Wards Creek Elementary School

6555 STATE ROAD 16

Saint Augustine, FL 32092

School District

St. Johns
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
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 September 11, 2024

The academics here are sub par at best. Administration only cares about being in charge, and attention. The whole school gave me the ick.
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2024

After attending this school for many years ( since my eldest was in 1st grade, now going into 5th ) the school has done nothing but go down hill. The leadership is obviously the root cause of this. Teachers leaving left and right only points to one thing, poor leadership. I feel bad for the kids who have to stay here. We luckily were rezoned for LPA.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2024

I don't know what went wrong with Wards creek. Last year our kiddo had a great year, great teacher, great communication. A+ Experience. This year we have a teacher with horrible social anxiety that is unable to teach, unable to communicate with parents, or even able to communicate with kids. For instance, this is a recent example: we walked into the classroom for a class event. The teacher didn't greet any parents coming into the classroom. Just stood there, completely paralyzed. We were all standing around aimlessly until one of the parents just starting doing the event by herself and we all followed along. It was one of the most awkward things I ever witnessed. We are all sympathetic to mental conditions, but I feel like some mental conditions make being a great teacher a huge challenge. And the classroom isn't a place to conquer social anxiety, as that isn't in the best interest of the kids. We need teachers already trained on how to teach, especially in the competitive world we live in today. This review is to warn anyone to be very wary about this school. It used to be a A+ school, but is now rapidly degenerating. Teachers are the most important component to a good school MUST be selected carefully.
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2024

They hire anybody off the street to be a teacher. We have had to teach our kid most the math ourselves because the quality is that bad. The teacher is training to teach while they are already hired as a teacher. No I'm not kidding. You send an email asking a question to a teacher, you can count on it not being answered. My kid was bringing the wrong H.W book home for half the year and this teacher wasn't aware of it because she seems to not be checking the H.W or monitoring what children are bringing out the classroom.Headphones for our kid disappeared. She was sharing someone else's headphones. no communication from the teacher. we bought new headphones those disappeared too. Ask about it, no response. Kids always get sick, but not like in this school. they jam the kids so close you can count on a sick kid once a week. Teachers bringing whole families into class so you never know who your kid is around, and it also adds an extra vector of illnesses your kids can be exposed to in an already crammed environment.Unsafe social environment for kids too. If your kid is having social issues, you can count on the teachers not informing you or helping you resolve it. It's like pulling nails to find out what's going on with your kids. I had to literally ask a teacher to separate my kid from someone my kid has repeatedly told me makes inappropriate comments to her and didn't respect her boundaries. When i asked how my kid was doing socially i was assured she was doing good.Saint Johns county has had to rezone some kids because of how overwhelmed this school is with the influx of new students from silverleaf. in some ways this explains a lot of the problems, but then again they should have anticipated this and been prepared: after all they zoned 10k new residences years ago. Very bad leadership from all of Saint John's County, but especially this school which didn't rise to the challenge.Now kids whom were supposed to attend this school until Silverleaf's completion will have to be rezoned for 2 years, and wards creek itself sees a dip in its academics rating impacting both students and homeowners in the area.
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2018

Principal implicity condones bullying of students by the teachers, 100% agree with the May 31 2015 review, the school's administration has changed, the situation remains the same. Don't expect improvements anytime soon.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2018

Great place for children. There's a very positive, invitational feeling here.
Submitted by parent on August 03, 2016

My son has been attending Wards Creek since 1st grade and is now about to enter the 4th grade. I have been nothing but pleased and thrilled to send my son here. The building, staff, administration, cafeteria, technology, grounds...you name it I adore it. My son went to a private school of only a handful of students in Kindergarten and I was scared he would have a hard time finding his groove with larger classrooms. I am so glad I was so wrong! Every year the current teacher he has is his FAVORITE teacher and he still finds time to visit his old teachers to say HI. The resources are also great; PE, music, art, science lab, and the library. Okay enough gushing!
Submitted by parent on May 12, 2016

Excellent school. The teachers and administration care very deeply about the students and their families. Children and respected and given opportunities to be strong leaders. This is the very best school my children have ever attended.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2015

I love this school! My son is absolutely thriving here compared to his previous school. His teacher is a godsend and she works really well with him and his ADHD. The administrators are great as well. I am curious as to why our elementary school recently dropped from a 9/10 to a 7/10?
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2014

My children have attended public school in 5 different states (Virginia, California, Louisiana, Washington, and Florida) with my oldest only in 4th grade, and I will say hands down Wards Creek Elementary is the best school they have ever attended. My oldest has a 504 plan and my youngest an IEP and receiving services and accommodations for both children has been so easy! After fighting with school districts all over the country it was such a relief to have a school not only accept my recommendations, but offer several I hadn't even thought of. Plus the school nurse is AMAZING! Any time we are trying something new to help my daughter she's right on board and keeps me updated. Everyone is so friendly, they are so organized, and even the students are sweet as can be. With bullying being such a hot issue right now this was a great concern of mine, but I joke that my kids could go to school looking a mess and their fellow classmates would compliment them on their unique outfit. I've never had an issue with communication with their teachers (which is very important with two special needs kids) and I feel confident they are being given every tool they need to succeed.
Submitted by other on May 03, 2014

May granddaughters go to this school. They love to share everything they learn from their teachers. I'm always amazed how much they know and retain from their weekly lessons. Their teachers are apparently dedicated to their students' education.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2014

They are more worried about being a Torch school than teaching. The principal will tell you what you want to hear about your child but not listen to you at all. This school is going down very very fast. It really misses Mr. Campbell. The current leadership is all about themselves and not about the students.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2014

Love the school but hate the homework given.to.a kindergartener!! They go on a lot of field trips and the teacher that my son now has is great! They do have a lot of days out of school but him as a kindergartner is OK cause its his first year in school and he is really excelling !
Submitted by parent on November 20, 2013

Worst school ever! Our careers have moved us around so with all our children we've been welcomed to several schools. I'm hearing other parents with similar issues in that the staff behave as they wish. If an issue arises you will be disrespected as if you are the child. Wards - are how many behave, controlling to a fault with no regard to the parents relationship with the school. The school is missing several programs, compassion, understanding others, and after all it is a school so those things should be there. Don't have an issue maybe okay, Otherwise the staff perform as they want and tell you how it will be. They smile then speak in a demeaning behavior to you and children. I've seen it so many times. If people knew the truth about how the staff behaves I don't believe some would still have jobs. My opinion is many of them just don't know what to do. Parents beware, Wards Creek is an all about us school, "us" being the staff.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2013

My child has attended a couple of different schools in Florida, and this is by far the best school. They have great teachers, and a great staff. I cannot say enough about the wonderful faculty and feel blessed to have such a great school for children. They have very high standards and really push the students to succeed.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2011

This is an AMAZING school. I attended Shadyside Academy and Winchester Thurston (both top rated private schools in Pittsburgh PA) and would put this PUBLIC school up against them any day. I'm not sure how a child with below average drive or parent involvement would survive here, but that is fine with me!