Heards Ferry Elementary School

There are better schools with admin that believes in equity for all students regardless of socio-economics and race

Like a private-school without the cost. Unlike some of the private schools in the area, the kids are continually tested and can be advanced in math and reading above grade level. There’s also the TAG program which identifies exceptional students and provides additional academic experiences. What’s best about this school is the culture and environment (most parents are truly invested in their child’s education and involved). Yes, this is an upper-middle class to wealthy subset of parents who are mostly well educated (lots of Tesla’s in the carpool line), so not much racial or socioeconomic diversity and the hallways look a little homogeneous. But somehow the school still feels comfortable and you definitely get that sense of community. Overall, an A+ grade in my book.

The school has great facilities (recently built) and a great parent community (generally well educated, affluent Sandy Springs parents who care a lot about their kids' education), so it has the potential to be great. However, I have been very disappointed in the spotty quality of certain teachers. The school is transitioning and for it to be great, they need to find teachers at the level of the facilities, parents and kids. A few have been fabulous, but if your child is stuck with a bad situation it is a nightmare. One recent class had a teacher that went on maternity leave at the beginning of the year (couldn't help that) but never came back, abandoned the kids, so the kids never had a full time teacher all year, just substitutes. There are some teachers with serious relationship issues w/ the kids and uninspired teaching (teaching for tests), which parents hear about from gossip from previous years and nothing has been done about those personnel. It is depressing to hear about. This is not reflective of all the teachers at the school, but if it is your kid, it doesn't matter, it is a nightmare and you wonder what your kid is missing out on. The school needs to learn to take action with the kids interest in mind first and foremost, not let stuff linger. It will not be in the league of the other top schools in Atlanta until it cleans up these situations..

Awesome school! We moved into this school district based on the rave reviews from friends and we love it! The building is brand new, both teachers and other parents seem enthusiastic and happy. All the students seem like good kids from good families, very warm and welcoming. Academics also seem great, accelerating children in math and reading above grade-level if they have the aptitude. Feels like a great close-knit neighborhood school!