South Olive Elementary School

My son started kindergarten only a few months ago and is already reading books to us without any assistance. He couldn’t have a more wonderful teacher. Mrs Murphy is everything anyone could want in an educator. So happy he’s at this school.

This school was 9/10 back in 2015 now is 6/10 which in a way represents the way staff (principal and assistant principal) deal with human/personal situations. It’s a lot about the protocol and not much about caring for the student and attending their needs before a problem triggers.

I attended south olive elementary 16 years ago, and all I can say is that my memories from elementary school are some of the best memories I have. I love south olive. Every time I drive past it, I think of all the wonderful teachers I had, and how much fun it was to learn. I am actually friends with my old teachers on facebook, and when I see them out in public, it is always a wonderful occasion. My husband and I will be sending our children here...when that day comes. (Awesome memories I have: Learning my times tables and being rewarded with an ice cream sunday; In kindergarden when I learned how to spell by putting shaving cream on my desk and writing out my letters in the shaving cream! SO FUN!)

I have been very happy with my child's performance at south olive despite the changes to common core which has made it very challenging for everyone. My child started in K and is now in 1st grade. Her teachers and the new Principal so far have been a delight. Her reading and math skills performance are over the top! I chose this school because I wanted my child to be in a diverse school. There is a combination of very rich and poor kids (the middle class is small) and white vs. latino children here and I like that because I want my daughter to remain humble while understanding that she is in some way more privileged than other children at her school and be proud of her hispanic heritage. I only dislike two main things: the excessive requests for money from the PTO, and the parental atmosphere which seems to be very socially and racially divided. The PTO is mainly driven by parents who either don't work or are very rich. Its hard to get involved in activities as a working parent and I wish the school promoted more events outside working hours so working parents could participate. South Olive academics are top notch and is a gifted school. and I am very happy with this school!