St James Elementary School

30 Peters Place

Red Bank, NJ 07701

11 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 17, 2023

Our experience at Saint James Elementary has been deeply unsatisfactory due to a lack of full-time counseling services, neglect of student voices, attempts to push conservative and republican views onto students, and the invalidation of religious beliefs based on political views. This school claims that they are big on anti-bullying, but the amount of times the students had been told by staff to “just ignore the bullying” is unbelievable. These concerning issues have left us disappointed and concerned. We hope that our feedback will prompt the school administration to address these shortcomings promptly and create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2023

What a Gem of a School! We came from the public school system - Which was a nightmare post covid. My tweens now go to school happy and come home happy every single day! They feel safe happy and loved by the entire St James staff. They are now excited to learn and want to do their Best!! They are also learning important life and social skills from their teachers. The teachers all have been amazing. The principle is fantastic and runs a great program. No cell phones No bullying No nonsense. I could not say enough good things about this school.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2023

My kids came here from public school. We found the education much better here than public, Teachers are very caring and offer extra support if needed. St James has a family feel to it and lots of activities and sports that public school doesn't offer. Our kids are very happy here, we are very happy we made decision to come here.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2021

Our experience with this school has been extremely unpleasant, to say the least. We moved to Red Bank from Staten Island in 2016 and had been sending our kids to another Catholic school in that area. Upon moving to Monmouth County and seeking a school for our kids, we had finally selected St James School due to its perfect location next door to the Red Bank Catholic High school, immediate distance to the St James Church, and the lovely downtown area that the kids could visit after school with their friends. I started to become dissatisfied with the school about halfway through my older child's first year. She had been experiencing relentless bullying from her peers, often right in front of the teachers who saw it. I emailed the several teachers whose classes in which these incidents had occurred in, only to have my concerns fall on deaf ears. Not even an apology to my daughter from the bullies who constantly picked on her. As a matter of fact, my daughter was labeled a "snitch" for reporting the bullying, which led to even more of her fellow students to single her out and bully her. The bullying did not cease until my daughter had confided in me that she had thoughts of hurting herself, which only then, after alarmingly telling the school, did they finally do something about the situation. After this, we had a much more smooth sailing experience. Then the coronavirus pandemic came. While we understand the volatility of the unprecedented situation with the virus at the time, the lack of transparency and communication between parents and the school was absolutely unacceptable. Emails to teachers either went unanswered, or if I was lucky enough to get a response, the teachers were as clueless as I was about any plans. My children weren't doing any kind of learning for three whole months! I do not pay tuition for my kids to sit around all day not learning anything. This school had no technology infrastructure up until this pandemic (no laptops, Google class rooms, Chrome Books etc) besides their Facebook page and shoddy website. This is an atrocity. My final straw was when my children went back to school the following fall (2020), and one of my children's teachers tested positive for covid and had potentially exposed dozens of students. However, I wasn't informed of this until TWO WEEKS LATER when the teacher had recovered. So unacceptable. I have since withdrawn my kids from the school and considered filing suit. Please do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2019

Totally unacceptable. Despite doing my research prior to finally chosing to send my kids to SJS, I ignored the negative reviews and send my kids there anyway. Biggest regret of my life.
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2017

One word: despicable. I can't even fathom how this school is allowed to operate with such intolerant people. I myself have been Catholic since I was 7 years old. I'm 51 now. The is the farthest thing from a "Catholic" school. Anti-gay sentiment flows through this school just like water. Send your kids elsewhere to one of the other Catholic schools around the area. I hope this place shuts down. I am extremely upset, and just writing about this makes me sick to my stomach.
Submitted by other on June 10, 2017

St. James Elementary is a feeder school to Red Bank Catholic High School, Christian Brothers Academy, and Trinity Hall. My daughter attended K-8. It is a phenemonal school for families who want a tight knit Catholic community and is very, very accepting of LGBTQ and academically challenged students, so all feel loved and accepted. The school addresses bullying, and students that don't fit in simply leave the school - only a few each year. The religious education was quite intense; second grade revolves around Holy First Communion and eighth grade revolves around Confirmation. The faculty is small and somewhat aging, but some are starting families and are very good when they are around. The faculty is now all female, and these teachers have up to 36 students in each class. They do not assign much homework. Even though they are tired, they keep on going, God bless them! When they don't feel like teaching, they pop in a video that the students will enjoy. Pep rallies and mass for school spirit are frequent, and the school has an active drama club, chorus, and sports are run mostly by parents after school. The school events always involve prayers and mass, and they praise their good fortune. Many, many students receive academic awards to feed the spirit, and this warm, tight community is very happy clappy!
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2014

We are so pleased with Saint James. Our children had previously attended another Catholic school, which was going downhill quickly. We made the difficult decision to pull our kids and after extensive research chose Saint James. Our decision is confirmed on a daily basis. The academics surpass anything we have experienced before. The teachers are dedicated, helpful, knowledgable and challenge the students to push themselves. Homework is appropriate to grade level. The administration is very involved and available, they take the discipline seriously as you would expect in a Catholic school. The clubs, sports and extra-curriculars are fabulous. It's a wonderful place and we highly recommend it.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2014

School has been going downhill. Teachers are moved from grade to grade every year and have very little enthusiasm. Principal did not show concerns about inappropriate behavior and actions by one other child. I feel as if my family and child's concerns were dismissed. We are actively looking for a new school.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2014

The tuition is too expensive, they are not taught any good values, and they give your child too much homework. My son is in first grade, and has 2 hours about worth of homework nightly. It is bs and as a result removed my young son from the school after 6 months. The principal is an old hag who should retire already. I am furious and will sue the school soon. I would have by now, but won't refund me the tuition money back that I paid for my child to go the year after!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2013

My 4 children all attend St. James and love it. My oldest is in 6th grade and my youngest is in preschool and I believe they not only are getting a quality education, but they are learning in a loving and nurturing environment. The teachers are wonderful and the principal is excellent. I couldn't be happier with our decision to send our children here and to be a part of the SJS family for the last 9 years.