Morningside Elementary School

774 Virginia Avenue Northeast

School District

Atlanta Public Schools
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by other on February 10, 2025

After reviewing the reviews I’ve definitely decided to change my mind with my children attending this school ! Especially because we are relocating and I have a son who has autism and a daughter who is A+ student. Seeing the reviews of the principal and etc isn’t pleasant.
Submitted by other on February 08, 2025

I’m glad I came here to check reviews. Obviously it’s not just me who has a problem with Dr. Sinclair. She may be the worst administrator I have ever encountered. Reactive, ill-equipped, and biased! I can’t believe she is allowed to continue with her responsibilities. She gives Morningside a huge downgrade!
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2024

Does anyone else give a mega ick vibe from Audrey Sofianos? I just can’t get past the vibe she gives me. Also I talked to other parents that think the assistant principal Sinclair disciplines on her feelings, not rules. This school feels mismanaged and honestly unhealthy for my kids.
Submitted by other on April 17, 2024

The principal at this school is terrible. It’s all about appearances. Everything is shiny and new except the same old lack of empathy and genuine care and concern. Time to get some new leadership! The assistant principal seems to have been moved out of discipline which is good. I heard she didn’t do anything.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

It is time for someone to ask why Morningside elementary only has 1 counselor for 900+ students. Part of the reason is because they have a lot of students who qualify for gifted. The gifted teachers all somehow qualify as support staff which means the students who are not gifted and have no contact with the gifted teachers, all have to rely on one counselor. It is easy to see why there have been 4 different counselors at Morningside in the last 4 years. If it's not working for the adults, how do you think it's working for the kids?The students at Morningside are generally performing above grade level. It's mostly because they come from well educated homes. This seems great at first glance. However, the students are pushed to continue making "progress" so that the school has good data. What this looks like in a classroom setting is a never ending push for more "growth" Students in a 3rd grade classroom made to use a computer program to teach themselves 6th grade level math. Students in a 5th grade classroom so far above grade level in reading that they use a computer program to learn about symbolism and figurative language on an 8th grade level. What these students need is real connection, not computer programs and MAP tests to give them anxiety. Pretty soon these kids will need more than a counselor who already has 900 kids to look after. Tell the administrators it's not right. Stand up for your children. Let them enjoy school instead of being pressured to perform for the State of Georgia and its precious data. Better yet, skip Morningside all together and enroll your children somewhere that you won't have to fight for them to be treated like the children they still are.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2023

We have two students at MES and couldn’t be happier with the support and development that our kids receive from the teachers and staff.
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2023

My child was bullied at Morningside. I reported it to administration and the teacher using their own bullying report form after it was offered from the classroom teacher. Without any contact with parents, the school held a “bullying committee meeting”. It was decided that my child was not bullied during this meeting. Neither myself or my spouse was notified or asked to give any input for the meeting. We received an email after the fact letting us know my child was not bullied. I contacted a teacher on the committee and she stated “I mostly just went along with it” when I explained the situation to her. My child was also being evaluated for special education services during this time period but they felt comfortable interviewing my child alone and without my permission anyway. The school principal was the one is charge of all of this. I strongly believe they did this to keep their bullying numbers down without any regard for student welfare. We moved away to get out of this district and I encourage you to do the same. There are many tactics used to inflate data without any real concern for student welfare. This school is only “good” because the parents are all doctors/lawyers and the students have a lot of support and means at home. It’s not good because of the leadership, that is for sure.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2021

We have witnessed Morningside slip from what we would rate 4 stars to 2. The scores are high mostly b/c you have a base of mostly privileged students who enter the school with a very strong learning base, and very well-educated and driven parents. Also, there is little issue with language barriers due to the fact that the student base lacks some diversity. Our experience with Special Ed has been very disappointing- they are more concerned with legalities than actually helping the children become life-long learners. It used to be you could schedule a conference when needed. Now, not likely. For the taxes paid, the school should have more to offer, more inclusion, more focus on social-emotional, and it feels very transient to us. Of course, all of that has been magnified by COVID. At this point it feels like they are using COVID as an excuse for providing a sub-optimal experience. Don't get me wrong, some of the teachers are stand-out, but you never know who you are going to get. It seems like the grade level teachers are either above-and-beyond, or just going through the motions. I don't know if this is across the board, but they weigh heavily on youtube and free programs to teach many of the lessons, so It seems disorganized. And too many platforms to communicate assignments. It seems like it would be easy to turn this back into a wonderful school, but maybe politics seem to get in the way. They also are suffering from teacher shortages and heavy turnover. This also might be across the board, resulting from COVID- I have not discussed with friends with children at other schools in town. I wish could have moved our kids into private during COVID, even for remote learning We will probably have to move out of the city.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2015

LOOOOVE this school. Our son has learned so much. We were debating private but why would we leave? The school does more than most private schools as far as I can tell from my friend AND my child is far nicer and polite than some of the private school kids.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2014

I have a daughter in 1st grade at MES. Good school, mixed reviews on the teachers, some are outstanding.. but competitive parents help to drive their children to exceed expectations. That competitiveness also affects internal politics but that is at every school so you have to work with it or around it. Overall if you are a vigilant parent they will do well at MES and volunteer to learn how everything works, your child will benefit from your knowledge.
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2014

Our experience at MES has been great. Our daughter has been there for 3 years. One year proved especially challenging because of a new teacher, the school and principal were very helpful. We worked through it together. As for class sizes - sure they're a little bigger than we'd like but that's a byproduct of the school's success: families move to Morningside because the school is so good. I find the vast majority of teachers motivated, caring and professional - let me know if you find a public school where all the teachers are amazing, I'll move there now. Becky the principal is incredibly hard working, down to earth and sure sometimes she can be tough to pin down, but that's because she work's incredibly hard for our kids. I have never had a problem just talking directly to her before or after school, or grabbing a quick conversation in the hall way. The parental involvement makes MES special too. Each kid is different, every school has its good points and bad. . on the whole MES has so many more positives than negatives. Our daughter and her friends are all varying levels of academic ability, but they are all polite, confident and happy.
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2013

This is the second year my girls have been at Morningside and the second year that school was not organized or ready for the start of the school year. Events and meetings for parents have been poorly organized and communicated or cancelled without notification. The principal lacks professionalism and sincerity. She encourages parents to reach out to her but doesn't respond to email or voicemail messages. Overall a frustrating and disappointing experience.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2013

Atlanta public schools are not intrested in helping kids who have minor learning disabilities who are diganosed with ADHD and or Dyslexia.
Submitted by other on November 29, 2011

I attended Morningside throughout elementary school, and I could not have been better prepared for the private middle school (Westminster) I attended. Morningside is, to put it fantastically, an almost magical place for a child to attend. The teachers are kind, helpful, and knowledgeable, and I had never experienced problems of bullying or popularity until middle school. Teachers and students are well connected with one another, and students form long-lasting friendships with equally kind and eager classmates. The best program at M'side is the Challenge program, in my opinion. I'm running out of characters, so basically if you get anything out of this review, understand that, when I moved onto middle school, I had an equal or better education than some of my friends who attended private elementary school, so never doubt a public school elementary education. I'll remember M'side fondly for the rest of my life, and hope I can send my kids to a school similar to it in the future. Go dolphins and MES!