St. Augustine Elementary School

26 Central Street

Andover, MA 01810

41 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 25, 2024

St. Augustine School Andover scores low on all the dimensions of learning, teaching, emotional support and special education assessed by this web site. If you are going to have to deal with cliques, bullying and favoritism, you may as well save your $7k and go to a public school where you can get that for free. This school touts special education however, you are not going to get accommodations or an IEP. There is very subjective grading and once a student is labeled they will not get out of it. Most of the teachers are poor communicators and take a disheveled approach to the use of technology assigning homework through multiple platforms that young students must check up on nightly (google classroom, a proprietary web site and paper). I went to grad school and professors did not do that to us. The faculty and staff also post grades on work weeks late so it is very difficult to forecast a problem and work to address it with your student.
Submitted by parent on June 10, 2024

Our family transferred to St. Augustine's this year and we could not be happier with our decision! We made the switch because we wanted to send our kids to a Catholic school that offered rigorous academics and that really taught the Faith and values we were teaching at home. We got both of these this year at St. Augustine's. The teachers have worked so hard to push our children's learning while individualizing when they can to meet the needs of our kids. There were times where one of my children needed extra practice in something and the teacher provided one-on-one support in the classroom and then communicated with us so we could continue to help at home. The teachers really do make an effort to communicate with families and keep us involved in the learning that is going on. At the principal's State of the School address parents were shown the all time high scores the school has gotten on the MAP testing that is taken - it is nearly 20 points higher that the average for other Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Boston.Another point we wanted to share was that our family felt welcomed from the first moment we became a part of the school. There is a Parent Guild that organizes so many fun events for the kids together at the beginning of the year and again at Halloween and then throughout the year - our kids made a lot of friends very quickly. I was also shocked at how many teachers attended the events in the evening. At our old school, I never saw teachers go to events like Trunk-or-Treat, only parents. I would highly recommend St. Augustine's and I'm looking forward to being a part of the community for years to come!
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2024

My daughter just graduated last night and we are thrilled she is out of this school and done with the poor educational leaders. New principal spineless.The click of teachers and how some abuse their power over parents is appalling. Stand your ground they are your children not theirs. A few of these teachers need to get out of teaching.Beware of your donations as it they will never provide you with the details of where the money is spent. School needs major repairs, no a/c , bathrooms disgusting, lunch programs so expensive. Look elsewhere before coming to St Augustine’s.
Submitted by other on October 17, 2023

My son just transferred out after a month. We gave it a chance with the new principal and it was a no go. The new principal after Daley is a joke. Good luck to all the kids, as they will need extra tutors, especially middle school. Sad this school is quickly failing.
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2023

This school used to be exceptional and we were so excited about the possibilities when our children started attending 4 years ago. It is sad to say how much this school has declined, especially after Principal O'Dea left. Some (not all) of the teachers Principal Daley hired are not qualified. The rotation of teachers in this school is alarming. Reaching out to the teacher to help the student on subjects where they are struggle falls on deaf ears. If I knew then what I know now about how big of a turn this school would take, I would have enrolled my children somewhere else. We are in the process of looking for a new school because I can't fathom sending them back there. I also agree about the cliche community and the extremely annoying Guild President. I try to avoid dealing with anything outside of the educational aspect but a lot of parents moved on because of the toxic parental community.
Submitted by other on June 12, 2023

This school is an excellent school to attend. They teach the students to be Saints and Scholars. They instill the true reason for our faith to be learned. Students as young as preschool know their prayers and can recite the mission statement. The principal is a gift and truly doing God's work here on earth. The principal has invested as being transparent and does not hide the truth but is open and honest. They have a new stream lab and current technology to ensure higher learning for our children. The current MAP Testing scores are much higher than the states and countries score. As we all know we do not live forever but our time here we need to teach our children the meaning of life and following God's will. I would recommend this school to those interested in learning what is important for each of our children to know about God and their life ahead.
Submitted by other on May 31, 2023

Saying this school left me unprepared for high school is an understatement. There is little to no support offered to students unless the teachers like your parents and peers you associate yourself with. The favoritism is to the extreme (especially twoards kids who’s parents donate more). There has been a rapid decline in mathematics as well over the years. In my time at this school I had several math teachers, one of which was a student parent- all of which being incompetent in teaching this subject properly. I had friends from public school who were far ahead of me across the board in every subject, high school preparation, and academic development. Having tutors for almost every subject was still barely enough to get me by at this school. From community to academia, this school was demoralizing. The sad reality is chances are your child is going to be bullied by the teachers and or the students- unless your paying handsomely of course. Look anywhere but this school if your thinking of staying or applying.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2023

We have had a wonderful experience at this school! I have found that the teachers really know the children, they tailor the teaching depending on the children's needs and will help those that need additional help or push those that can use a higher level of learning. It is also a wonderful community, parents that are willing to help out, run wonderful events for the kids, and truly have that sense of a small tight knit community. When you go into St. Augustine's School, you feel as though you have access to the teachers and Principal if you need to discuss anything. The graduates from St. Augustine's go on to be well prepared for high school, not only academically, but also on a social-emotional level. Our children have thrived at St. Augustine's, not only on an academic level, but also with friends, activities and enjoyment. It's very disappointed to see previous negative reviews. I don't think it could be farther from the truth. There are many parents that are invested in the school and want to see it thrive, and its so heartwarming to see all these parents look to make this school a better place! If you're looking for a change, I think it's a wonderful premier school in the Merrimack Valley!
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2023

The new young principal is extremely intelligent, humble and hard-working. He is the embodiment of what it means to be a Catholic school leader. The vice principal is just as wonderful. This is a very difficult time for these young adults to undertake this sort of leadership as they must counter a hugely secularised and politically charged culture. Not only have they but eliminated favoritism among the faculty and families but they have also begun to fix "problems" that have been handed to them from the previous administration. The new administration is slowly but steadily creating a Catholic school environment that unabashedly forms the whole child: socially, emotionally and spiritually. Saint Augustine School is a pearl!
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2023

Awesome School. Middle school math department needs some serious looking into! The teacher is an extremely nice, yet unqualified. The new principal is the best thing to happen to the school in years and I’m looking forward to the school heading back in the right direction.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2023

I must agree with the most recent reviews. The principle is arrogant and inexperienced. Not at all interested in creating scholars. Took time away from academic learning to add mass once a week (from once a month). Middle school math is a huge problem at this school and the administration will not do anything about it. Many students have tutors or enroll in math programs outside of school. Middle school math is an important foundation for high school and the principle is more concerned about being "right" than what is in the best interest of the students and their academic learning. While I find the majority of the teachers in middle school to be outstanding math is so important that I would suggest people look elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2023

As a devout Catholic, this school has made me question my faith and the entire Archdiocese…particular those who run the schools. The former principal was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” as many called her and was only saved by Covid. The school has plummeted since then and the academics (particularly in the middle school) are horrendous. The middle school math program is an absolute disgrace and the teacher (hired by the former principal) is unqualified. Every student is either taking Russian math or working with a tutor…
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2023

Administration is unqualified and inexperienced. The principal has no education in the field, and is in way over his head. The most important thing to him is religion. He changed the “mission of the school” to read “Forming Saints and Scholars” but there is no emphasis on forming scholars of any kind. The children at this school are falling behind their peers in public schools because they are not being taught basic academics effectively. Unfortunately, the students graduating from this school in the upcoming years are not going to be accepted into the prestigious high schools former students used to have no trouble being accepted to. A change of administration would greatly help improve this school. This school has gone way downhill in the past 3 years and it is a crying shame to see what has happened to a school that used to be an outstanding academic institution.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2023

Unfortunately, this is no longer a premier school. Principal, Assistant Principal & Marketing Director are all young & have little to no experience. “Saints & Scholars” is the school motto, but the experience doesn’t match. How can you produce scholars when you are going to Mass once a week & praying three times a day? It truly takes time away from the much needed academics, especially for middle school. Math teacher is a true disgrace. Most, if not all of middle school has a Math Tutor on top of paying tuition just so they can be prepared for HS because the Math teacher can’t teach. On top of the lack of quality teachers, they do not update grades. Per school handbook grades are to be updated every other Friday & they are not. Students and Parents are held to a higher standard than the Administration and Teachers. Good luck when your 8th grader needs to apply to HS, teachers miss deadlines to hand in Recommendations and Administration can’t get Transcripts over in time either. On top of all of that, if you don’t have deep pockets and are willing to constantly hand over cash then I suggest you look elsewhere. School is run by a small group of wealthy Moms who take advantage of the Administration. Such a sad state this school is in, it was once Top Notch and ever since the previous principal retired it has gone so down hill I’m not sure what can revive it now. Zero sense of community left, to the point of, long standing families who have been here since Nursery are now up and leaving.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2022

We joined St . Augustine’s in 2021 and have been thoroughly impressed! The principal is young, smart and responsive. The teachers are wonderful! My son is receiving a high quality education and I feel fortunate our family has found this school.
Submitted by parent on June 20, 2022

Administration is young and inexperienced. Dismisses parent concerns quickly. Does not recognize that this is private school, and the parents are high paying customers.Their new thing is to prioritize prayer and the administration has decided that the kids will go to Mass once a week instead of once a month. The children would benefit more from addition instruction. Especially in Math and Science. Older grades do not have physical textbooks and it is affecting learning. Then they wonder why enrollment is going down.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2022

The bullying by the teachers was almost as bad as the kids. If you pointed out an issue to the teacher about your child being bullied by a group of girls that clearly run the 6th grade and upper school then the teachers turn against the child. Our child was bullied and removed from the school. Not a great way to develop trust. This school is great if the parents want to keep donating cash. This with deep pockets is the reputation that is terrible school has.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2021

Things are improving under the new principal. There is no longer favoritism or toxicity among faculty and families.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2020

bad , worst, kids bully you, especially if you are minority. be careful and talk to you kids. Teachers play blind eye and cover it up, some take part of it. they call you names and teachers join in as well. worst decision I ever made
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2019

Leaving this school was the best thing we have ever done for our children. This school was a nightmare, the first year was great, but in recent years everything collapsed. Many of the staff claim to go to church every day, yet they are the most hurtful people of all.