Greenfield Albert M School

Excellent school. Lower school is exceptional, and middle school is very good and getting better each and every year. Unlike Penn Alexander, which has let parents camp out in January nights in years past to secure spots for their kids before switching to lottery, Greenfield's principal has opened FIVE new classrooms in lower school (so now there are 3 classrooms each in K-4) since the fall of 2009 to accommodate increasing numbers of students. All the new teachers he hired are truly excellent. Dedicated teachers (yes, there is quite a bit of homework and projects), extraordinary parental commitment, and students who work very hard are all factors that make Greenfield a terrific school. May not be a school for everyone - enroll your kids here if you want them to learn and be challenged to give their very best. However, if you as a parent expect that you need to drop off and pick up and the school will do the rest, you might be better off at a private school.
—Submitted by a parent

Greenfield is an absolutely amazing school. We have two children there, a kindergartener and a 4th-grader, and ever since we started there we have experienced wonderful, caring teachers/staff/principal, tremendous parental involvement and, of course, great and diverse student body. Our 4th-grader will be leaving for a magnet school next year, but we as a family will always support Greenfield long after our kids are no longer students there. I can't imagine what drove the previous poster to conclude the things listed in this negative review below, except to tell you that our experience - and it is out 5th year there - has been nothing short of exceptional.
—Submitted by a parent

Don't send your child here! Some teachers have no interest in the children they teach. They lack basic courtesy and border on bullying the child. They resort to punishment, excessive homework with very little teaching. Open playground is completely unsafe and mostly unsupervised. Teaching is about love and caring. We haven't found that in this school!

To get into this school was a thrill since the system is so broken there is not one good school in my area. Teachers, staff, volunteers...everyone is so helpful, supportive and they actually care about your child's education and mentor when needed. My son has been here since kindergarten and we will stay until high school. Great road to science leadership academy.
—Submitted by a parent

I went to Greenfiled for 4th - 8 th grade, graudated Masterman, and is in my 3rd year at Bloomsburg University. I have two children and when be getting married when I graudate college. My oldest child goes to greenfield. And he LOVES it.
—Submitted by a parent

ok so i went here from k-4 and then i transfered to Masterman. I did not transfer because of greenfield i transfered because greenfield applied me for a greater school so i could grow. They really car what happens to you in life. The staff is great. I am now in 7th grade and i do not currently know the status but from what i am hearing it is doing fine!!

Great school hands down! My daughter goes here and she fits right in. SHe has been reading since she was three and she is good.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is in her second year at Greenfield and I feel that the parent involvement is excellent. I am a teacher in another school district and I wish the parents were as involved in what was going on at my school as they are at Greenfield. The principal is caring and personable. Some of the teachers are new and need more training but overall my daughter has made many friends and is learning how to be part of a community.
—Submitted by a parent

I just took my child out of Greenfield. Yes it is considered one of Philadelphia's best school but if you compare the scores to the rest of the State it falls in the bottom 15%. It does not matter how hard or how good th school's leadership is if you do not have the funds or you are forced to keep teachers on who do not care then it drags the entire school down. When children in Greenfield reach the 5th grade many of them leave to go to private school or are lucky enough to be accepted to Masterman (a very good school) this creates a 'brain drain' to Greenfield and places students who do not do so well in grades 5-8 that hurt the school a lot.
—Submitted by a parent

I love Greenfield School because it has a new, progressive-thinking principal who seems open to new ideas and implementing strategies to improve the school. His approachable, respectful manner towards parents and students sets the tone for the same from his staff and visitors to the school. It's green and it's great! Go Greenfield!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This year is my daughter's third year at Greenfield. We have been very happy so far. The teachers are excellent. The parents are very involved. I think Greenfield is a really good school. The only critic is the administration that lacks of profesionalism
—Submitted by a parent

While attending Greenfield, I enjoyed myself and am very proud to say that I am a Greenfield graduate. Throughout my years of attending, my teachers were caring,understanding and interested in our well being. Going to Greenfield gives any attendee a standard to live up to. I loved going into a diverse classroom everyday, and being able to participate in a great learning environment. I felt like Greenfield was a family to me, a second home.Greenfield gave me the tools that I needed for high school, as far as academic, social, and individual.
—Submitted by a student

My daughter is in second grade now. She is really happy with her school. The teachers are great. The principal is great. The Home and School Association is very active and communicative. I agree that the office staff should be more friendly. And the location is very accessible
—Submitted by a parent

I was not satisfied as a Greenfield parent, so much so that we were going to send our child to private school if we hadn't decided to move this year. Teaching was variable - a few great teachers, but many who were near retirement and disengaged, cynical and unenthusiastic. Our child bore the brunt of that. Perhaps the new principal this year will helpl
—Submitted by a parent

The location is great. The diversity is awesome, the Home and School association is very active and productive. Office staff could be more friendly, more extra curricular activities would be great. The school should take a stronger approach in dealing with students with disciplinary problems. Overall my son is happy there, and I am happy as a parent.
—Submitted by a parent

Parent-teacher communication is non-existent. Administration lacks professionalism and is nearly impossible to approach. The playground area is open and teachers would leave children unattended before the end of the school day. While the school might be academically better than most in the vicinity, it is by no means a good school.
—Submitted by a parent

Greenfield is a great school -- committed, involved parents with smart, happy, engaged children combine to make for a diverse, stimulating, creative, active, intelligent, educational culture.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at Greenfield for 4 years and have been even happier here than we expected to be. The school really focuses on turning out academically skilled students and we have been satisfied with the curriculum and the pace at which they move through it. There are many excellent teachers at all grade levels, a good level of enrichment (Italian, Technology, Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Art, and Gym as of 2008), and an excellent Mentally Gifted program. Clubs and sports abound, and the school strives to take full advantage of its great Center City location and gets the kids out and about to cultural programs on a regular basis. Best of all is the incredible level of parental involvement, a hallmark of the school, and the true feeling of community that pervades this genuinely diverse urban school.
—Submitted by a parent

Greenfield School afforded my girls a wonderful education. They are prepared for highschool and one is in going into her 2nd year of college. If felt the teachers were dedicated and wanted the girls to succeed that was key. However I had a completely different experience for my son at Greenfield which came as a complete shock to me, being a dedicated parent who had 1 child go K-4 (then to Masterman) and two girls K-8 at Greenfield. I think that Greenfield teachers and faculty needs to focus on how to educate their young men (especially young men of color) more effectively.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of a sixth and fourth grader at Albert M. Greenfield. I love the school because it has a wonderful mix of diversity, involved parents, and great teachers. Although, many students leave after fourth grade, my older daughter stayed and loves middle school. The teachers are dedicated. There is a Greening Initiative going on at Greenfield at this time. We just purchased a new weather station, some classes are working on a curriculum based mural with a community organization. It's a great school.
—Submitted by a parent