Northern Guilford Elementary School

Excellent school. If you are looking to purchase a house on the Northern Distric you are making the right decision. One of the top 2 schools. My son is super happy with the teachers and the staff.The two best in this area are Summerfield and Northern Elementary.

This school has been around for 10 years now and has become a fantastic elementary school. Staff is great, invested in each child. Parents are very involved.

Unfortunately, this is a new school and the kinks are still being worked out. Administrative - Overall staff very nice...but at times does not appear to be very helpful for lack of direction. I talked to 4 different people on several occasions and really the right hand has no idea of what the left hand is doing. Leadership - No clear direction and the prinicipal appears to be detached and not very genuine. Assistant principal is very good and she stays involved with the kids and keeps the school in check. If she leaves, I would be worried. Communication - Parents receive very little or no information (usually the latter) unless it is a PTA sponsored event (which usually requests some form of monetary contribution). Parents are usually informed at the last minute and most information is by word of mouth from someone who is in 'the know. Teachers - Overall some of the teachers are very, very good and want to get the job done. With the limited funds it makes it harder to get things done. Green School - This is not a green school, not even close. Website is rarely used and there is still an enormous amount of paper being used to send the same information home by 3 different kids. Parents are also asked to bring in donations outside of the school supplies sent in at the very beginning of the year to help replenish throughout the year. This only perpetuates the problem since the school staff is not working effectively with the resources that it has. Lunch Program - Not bad, but could be better. Beef nuggets? Need I say more? Safety - Kids are often seen throughout the halls on a given day going to or from somewhere. There is no hall monitors and I often see kids playing/talking in the bathrooms with other children. Parents/Adults are required to enter the building where the office is located and check in. I have witnessed parents walking thru the office (without checking in, and no one addresses them) and proceed to their child's classroom. Not sure this is safe given that an irrational parent could have caused alot of problems by the time the front office would be able to react/respond. Hey it happens..and yes unfortunately it could happen in Greensboro. Medical Attention - virtually non-existent. Kids would occassional get hurt on the playground and would be sent to the nurse's office. They would receive a band-aid and if they are lucky, the wound would be cleaned. My child's wound was not cleaned after a slip and fall and badly bruised knee. Overall, I think the school has a long way to go. It's not the worst school out there by far. It has a huge number of parents and teachers who care about the school and no doubt eventually it will get better. I'm counting down the days until I no longer have to be a Northern Nighthawk, until then..I will have to grin and bear it.