St. Joseph Elementary School

1910 San Antonio Avenue

Alameda, CA 94501

21 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by other on September 22, 2023

Oh, St. Joesph Elementary!This school has been such a blessing for me and my family. From the staff, kiddos, parents, and grandparents, to SJND and the parish staff; It has the feeling that we are one big happy family. We definitely have good days and bad days, but the fact that we all show up and work together for the common goal of raising these children to be kind, respectful, faith-filled, and contributing positivity into the world; human beings is the real reward. The teachers are committed to a high level of education, yet are patient with those who need a little extra time and attention with challenging topics and curriculum. Mrs. Colvert is an amazing principal, one of the best I have ever encountered. She is at the forefront of her team and she seems to lead seamlessly throughout the past few years. They offer top-notch sports, extracurricular, activities, and events throughout the year. St. Joseph truly promotes student growth as a whole (academic, spiritual, emotional, and social) and I am so happy to be a part of this community.
Submitted by other on September 17, 2023

It was alright. As a former student, teachers were always uptight and children were rude (both to the teachers and peers). Little to nothing was done when a student was being made fun of or bullied (except for our math teacher at the time expressing his concerns). One of the teachers would always make rude comments, such as laughing at anti-Semitic jokes- two of our teachers were Jewish- and making rude comments such as when someone said they were going to convert (religion undisclosed), she said, "as long as it's to Christianity!". Had an awful classmate and no one would do anything about it one of the teachers said she pitied him. The principal, Colvert, was quite dismissive of any concerns and did not contribute to a positive learning environment. A few of my teachers were stressed and just overall exhausted, and I felt bad for them. Other than that it was your average Catholic school, I would rate it a 4/10. Do better!
Submitted by parent on October 01, 2020

We are SOOO glad we moved our kids to St. Joe’s. We aren’t even Catholic, but they could not be more welcoming to our kids. We have one who has learning challenges and one who excels at everything and they are both supported and challenged and are flourishing.
Submitted by student on October 09, 2019

This is a good school because they produce a large amount of learning for the students.
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2019

To be fair, when we first enrolled our child back in Kindergarten, we were very pleased with how the school was mitigating school bullying. Now that our child is more than half way through elementary, the school administration seems to be VERY lenient on school bullying. Year after year, we feel that there isn't a good selection process in place for new students since some kids getting admitted has ferocity issues and takes it out on our children. With the amount of reports to the current Principal, you would think she would take action? The fact that our child is still going home crying does not show that the Principal is rectifying the situation, though she said she takes these things seriously. It's such a shame since the school takes pride on being kind to one another since it’s a “Catholic School”. The hypocrisy needs to stop and the school administrator / principal needs to address kids with bad behavior and to hold them accountable once and for all! During a PTG meeting, they say that the parents are the school’s best advertising platform, how do you expect us to recommend SJES when you can’t honor your anti-bullying policy from your handbook?
Submitted by student on August 08, 2018

St. Joseph Elementary School is a good school if you are looking for a good education for your child in areas such as English, Religion, History, Music, Math and many other subjects. The Kindergarten-5th grade provides an extremely good experience for most children. I believe that most of the teachers in those grades are experienced and very good with children. The transition into middle school is very nice because you have been given instructions on what happens in middle school by the 5th grade teacher (who is excellent). Also, if you are transferring from a previous elementary school to SJES for middle school, the transition is harder but not difficult. It is extremely easy to find your niche as there are a lot of extracurricular activities and students are very welcoming. I have never witnessed bullying. The worst we have is gossip. One thing I will say is that it is slightly difficult to join in the middle of the school year. The curriculum is very advanced in both the middle school and the elementary school, and the arts are appreciated thoroughly through art docent (led by parent volunteers), art projects, and and art class once a week, as well as a drama club which puts on a spring musical every year (all experience, everyone who auditions gets a part), and music class 1-2 times a week. Sports are limited but appreciated. Student council meets once a week and is very active in most school happenings. Overall, SJES is a very good school, and I recommend considering sending your child there.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2018

Our daughter is thriving both academically and socially at SJES. The academic program is rigorous and challenging, and the curriculum includes music, art and PE. Extracurricular activities include sports, drama and STEM giving students with varying interests the opportunity to explore. The school is supported by a vibrant and active parent-teacher group, and the sense of community is strong.
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2018

Fantastic. Our daughter is receiving a faith-based, comprehensive and focused education - a rarity in California to be certain.
Submitted by student on February 26, 2018

I am a female atheist middle-school student here. The teachers, principal, and staff is not very nice or constructive. The math teacher is terrible and is causing us to all fail or get bad grades. Do not send your child here unless you would like them to be a very close-minded catholic. I feel like their curriculum is geared towards catholic student and they are forcing me to believe in God. They are very specific in saying that any gay, lesbian, transgender, or gender fluid people are terrible and should not be accepted in society. We do not learn much about other religions, and what we do, most stereotypes apply. They say that no foul language or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated, but a student could do something or say something in front of the teacher nd it would be dismissed without a second's thought. I learned that some of the boys in my class in FIFTH grade did not even know what the word sexist means and the school teaches the kids to rely on God to fix all their problems for them. There are obvious cliques and favoritism between the students and teachers. The math program is terrible. I could go on, but it is to long to type. Do NOT send your children here.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2017

The greatest day of my life wasn't my wedding, the birth of my children, but the day my youngest left this terrible school. I never knew how depressing this school was until my children started high school (not at SJND) and were actually happy. The education there was downright awful, especially in the upper grades. This school is far behind others and leaves children completely unprepared for high school. The only high school preparation both my girls had was a teacher yelling "Get prepared for high school!" at them. The social environment is equally as bad, with cliques being decided by third grade with no room for movement. The children of donors and consistent volunteers seem to be the most popular not just with their peers, but with the teachers. My daughters used books that were two decades old and completely ineffective. The languages program (English and Spanish) are the weakest. The English program has no focus on grammar, solely on vocabulary. For Spanish, well, let's just say that after nine years of taking it at SJES, my girls both got into Spanish 1, along with virtually all of their former peers. The arts program is equally bad, with students acquiring no skills in either music and art. My daughters' music teacher (one in 2nd, the other in kinder) intentionally broke the door and never paired for it. His successors have been equally bad; not teaching any musical skills to either of my daughters, except teaching them how to blow in a recorder. The teachers in all subjects are unsupportive of their students, never helping any children when they need it. My daughters were terrified of quiet a few teachers in their first few years there. In short, my biggest regret was not pulling my oldest out of that school the moment she stepped through the door.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2017

St. Joseph's has been an amazing experience for my child and our family. I reviewed all of the commentary focused on perceived negative experiences at the school with faculty, leadership and staff. If you look carefully, there are only a handful of these complaints- and I'm trying to be sympathetic but the specificity of each engagement - is just that- specific. In any community, whether your children's education environment or even at the office, there will be challenges and conflict. However, I do not think it rises to a generalization of the overall community. I was very bothered by one of the comments regarding "strict disciplining of the children". We have been in the community as contributors and extraordinarily active - This, I can say with confidence, is not true at all. I also caught that the school feels that education is more important than extra curricular activity. How this can be a negative to a parent, befuddles me. We pay extra for extraordinary education. The bar is very high in intelligence rearing at St. Joseph's for a reason: so that the child is prepared for academic life going forward with all the lessons responsibility envelops. Now, I'm not saying that what these parents reported (that the school is unkind, not nurturing, unreasonably academically challenging for their child and that sports should come first or other outside activity- I'm not trying to minimize their experiences, and hopefully they've found better accommodations for their children because we do all have a choice. It's one of the most fundamental choices we'll ever make as parents. I can say though that by throwing a blanket over the entire school and staff minimizes all the hard work, love, determination and structure that I know for a fact occurs daily, hourly, etc. I also saw a comment saying that it wasn't Catholic enough- this is very important to our family, and I would say that given the children have all of the Catholic accouterments INSIDE each and every classroom, on top of liturgy every single Friday.
Submitted by parent on August 29, 2017

SJES provided an excellent experience for both my two kids
Submitted by parent on August 19, 2017

SJES is solid in curriculum delivery, is a small warm environment for kids and families alike. Great diversity and very open and embracing of pluralism - non Catholics are welcome here. That being said, the school is wonderful for promoting high service to others and the best ideals of religious study
Submitted by parent on August 12, 2017

We have had an amazing experience over the last 8 years at St. Joseph. Our kids are confident, wonderful contributing members of the community with a foundation set by the school. The academics have improved year over year. The teaching staff is excellent- finding strengths in each child and allowing them to flourish. Many extracurricular clubs for children with wide varieties of interests- Robotics, Chess, Stem, Sports and Drama (to name a few.) All around wonderful school!
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2016

This is a challenging review for me to post, however, it's best for others to be forewarned. This school year, St. Joseph Elementary hired a new Principal - Dr. John "Jackie" Rizzo who is the exact opposite of the reasons why our son had attended St. Joseph for 6 years (K-5). Our son had been very happy at the school and had received a great education. The staff (teachers and admin) are all amazing. Unfortunately, last year our Son was diagnosed with a major chronic illness and had a tough time finishing out the school year. The now retired Principal and the rest of the Staff had worked with us to make accommodations that were medically required. Last week, I met with Dr. Rizzo (the new Principal) who was 100% concrete that St. Joseph's is a Private/Catholic School and not a public school and that we could not expect any accommodations or assistance. He even had the nerve to talk to me about Jesus being in the room with us and being compassionate. Apparently his definition of compassionate does not include children who have medical issues. We had worked out a plan prior to Dr. Rizzo's hire with the staff and the Diocese and everything seemed to have been set in place before his hire. After I met with him, I advised him by email that we would be withdrawing from the school. His email was terse and simply said "good luck". There was no acknowledgment of our Son's being there for 6 years or our family's involvement. It was basically don't let the door hit you on the way out.For all the talk of community, there was none when our family needed it the most. One person, the Principal was able to override an entire community. We still have many friends there including staff members and there are still lots of good things going on. The teachers K-5 are all outstanding. And for most student's they will succeed. Just be wary that as long as Dr. John Rizzo is in charge, there will be "no pity" - his words. Look carefully.
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2016

This school is not academic at all, especially Math and Language & Art. They never finish teaching all the chapters in the text books. They don't have a gym for kids to play with different kinds of sports. The worst thing is they don't have a cafeteria for kids to eat lunch. Kids are sitting outside the ground to eat their lunch. Look like a homeless with the St. Joes uniform. The redigiouly thing is they only allow one bathroom break during class. They don't let the kids to go bathroom even though they need to go badly. They made them to hold it until they can't hold it then end up having accident on the pant. Very bad discipline. The teachers are not supportive at all. They are favorism to their Catholic members. They are not supportive to the nonmembers who have to pay higher tuition than the members. They discourage kids. I don't recommend your kids to attend this school. There are many chatter schools more academic and discipline than this school. I am glad I took my kids out early. It takes us very long time to build up our kids confident.
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2015

Bad Principal and weak math teacher.teachers are not supportive they using the saint Joseph name but they don't practice religion
Submitted by parent on June 23, 2014

We have not been happy at St. Joe's. The curriculum is weak and teachers do not teach the full curriculum year after year. The administrators will not release the school test scores for the community to see (this is a very bad sign). The school is currently hiring eight new teachers: K, 1, 3, 7, 8, Art, Spanish and Principal.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2014

We love Saint Joseph Elementary School! We chose SJES not only for its academic offering, but also because we want our children to experience the sense of community, unity, and responsibility that we believe is emphasized in faith-based schools. Regardless of our students' faith (we have a very diverse group of students and families), SJES reinforces daily the value and importance of being good citizens, being kind to one another, taking responsibility for his or her own actions, and striving for academic excellence. I am very proud of my children and the well-rounded little people they are becoming with the support of the SJES community.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2014

What is positive: - There are some excellent teachers who really care about your kids, unfortunately, not enough. - The parent community is a strong and supportive of each other. Shortcomings: - There is really no resouce staff to speak of. There is one teacher who was not effective while working with my daughter, and doesn't seem to have the training for the various learning challenges that many kids have. There is no counselor on staff. - The school philosophy is that homework comes first and extra-curricular activities are secondary. That is evident in the amount of homework assigned, even in the lower grades. - Yes, there is a computer lab, but all the kids did was play games. There are no computers for the classroom to be used as technology is used in the real world. - The junior high curriculum is in shambles. Last year the 8th gr only finished 5 chapters of math, as compared to other catholic schools finishing up to 13 chapters. - Teachers have yelled at students, made them cry, and the most difficult part is that the principal does not really listen to the parents, to a detriment of the school. We left and my kids love their new school. I wish that we had left sooner.