James E. Stephens Elementary School

1350 North Maple Avenue

School District

Polk
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
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 parent on March 25, 2024

We love this school. My daughter has been attending this school for the past two years. She loves it so much that she doesn't even want to go on break sometimes. The teachers and staff are all caring and make sure to reach out when there is a need. I love the IB unit kickoffs that my daughter has been involved in. This year, they did a "boot camp" style kick off where they got to do field-day activities to explore changes in the natural world. The kids had so much fun. They later got to go on a field trip to the children's museum and used materials to make their own roller coasters. The students also presented their roller coasters to the staff and to the kindergarten students. This year she's also learned about worms, built solar ovens, been challenged in an enrichment group and will soon be attended the summer camp they have available where she'll be able to engage in the Fab Lab. She's super excited about this. We also loved the various parent nights they've had available this year. They did a science night, culture night, and math/ela game night. The culture night was my favorite because we got to learn about different countries and they decorated the whole school. Second grade did Japan and they literally made Cherry Blossom trees we got to walk under. Love the current administration and the staff. Not sure what the data on this website is about. Seems out of date to me. We've all had good experiences here though.
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2024

I love the school my daughter has the best teachers but the problem with the school is that my daughter came home and said to me that a boy stabbed her with a pencil.
Submitted by parent on July 18, 2013

My son has attended Stephens for the past two years, and I am very pleased with the school. The level of support and communication I receive from the teachers is first-rate. Each year my son s teachers go above and beyond to keep me informed on his progress in the classroom and meet with me on short notice to discuss various concerns. Furthermore, the principal and front office is a rare find. Whenever, I visit the school the principal and staff greet me with a smile and take the time to assist me. The principal and staff actually make you feel that you are a part of the Stephens family instead of someone interfering with their job. As a final point, the principal s willingness to provide individual attention to situations, when necessary, has played an instrumental role in my ability to have an impact in my son s life. I cannot say enough about the appreciation I have for the principal, teachers, and administrative staff working at Stephens. I honestly believe this may be one of the few schools left in our country that recruits and employs teachers who actually care about their students (our children), and take a personal interest in making sure their students succeed.
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2013

The Pre-K program is phenomenal! I don't know much about the principal, but I was not impressed with the professionalism of the Assistant principal. I agree with the other post about people skills as well. The assistant lacks those as well. In addition, at work you need to speak English. Leave the slang at home and be a role model for our children. I was going to pull my daughter out after 4th grade, but she and I really loved her teacher and had a fantastic 5th grade year.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2013

Stephens is an amazing school. My son has attended for two years in Miss Lillys preschool class and she always made him feel so loved. This school has shown so much support for my son. He has alot of special needs and the amount of love shown to him from all of the staff and students was overwhelmin
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2013

The school used to be one of the best. The current administration leaves much to be desired. Their communication/people skills are lacking. The principal has quite a temper, which may explain the teacher turnover the past 4 years! I did not like this school until my son was in 5th grade. I'm very glad we didn't transfer him. Our son excelled in Mr. R's class. He actually asked for books for Christmas! Top notch teacher that let the parents know what was happening with grades and behavior. At first, the expectations seemed ridiculous, but then I saw a change in my son. All he talked about was school. Now I find out that he is no longer at the school. If teachers were happy, they wouldn't be fleeing!
Submitted by parent on June 23, 2011

Stephens has excellent teachers, many with decades of experience. The pre-K program is excellent and the administration, under great stress recently, has made real commitment to moving the school forward. We need to be supporting their efforts
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2008

N/A
Submitted by other on September 06, 2007

N/A
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2007

N/A