Morris Brandon Elementary: Main Campus

Feb 5th, 2017

Two out of the four teachers my child had were pretty mediocre. The other two were awesome. What's that mean? Not sure. My personal experience doesn't really demonstrate their consistency. The school just so happens to outperform some of the worst public schools in the nation primarily due to socio-economic factors and family structure. It's the best of the worst. Great value if you're not interested in private schools. There's been a lot of turnover, due to district and community politics (there's a new principal--Kara Stimpson--who is just another flavor of the month trying to make her mark in both good and bad ways...she's got some growing to do). Because it's an APS school, there is more emphasis on attendance than on the quality of the education. I will say they do a great job of babysitting your kid all day. One consideration is that many of the families can afford to expose their children to enrichment and cool experiences that may fall outside of a maximum of (5) absences, and the school tends to be extreme in their reactions. Usually, the more experienced teachers are understanding, but there is pressure from administration to enforce the penalty of no make-up work. These policies are based on sweeping truancy policies that are mostly designed for older students. After (5) tardies, the school sends a letter threatening a litany of actions they can take, including referral to a social worker, court petitions for neglect, and interventions from DFCS. Further, the district has a history of perverse bonus incentives that tend to skew administrator and teacher attitudes when it comes to what really matters (enter the APS cheating scandal). The climate is very compliance-focused instead of being learning-focused. Admittedly, the North Atlanta cluster (with which this school is affiliated) was identified for investigation, but the target school was later cleared of wrongdoing. If you have a child that is gifted, you should know that the gifted program is not a week-long immersive experience, but it's only (1) day per week (and if you're unlucky, your child's gifted day may fall on a Monday or Friday, which is when most of the breaks/vacation days are scheduled. So basically, if you anticipate you will take extended winter or spring vacations with your family, you have an exceptional/gifted child, and you have a low tolerance for inflexible administrators...you may want to either explore one of the charter schools or nearby private schools. Again, not a bad school. Just not a great one. You can do better.
Oct 7th, 2016

What an amazing school
Aug 12th, 2016

May 28th, 2016

Jan 18th, 2016