Sandy Ridge Elementary School

We would rate our experience as excellent. We believe the curriculum is top notch and the teachers truly care about the students. The administration has been very engaged in building an even better school.

The current principal started last year, which was our first year. I question a few things she has done. Because the school is growing, she decided to pull children out of their class four full months into the school year last year to reduce class sizes ( just as these children got settled they get to start all over). I understand the need for smaller classes but waiting 4 months to do it is insane. She also has no communication skills. I went to a family fun night because I thought it would be a good time to meet this new principal (which was advertised in the flyer that came home) and I went up to her and she just blankly stood there as if she would rather be home sleeping or something. Yesterday, I was at the school and this principal saw me from about 25 feet away and as we got closer to each other instead of looking at me and saying hello or at least smiling to acknowledge me she decided to look down at the ground. This year my child was physically bullied and the principal had not made the child's parents aware of the incident (had my child not tell me about it I would never have known either). She doesn't get my vote as principal of the year (two years in a row)

My son attended this school in first grade and literally had nightmares about it for over a year after we pulled him out. I now live in another state and when I tell people here what we went through jaws drop. It is hard to even express the level of disrespect, the lack of professionalism and the degree of abuse in which the staff operates. This is definitely not a healthy environment for children. Run, don't walk away from this place!

This is our second year at Sandy Ridge and Union County Public Schools. Prior to that we were in Mecklenburg County and then the last 7 years in Collier County FL. I read the other reviews prior to responding and feel there is a lot of truth in the feedback. We are currently experiencing some of the issues mentioned. I don't feel my child is challenged, his home work is quick and doesn't require much thought. I do believe the required testing takes up valuable teaching time. I do believe the school is run in a non-emotional environment in an effort to easily control the masses and cut down on the bullying by limiting interactions. In the long run it doesn't teach them valuable life skills.. I strongly believe socializing in and out of school is a life lesson and should be encouraged, not discouraged and punished. I would like to see the school use the feedback collected here to reassess their strengths and improve on a better environment for our children.