South Hill School

520 Hudson Street

School District

Ithaca City
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Ithaca City School District

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 September 10, 2022

This school is amazing. The administration, teachers, and staff are beyond caring. The culture here is one of inclusion and belonging. The special education staff is incredible and they work seamlessly with the regular teachers. Issues are addressed with thoughtfulness and care.We have put off moving until the kidd are out of elementary school.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2020

Very poor.They are self righouess and condescending in how they speak to both the child and the parent.When there is a strugle,they don't talk to you.We have had a total of 7 calls to child protective services in the 2 years we have dealt with this school.A child who has already been through so much is now scared that he will be taken away.We had to remove another child from the school because they did not want to deal with his disabilities,and he was regressing.Definitely would not recommend this school to anyone,especially if you have any kind of struggle.
Submitted by parent on January 30, 2020

Very poor.They did not meet the needs of our autistic child,they were constantly calling CPS, and treating us like we were bad parents.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2014

We have been very happy with this school. The teachers are wonderful, the support services excellent--I feel that everyone at the school knows my child and "gets" him. One concern is safety: the front door is always open during the after school period, and this concerns me since my son attends after school.
Submitted by parent on August 19, 2014

I love how open the principal and the teachers are about parent conversations. I wrote an email about a few things I wanted to address and I had an appointment scheduled within 7 days. My daughter loves it there and I think they are actively working to make it a great school for the students. One improvement is during the conversation is to relax and engage with the parent. Sometimes I feel because they field so much feedback that they get too defensive. Also they are good about making everyone welcome, but customer service to the families should always be top priority.
Submitted by parent on June 25, 2014

This school is awful. The classroom teachers and principal do not listen to parents at all and just give lip service to concerns, ideas, etc. They are not prepared to challenge students at all. My child has been bored for 2 years. The teachers are unprofessional and vindictive. We had one teacher run out of a meeting crying. The specialists (music, P.E.) are decent and probably the best part of the "team". We thought the new principal would be warmer and promote a less institutional environment but she has just caved in and become a talking head. If you are into safety and rules and do not question anything, this might be the school for you. If you are thoughtful and analytical and believe that schools should teach and encourage creative thinking then hop on the nearest deer and leap over to another school. Trumansburg? Lansing? Cortland? Anything has to be better than Ithaca School District- -6000 followers that bore, bully, and boo-hoo-- losing enrollment daily and raising taxes yearly.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2012

My daughter has been attending South Hill since kindergarten, and is now entering 4th grade. We've been very pleased with the attentiveness of teachers, school-home communication, and how they deal with discipline. There is a true sense of caring for the individual pervasive in the school. They recently built a new playground for the big children, and I think I heard they're going to build a new one for the little ones too soon. The one thing I don't like about South Hill is something I don't like about all Ithaca's schools - no gifted/talented program at all.
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2011

My son attends South Hill Elementary and we choose to by a house in this school district and have been very pleased. The teachers are amazing and dedicated. The principal is new so its hard to review her performance but I have heard good things. We would highly recommend South Hill.
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2011

My son went to Kindergarten here and has learned a lot. Teachers are great. He loves it!
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2008

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