J. Russell Elementary School

119 North Adams Street

School District

Moscow District
Grade

3-5
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 May 02, 2022

It is the best school I have ever been to.
Submitted by parent on December 10, 2020

I am very disappointed in this school. My family moved to Moscow from out of state. Soon after arriving I started asking around about schools and the general response was that schools were good. I enrolled my son in Russell School which was the school in our "residential zone". Shortly after school started I realized this school was not good. The teachers were not really attentive to my sons needs and they let a lot of things re: his school work slip through the cracks. They just didn't care about the quality of his work so he started getting sloppy with his lessons. In a parent/teacher conference I inquired about the lack of apparent discipline in completing assignments and the teachers seemed puzzled by questions. The standards set by teachers are followed by students, and these standards are set by the principle. It's clear that the principle does not set very high standards for teachers at this school.I often work with my son in the evenings on his classwork so I have a good idea what his capabilities are. I know he struggles with math so I was astonished to see that he scored high on his math tests. In fact, I reviewed some math concepts with him following a test he scored high on in class. At home with me he really had a hard time. I don't know what's going on here but it appears that teachers are actually inflating test scores. One more thing. This school is over 100 years old. It's crumbling down and the systems are breaking down. Several times during the winter I received an email in the morning from the principle telling me to "bundle up" my student because the boiler at the school was not working and there was no heat. REALLY? And the bathrooms stink from urine smell, they're disgusting.I transferred my son to another school after only one year at Russell and he's doing much better. He's getting better instruction and more attention from teachers.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2020

My experience with this school can be summed up in one word - frustrating. Parents have enough challenges raising kids, we don't need a school to actually add more challenges to the job. And that's exactly what the administration at this school did.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2017

The amount of commitment Russell's staff has to their students cannot be matched. This school was great when I went there in the 90's, and I'm glad to see they've kept their high standards.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2017

My child is quite safe here. I am very satisfied with level of participation of teachers and staff.
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2013

Bullying is an issue. The special ed department is not great. I don't feel I was listened to as a parent. Some Teachers were very nice . But I did not feel involved with my kids education. I don't feel my kid is safe there.