Douglas Macarthur Elementary School

494 Lincoln Street

School District

Waltham
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
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 17, 2023

As a parent of a kid who's going here who is neurodivergent and is on a 504, this school is wonderful. The educators here seem to care deeply and are probably over-generous with their time...which I love and wish they had more support. Nonetheless, everyone I interact with at this school are lovely, kind, and invested individuals who all appear to care for kids greatly!
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2021

That is our second year here and I am so impressed by the devotion of the teachers and staff at MacArthur School, especially during the COVID pandemic. They did a great job, both remote and hybrid learning. Both of my kids love their school and teachers. I drop off and pick up my kids every day and I can say that the school community is great. School offers drama, art, music, etc. classes starting from K, which some highly rated schools do not offer at all. I am quite sure that the high-quality education at MacArthur School will reflect the ratings in a few years.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2020

The first few weeks seemed great - despite poor reviews of Waltham schools I wanted to have an open mind. The communication has been very poor in K this year and frankly I’m concerned about some kids she is being exposed to. I might have to move after all.
Submitted by parent on December 01, 2020

We've had a great experience at this school over the last 4-5 years! The teachers/staff have been wonderful and caring. It's a great community. My children love school and are happy to go every day. (Now with the pandemic and the situation being less than ideal for all involved, I think the school has been handling things impressively and thoughtfully, both with remote and hybrid learning.)
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2020

We weren't sure what to expect with the week on week off remote learning as a result of COVID. As parents of a kindergartner here, we have been extremely impressed with the way everything has been handled thus far. Communication has been great, the teachers and leadership are excellent, and our son comes home with a smile on his face every day. We do wish there were more online portions of the day for remote weeks and the workbook is finished within an hour, but given the circumstances, we're happy.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2019

My realtor sold us on the neighborhood saying MacArthur was one of the top elementary schools in the state. If that were ever true it must have been years ago on someone else's watch. We have had terrible experiences with the teachers at this school. They are punitive, small-minded, authoritarian, and make children feel awful about themselves and their abilities. Completely ineffective at managing classrooms and homework. If I were this bad at my job, I'd be fired.
Submitted by parent on January 03, 2019

Awful. Teachers and Admin so self involved it’s like going back to high school. The students are their own teachers and mentors since no one else is interested in their education.
Submitted by parent on June 18, 2013

This is a great school. Could use a revamp in the administration and teacher communication with parents. Many of the the teachers lack important communication with parents. It is a shame that the administration is not on top of that. Many teachers do not follow through with what they inform parents that will be done in the classroom. Teachers seem to be overwhelmed with their personal life and managing a classroom. There tends to be a lot of "slacking" as the year progresses. It is a shame.