Stonebridge Elementary School

900 Owens Street North

School District

Stillwater Area Public School Dist.
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Stillwater Area Public School Dist.

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 other on October 26, 2024

I proudly attended this school as a child, where I forged lasting friendships and created incredible memories. The teachers here are exceptional, treating every student with kindness and ensuring we always feel valued. The experience I gained was truly transformative.
Submitted by parent on January 14, 2020

Excellent. The teachers, school community and principal are really what make this school special. It has been such a positive experience for my learner.
Submitted by other on June 07, 2019

I graduated from Stonebridge in 2010. Looking back at my experiences, I realized how horrible this school was for my education. The lack of care for students' education from some of the teachers was troubling.
Submitted by parent on November 10, 2018

Stonebridge is the most incredible school. We have been at schools that are 10/10 and 2/10 and this one beats all of them hands down. The leadership, teachers, parents, PTA and kids are the best around.
Submitted by parent on September 10, 2014

Many of the staff, particularly in Colony I, are not of the caliber or quality of person I want for teachers of my children. I have seen these women in casual situations. They exhibit behaviors like those advertised on Desperate Housewives and Mean Girls. I have chosen another school for my children, despite the fact that I long to be part of our neighborhood school. Test scores are not the most important factor for our family, however, after reviewing the scores, there's a clear problem at this school, especially when reviewing the student population markers. Finally, we have heard that the principal is severely lacking in both leadership skills and characteristics that make up a quality person, including integrity. This is from several reliable sources. Overall, we are VERY disappointed that Stillwater allows what is becoming a trend at Stonebridge to continue. How sad that it's best teachers have fled.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2014

My school is great for girls. It really does a nice job at creating students who are self-reliant.
Submitted by other on October 15, 2013

Amazing and unique school that continues to thrive despite limits of our public system funding. I attended as a child and know many teachers and staff there that are special folks.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2013

This school has MAJOR problems . Yes, it took a funding hit, but that was over a year ago - and they still seem to have no idea what Stonebridge is or where it's headed. Communication to parents is virtually non-existent. When there is communication, everything is presented in happy-talk that is not reality - especially for the younger grades. These kids are getting jerked around from one model to another and little matches how it was presented to parents. Stonebridge either needs to become a traditional school or get some big-picture thinkers who can re-imagine it in a way that meets financial reality. The patchwork of pieces of the old model and pieces of traditional classrooms is just terrible and serves no one. Add to that a complete disregard for the realities of working families (e.g. school play performances held only during the day) and a PTA that, despite the obvious need for serious change, seems only concerned about raising money for never-quite-spelled-out purposes and ensuring that moms with toddlers can volunteer, and my family is done with the whole thing. My children will do better switching schools midyear than staying here, which makes me pretty sad.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2013

While I agree with some of the reviews that this school is currently in disarray and flux, I personally believe that has nothing to do with the current principal or teachers and everything to do with the fact that the district has decided to force what was a non-traditional school to become a traditional school. They are in the process of changing things from an open, multi-age classroom setting to a traditional closed room, single grade setting. It will take some time to work through this process. My only complaint so far about this school is the large class size. With 1 teacher and 2 papaprofessionals in the classroom, the large class size is bearable, but still not ideal. However, we are thrilled with our child's teacher and feel the curriculum is outstanding. I am amazed at how much my daughter has learned already in just the first half of her kindergarten year. Her progress in that short time is truly outstanding!
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2013

It is so sad to see what has happened to this school. The new principal that came in last year dismantled many of the great traditions of the school - open multi-age classrooms, individualized learning, small student-adult ratios, and an openness where parents are welcome to come and visit or volunteer anytime. We left the school this year after 8 years there. It was too dysfunctional an environment. We hope that it will be repaired someday and we can go back.
Submitted by parent on January 22, 2013

We chose this school for it's rich history in our community as a school with a child-centered focus on individualized learning, leadership, and open, multi-age classrooms. Our older children were fortunate to have experienced this positive environment and truly benefitted from it. Unfortunately, over the last few years, the school has been dismantled and is in a state of disarray, due to the complete lack of leadership by the current building principal. There is no clear direction for the school and there is no cohesion or communication amongst staff and parents. We are in the process of choosing another school for our youngest child. Do not be fooled by the language and rhetoric posted on the website (or given to you by the principal)- it is not what is actually happening within the school and is all lip service. Please do your own investigating.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2012

I had hoped with new administration that this school would improve. It remains disfunctional, especially the teaching staff. The curriculum fails to challenge because of the multi-age learning environment. The open classrooms-without walls in virtually the whole school, are distracting and make focused attention difficult. It is loud a lot of the time here. Open-enrolling out of this school is the only choice if you live in the attendance area.
Submitted by teacher on August 11, 2011

Behavior at this school is OUT OF CONTROL, with no support from the principal to correct it, especially with the oldest students. Some of the favorite staff are allowed to show up after the school day has started. Paras have more teaching responsibilities than the actual classroom teachers. I wouldn't choose to send my own children to this school.
Submitted by parent on November 13, 2010

The principal at Stonebridge is an extremely poor leader. We brought a few concerns to her attention over the years, and she usually did not even bother to call us back or answer our e-mails (after multiple attempts), let alone deal with the issues and make improvements. When she is in the building, she rarely comes out of her office to interact with students and parents (unlike the principals at other District 834 schools our kids now attend). The kids noticed and commented on this, as did several other parents. She is a key reason why we and others left Stonebridge, and it was the best decision we ever made. There are MUCH better schools and principals in the district. A note to Kindergarten parents: within a few years you will be disillusioned. There are some good teachers at Stonebridge, but there are some "nightmare" ones also.