St. Francis Xavier School

1711 Haight Ave

Bronx, NY 10461

25 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK, K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 07, 2022

They do not care about the children’s education, all they care about is money! My son attended this school for 4 years. Right before this school year started we had to move to a different state. And since I did not unenroll my son out of the school before August 15th the school wants me to pay $640 in tuition. But since I did not pay them within a month they decided it was fair to keep adding late fees, admin fees and also fund raising fees. Although my son does not attend that school. So after all these fees, they now expect me to pay $1260 to a school my son never stepped foot in this year. I tried to speak to them so the can at least remove the fees and they refuse. I also have a nephew who attends this school, and they would call his mother to make sure tuition is paid but they don’t call his mother when he’s not doing so well in class. Like I said they DO NOT CARE about the education, they are just greedy for money. I would not recommend this school to anyone! Ever since the new principle took over, this school has gone down hill.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2022

Would never send my kid here even if they paid me. The school caters to a few families and they will complain that the work is too hard and impact the rest of the kids’ education. It also was weird that when I saw my kid’s classroom the back row of kids were all children of color. What is this the 1950s? I thought segregation was over.
Submitted by parent on July 14, 2021

All of my children when to this school. Three of graduated from the previous leadership and teachers which were excellent. The new leadership is below the average.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2018

SFX is all about enrolling the students and taking the money. They don’t even have AC in any of the classes all the student suffer in the hot class. The kindergarten teacher needs to retire because she can’t handle 25 students.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2018

Too cliquish. The public perception of the school appears to be more important to the administration than educational outcomes. Teachers would rather teach through fear and make public examples of students than help them achieve goals. Gives Catholic schools in The Bronx a horrible name.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2017

I don't have anything extraordinarily negative or positive to say about SFX. My son went here for UPK. The office lady is very rude, but its fine because she doesn't work directly with the kids at all. My sons teacher was sweet, but I feel as though her assistant can be a little mean to the kids. I never witnessed her do anything wrong...just a feeling I got. Overall, I feel like he didn't learn as much as he could have, but I teach my son at home so I more or less put him in the program to get him used to school an let him make some friends his age. If you're expecting your child to come out of this program kindergarten ready and you don't want to work with them at home, go somewhere else. They did do some cute art projects and my son made a lot of friends and seems really happy. He will go to public school next year.
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2017

I love this school...my son goes here and he loves it. Has a lot of great friends and couldn't be happier. The principal and staff are wonderful and really care about your child. The principal is great and does an excellent job with the children. I am so thankful Saint Francis Xavier !!!!!!
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2017

both of my children attend st francis and both excel in all academic areas. Their teachers are wonderful and truly care about them . We are all extremely happy there.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2017

I am a graduate of St. Francis Xavier School and have watched my own children flourish here. The teachers are caring and provide a nurturing environment. Our 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are using Chrome Books, which are preparing them well for high school. Mrs. Deegan truly cares for her students and staff, and only wants the best for her school. My children have gone on to excellent high schools and colleges because of the foundation they have received at SFX.
Submitted by other on April 12, 2017

Both my children graduated from SFX. They went on to great high schools and my daughter received almost a full scholarship to college. I credit their success to the wonderful teachers at SFX. Everything they taught them, stuck!! It truly is a wonderful school. A family.
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2016

We have a positive experience with this school. The teachers my son have had so far were knowledgeable and approachable. They go home with plenty of homework after school which is time consuming but understandable. Learning continues at home. The school is pretty organized in terms of activities and events. It would be nice if they put back a foreign language class like Spanish. The school would also need to stay competitive with other schools and as such, there is room for improvement. They do have computer class but I think they need to implement some sort of interactive homework or school site at home for parents to be more involved and track their children's progress in school. Overall, I have faith in the school and hope they would continue to strive for improvement.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2015

My son attended Pre K and the experience was pointless. The teachers were friends with certain parents and favor their child. The school doesn't really care if your child is in school or not. Out of courtesy, I called the school to inform them my son won't be in. I was asked why I called cause they already took attendance. OK? School doesn't communicate with parents. Parent teacher conference was a joke. We are allotted 15 minutes per session. If you are a parent of the clique you get a thorough evaluation on your kid. I was handed a written worksheet and pushed out the door with no clear idea of my son's progress. Smh. Not worth it. He is going to P.S. 83.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2015

All three of my children have graduated from SFX School and have gone on to be successful in competitive high schools and excellent colleges . I was very involved in my time at St. Francis and volunteered in many capacities. The principal is a good leader who was always accessible if I had a question or a problem. She cares about the children, their education, and wants them to come to a clean, pleasant school every day. I did not always like every teacher all of the time, but I would be wary if someone liked everyone they came in contact with on a day to day basis. My advice to new parents is to get involved. The Home School Association at the school seems like a "clique" because it is the same parents (day in and day out) who always seem to volunteer their time. Even working parents can get involved! No excuses!! Many people just sit back and utilize the home school events and the sports programs at SFX as a baby sitting service. Shame on them. St. Francis Xavier school has been a "home away from home" for my children and I am happy that my husband and I made the decision to send our children there.
Submitted by other on October 21, 2014

Just wanted to comment on a review of SFX New Beginnings. This program is wonderful. In just a few short weeks, the children are learning the days of the week, the alphabet along with an art project, sing and play together, Columbus Dat and Fall. The teacher and assistant are wonderful. They are very caring. Just ask the parents outside of school what they think of the program. Don't let one bad apple discourage this program.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2014

My husband and I graduated st francis xavier school and we both loved the school. We moved back to the neighbor so our children to go to sfx. Well my son started and what a change, omg what a difference . The principal overstayed her welcome here. She's not a nice person but I believe everyone knows why she is still there. She should retire. She's not kid friendly hates being there Has no time for meeting with parents and walks around like the world owes her a living. The teachers do not check homework. They give lots of homework but never checks the homework. If you're not in the clique they make you and your child feel like you don't belong. What a shame. Practically all the teacher run out at 3 o'clock with the exception of one that I know Don't waste your money sending you child here send them to another school. Leadership stinks. Some teachers are great but the others don't care. Think twice before you decide to send your child to sfx.
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2014

Do Not send your child to this school especially the New Beginnings program. The teacher is uneducated and inexperienced and has no knowledge of a three year olds development. The assistant is mean and yells at the children to which people down the hall can hear her, as reported by the condescending principal. They labelled a 3 year old as a disruption and a distraction after 2 hours and 15 minutes. Really.There is no support from the principal, pastor or superintendent. Save you money it is not worth $3000 a year. I pulled my child out after 4 days, that was more than enough time to avoid any permanent damages to my beautiful child.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2014

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Teachers are lazy, academic standards are extremely low, little to no organization. It's ridiculous. Don't waste your money. Take a tour at St. Lucy's School. You won't regret it. Everyone is like family there. The teachers are so nice, sweet, and caring. Very very caring.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2014

This school is horrible!!!!! I wish I did more research before waisting a year at SFX. The school is eextremely cliquish, the adminstration has out stayed their welcome, and the over all standards are below the neighboring schools (Van Nest, Ichan, St. Claire, Holy Rosary, 108). There are other schools in the neighborhood that super exceed...Don't waste your time or money.
Submitted by other on November 19, 2013

I'm sorry to say that this school does not care for all the children. It cares more about appearances to other schools and parents. The pastor wonders why the school is losing money - its because there is no actual leadership. The principal has overstayed her welcome and is ineffective. She does not inspire but uses negativity in dealing with the children. Therer are teachers that are not only faculty but parents of students as well, THOSE students are the lucky ones - the special treatment is disgusting. At least it teaches the other kids how to deal with disappointment. The levels of math, english and science are no where near where they should be when these children graduate. Most high schools in the area can point out children that graduated from SFX by their unbelievable lack of knowledge in math.
Submitted by other on November 18, 2013

St Francis Xavier The Bronx New York is a school that REALLY cares for the children. The principal, teachers, aides, cafeteria and maintenance, every one is so friendly and kind. It kind of reminds you with the good old days when our Catholic Schools were under the care of such devoted and dedicated Religious Sisters and Brothers.