The school is run down, class sizes are above 30 in the lower grades. The administration is one…read moresided and pompous. The teachers rotate frequently since a new principal has been installed over past few years. Can't keep a teacher if they tried. It's their way or the highway. I wouldn't place my child here for FREE !

I wish every family had a school experience like ours!! We are a family that came to St. Mel in…read moreKindergarten and only have 1.5 years left... wish we had more. The teaching staff is fantastic, they understand kids all have different needs and they go far above and beyond their typical teaching day. We especially want to give a shout out to the middle school team... what a dynamic trio they are :) Here is a little excerpt of an email we sent them personally: "While it may not seem that you are doing anything above what you normally do in a day I want you to know that for us, as a family, you are going above and beyond. Teaching is not just delivery of content, teaching is compassion, empathy and sometimes its talking nervous moms and dads off of a ledge (speaking for myself especially). You have together made this year another learning year and you have treated **** and our family with empathy, kindness, and love. Thank you for all you do. I wouldn't have **** at any other place and I wish all parents could have the experiences that we have with the three of you." Thank you St Mel for the fantastic learning, experiences, and life lessons!! Thank you Mrs. Nagel for keeping all of what happens at St Mel going strong from year to year... you are a gracefully intelligent leader.

Okay school, some of the teachers really do not care about their students or the student's future…read more There was really bad bigotry on campus (in 5th and 6th) when I went there myself. There wasn't much diversity in the school either, at least when I went there. The school as well doesn't handle bullying well. Not to say there isn't teachers who care about their job and their students (like Mr McClure) but overall, if you plan to send your child here, don't. There are better schools in the area

Shelley Coates, my sons teacher, is absolutely horrible. She has been so difficult to work with and…read morethe school has done nothing about it. She has no personality and should never have become a teacher. She seems miserable in her life and seems to take it out on our children.

The school moved about two years ago, so some address entries have yet to be changed to their new…read moreIllinois Avenue location. The reason why there is a waiting list to get in is because this school makes learning fun. Well, fun is not the right word, I suppose interdisciplinary is more appropriate. My daughter who is in first grade loves school to the point that she doesn't like weekends. I am hoping this attitude continues throughout her scholastic life (it was not the case with me!). Parental involvement is in every aspect of the school, so if you do not wish to get involved with your child's school, then this is not the school for you. At least two hours per week is required in the lower grades and I have been told that as the kids get older, it is not as necessary. Also there is a mandatory monthly parents meeting that averages about 1 - 2 hours. Fieldtrips are about twice a month, sometimes more. Again, parents volunteer to be a part of the fieldtrips as there is not school bus to take kids to the outings. However, the kids absolutely LOVE IT! Orangevale Open (OV) is considered to be a performing arts school. Kids can participate in drama and at one point there was a choir. I don't know if it will be coming back or not. The students are assigned a "buddy" or mentor starting from Kindergarten. Wow. What an interesting concept to learn! And the older kids get to see what it is like to tutor younger kids. Whenever I tell other parents about the school, the first question they ask is, "Is it a private school?". Technically it is not, but we pay on average $60 a month or so for all the field trips and activities. Very inexpensive when you compare to private tuition costs.

The school is good field trip are good teacher are good in 7th and 8th grader bully a lot but only…read moresome 7 and 8 grade bully

My children has been fortunate to experience some good teachers. Luhrsen has left with a new…read more principal on board. Is it me or Broyles not friendly with the students and parents? Just an observation. A little acknowledgment goes a long way.

Great school with professional teachers and staff. It had a great impact on my child's growth and…read moreintellectual development.

My daughter is going on 2 years here at this school and it's the best school in the district bar…read morenone! She even likes it probably more so than I do Teachers and staff are all caring and attentive to the students and their needs, it's a really close knit community that is also very very welcoming. The principal is always doing random super friendly and funny things for the students, it's completely the opposite of the elementary school experience I had, I remember being scared if my principal, but principal Zeltvay gives high fives on Fridays and last thanksgiving dressed up as a turkey. I'm so glad my daughter is here, I'll keep her here forever if I could lol Thanks GRDC (go miners!!!!)

hi-ya! clean, safe…read moreand convenient to let the kids play and learn. the school is adjacent to a park and for the most part I've never really seen folks be irresponsible and leave pet droppings behind and excessive litter behind. the school is in a nice neighborhood and isn't all gated up like I've seen some public schools. parking and child drop-off in the mornings is good reasonable, but is worst about 8:20...so don't be late.

I went to Skycrest in the 70's and Mr Ferkovich slid the kids acting up down the hall in their…read moredesks til the desk hit the brick wall and he would yell "now go to the office!" Mr Melvin Stitt the Principal fully backed Mr Ferkovich and yelled at parents to fix their kid. We had time out boxes when kids were being jerks at recess because shaming was a way of life, not shunned like the other commenter positioned. If your kid is a jerk the sooner the world knows the better. Then maybe your kid will fix their selfish attitude and become a proper member of society. Always know this; sometimes your kid is the problem.

I'm speaking from personal experience I used to go to this school. The teachers are nice but some…read moreof the students are bad influences on other kids. Some kids will try and convince the other kids to swear and disobey and all the teachers do is have them miss out on a recess. Nothing really changes. One thing that really bothers me is one of the teachers there made a student write a letter about lying to their parents because the student forgot a paper, the teacher shamed them for forgetting one piece of paper. The proper way to discipline children is not the shame them.

1/10 this place is NOT like baldi's basics education and learning food's pretty nasty by the wayread more

My son is in kindergarten. It's only been a week since he started, but I seriously love this school…read moreand staff. Hopefully later in the year things will continue to stay the same.