a little TLC. My son was in a learning support class. His teachers were caring and supportive. Ms. Kelly Cochran and Ms. Butrin were excellent teachers and my son enjoyed his time there.
—Submitted by valerie rudzinski, a parent