Research Woodbury Elementary School public Schools in Shaker Heights, Ohio

“Our daughter transferred from a private girls' school into Woodbury fifth grade this fall. We are very happy with the choice. Many of our associates at work had also told us that the Shaker schools were great, and we were nuts paying private school tuition. The teachers are dedicated, bright and wonderful people. The classes are 'tracked' and careful placement resulted in our daughter being placed with like-minded peers. She is being challenged for the first time, and we see none of the 'be quiet and fit in message' we heard in private school. Woodbury is large enough to have clubs, activities, friends, arts, music and athletics as well as educational programming to fit many, many needs. I can't believe our good fortune in making the choice to send our daughter there, and the warm reception she has received from teachers and many new friends and activities.”

“I have been very disappointed in the way the school handles minor learning disabilities. After wonderful experiences in the lower elementary - it is like a different school district.”

“My son attended Woodbury 6th grade in 2006-07 school year and there is a zero tolerance attitude to discipline problems at the school, as long as they are brought to teachers/administrators attention. I was disappoointed with enriched math as a lot of the curriculum seemed to require background knowledge that not all students had. Math fair presentations were clearly done to pretty advanced level with a lot of parental help (cutting and pasting from internet also) and my son got a low grade as the project was all his own work and did not look professional (i.e. done by a parent). The school needs to emphasize homework should be a child's own effort and heavy use of the internet and parent 'help' is not acceptable. Otherwise, there is some excellent teaching at this school.”

“My child attended Woodbury last year. The quality of education may be better than other districts, but my child experienced frequent bullying and intimidation. Administration had not adopted a zero tolerance as of last year.”

“Woodbury is an upper elementary school with expectations that students will behave in an appropriate fashion. The staff is up-beat and holds to the standards. Problems are dealt with swiftly and compassionately. The enrichment classes in Math and Language Arts are stellar. For those who don't qualify, as my student did not, there are exemplary after-school enrichment opportunities. The new playgrounds are well conceived and get lots of use.”

“Pros: Good music program, some enrichment classes offered, extracurricular offerings. Cons: Large class size, noisy, problems with shouting/verbally abusive teachers (parents rallied together to get a teacher fired but problem persists), playground equipment not installed until 2004 (still inadequate for 900+ kids), middle school atmosphere and expectations are inappropriate for many of this age group.”