Stratford Academy

6010 Peake Road

Macon, GA 31220

15 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 16, 2025

This school has changed a lot since our family made the decision to place our children here. There was once stable leadership with a board you could respect as well as a parent community that got along well. Just before Covid, a lot of leadership changes started happening. A new head of school was placed, and he was a disaster. There was a series of lower school principals, and it's sad when your young child makes comments about how he's known 4 principals in a building that only has 5 grades. The middle school also experienced a lot of change in a short time--3 heads of that division, major teacher turnover, and a total failure to recognize the problems that a lack of consistency creates for kids at a critical age. The college office may be getting better, but I know of many kids in the past few years who have not gotten good guidance or competent help. The tuition continues to rise, and what was promised as all inclusive is most definitely not. The "farm to table" food may look pretty on instagram, but kids coming home hungry from school tell a different story about how it tastes. What is really sad is there is still a core group of extremely talented teachers who care deeply about the students, have weathered a storm of changing administrative personalities, and just want Stratford to be the school it was before the priority was on marketing and advertising instead of just being the best education in the area. The money spent on marketing and PR and raising the profile of the head of school could be better spent if used to raise the quality of the education, provide kids freedom to learn, and better support mental health. There are probably more resources devoted to social media than there are to making sure kids raised in the "age of anxiety" are taken care of.
Submitted by other on January 14, 2025

I have been around Stratford Academy for years. I am so impressed with Dr. Adams and what she has accomplished! She has raised the expectations of our students and staff and the response is overwhelmingly positive. Stratford truly makes a difference in children's future. Dr. Adams and her leadership team are the best thing to happen to Stratford in a very long time. Proud to be an EAGLE!
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2025

Amazing school with top notch academics. Strong head of school who’s leadership has made incredible changes and improvements to the culture and performance of the school
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2024

Prospective Parents Beware:This school is toxic and the leadership is dysfunctional. They show favoritism to certain families; it’s all about who you know. Worst experience ever.
Submitted by other on May 11, 2023

Terrible school. Do not send your kids here. Toxic environment, mean kids, and dysfunctional management.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2023

When my children first attended Stratford, the fall following Covid, they were very welcomed by both teachers and students while I was welcomed by SO many parents. Stratford has a wonderful mix of Maconites and Transplants which brings so much diversity to the student body, teachers/employees as well as the parent network. Dr. Adams was a wonderful choice for the new Headmaster and I feel she truly believes every child should have the opportunity to access a Stratford education. I think she will do her personal best to help any family with children who truly want to learn and are willing to put forth their best effort to enroll at Stratford. The parental involvement at this school is not required but so incredibly important and sincerely appreciated by the faculty and staff. The teachers are the best you could ask for and the guidance and support staff are next to none. The Olson Library is absolutely unbelievable and an absolute must see for any on-campus visit and the Science and STEAM programs are second to none with the absolute best of instruction. Go Eagles!
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2022

Our daughter attended Stratford from August to November 2021. A child told her that he would do very aggressive, violent and inappropriate things to her every day. Due to the graphic nature, we are unable to include specifics per review guidelines. We contacted the school for help in September and again in October when it continued. The Head of Preschool called our daughter into her office, scolded her and told her to stop going home and telling her mom everything.She blamed our daughter for asking the boy to play, threatened her with big trouble and told her to stay away from all of the boys.The school didn’t contact the boy’s parents until the end of November, when we met with the Head of School about withdrawal. They said the boy is flirting with her and if a child has a problem with it to separate themselves.The school failed to enforce their bullying policy, minimized our concerns and victim-blamed our daughter. Additionally, the school shows favoritism to certain families. There are far better school options in the area.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2019

We have been more than satisfied with our children's education this far. We love the enthusiasm, the caring teachers, and the feeling of home. We look forward to 12 more years.
Submitted by parent on September 05, 2019

Stratford is absolutely the best! Loving and caring environment for the children and awesome community of parents!
Submitted by other on November 20, 2013

I am a current senior at Stratford, and couldn't have asked for a better place to attend school for 14 years. Stratford Academy is by far the best school in Macon. The academics are unbeatable- and the faculty and staff provide an atmosphere that, although extremely rigorous, makes you WANT to succeed. The athletics are outstanding, and each sports team becomes like a family throughout their season. Although I am not a member of the band or arts department, I absolutely wish I was! They have so much fun and always do so well, whether it's pumping up the football fans on Friday nights or putting on the Winter Musical. Socially- some reviews say that it's so hard to fit in at Stratford, but I have to completely disagree. There's a place for everyone. It may take time, but everyone finds their niche here. Students that come to SA from other private schools in Macon always tell me that they're so surprised at how kind, loving, and accepting the Stratford community is. Sure, there are "mean girls and guys" but you'll find those at any school. I would feel comfortable having a conversation with anyone in the school because everyone just gets along. It's SO great to be a Stratford Eagle!
Submitted by other on August 17, 2013

Academically Stratford is by far the best school in middle Georgia. Socially it is great, but the girls are very cliquey, as a guy I don't have to deal with this, and have I have friends that are athletic and somewhat nerdy, and they all have many friends in and outside of their groups. However every year there is always an new antisocial student with overbearing parents that blame everything on the school and other children. Due to this those particular students being antisocial and their parents trying to be involved in everything, they are shunned because if any student accidentally hurts there feelings, the child will go home and tell their parents who will start something entirely to big. Usually these students only attend Stratford for only one or two years. The teachers are mostly great, and want to test you, while making sure you succeed. There are a couple of teachers that shouldn't be teaching at the level that they are and should be moved to a lower grade, while others should do the opposite. The college office should be expanded, my brother recently finished with a 3.7 GPA and 1290 SAT and struggled to get into UGA, while friends from other schools got in with 3.5 1120
Submitted by other on January 01, 2013

Stratford has great academics, but the only students who do well are the ones that have the social connections and have been attending for most of their life. There is no diversity here, and if you don't fit the standards of what the students believe to be acceptable, you will be bullied. As a student here, I do well academically but since I don't fit the social standards I am considering transferring to Howard. It also seems as if the administrative staff care more about the color socks someone is wearing, or dress code violations, and choose to let bullying occur. Even though this school has virtually no violence, the students are relentless if there's something about you that they don't like, and the staff ignores this and instead focuses on the most nitpicky things. This school is only good for those who have been attending for a long time and who fit the standards of other students. The school has a terrible atmosphere.
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2012

Great academics- loving, caring, and dedicated teachers. My child has had great experiences with them.Students are really pushed to excel. The social atmosphere can be rough, mainly for newcomers and minorities. And yes, kids can be brutal! However, in the past few years, there has been a remarkable positive shift in administrative efforts at integration- a lot more awareness and efforts to discuss global cultures. The Global Forum has done wonderful things. The Internationa Dinners and the multi-cultural holiday celebrations have been fabulous! What is adding strength to the school community is the increasing number of culturally diverse students and parents being welcomed into the Stratford family. The dynamics are slow to shift but change is now very obvious. Also, it is not always the school's job to to mend everything that is wrong. It is equally important for all parents to enlighten their children of the vast and culturally diverse world around them that is waiting to be explored! Narrowmindedness will persist as long as parents don't educate themselves first in order to teach their children about the beautiful world around them. We all have a responsibility towards that.
Submitted by other on May 01, 2011

As a Stratford graduate, I can easily say it is the best private school in Georgia outside of Atlanta. Student placement in colleges exceeds that of any other school in the area. In my grade alone, we had students attend Harvard, Brown, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Columbia, along with many major state universities. Our academics are extremely vigorous, the teachers very caring, experienced and intelligent. Our sports program is excellent as well, with many brand new, top notch facilities. The campus feels like a college campus, and is spacious and beautiful. While many say it's socially hard here, I came to this school not knowing anyone right before middle school, and made many great lifelong friends. Not being affiliated with any church/religion means it IS actually more diverse than other schools in the area, as I had friends who practiced Judaism, Hinduism, and many different denominations of the Christian faith. Very proud to be a Stratford alum!
Submitted by other on January 06, 2011

Although this school preforms wonderfully in the academic and athletic arenas, it is an all too true example of how narrow mindedness and lack of diversity in the student body can effect inter-student relationships. As a previous student at Stratford Academy, I can personally vouch for the brutal cliques that form at private schools, more importantly, Stratford. If you as a student, or your parents are not friends with the right families, families mind you, not people, you will find yourself ostracized and left out of many opportunities and events. I transfered to the academy in first grade and by fourth grade had learned which people had which connections and that i lacked them. Fortunately, I transfered to a public school during high school and received an equal education in the Honors/AP program there. The only thing it lacked from Stratford was the standoffish attitude possessed by the administration, students, and alumni parents. I would fully reccomend this school, if you have the right social connections; otherwise, expect your child to be ostracized.