James Monroe Elementary School

My kid has been at Monroe for a couple of years now and honestly, the health side of things is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, they've been great about hosting vaccine pop-ups and and I appreciate that the school tries to stay on top of community wellness. We also have a counselor with a background in dietetics, which is a nice bonus you don't see everywhere. However, the communication when a bug starts going around the classroom is pretty hit or miss. It feels like I only find out half the class is home sick through the parent group chat rather than from the school itself. The building is older, so while the staff does their best, the ventilation isn't amazing and germs just seem to linger during the winter months. It's an okay environment, but I definitely keep the hand sanitizer and vitamins ready at home.

My son goes to Monroe and honestly, they've been pretty on top of things this year. The classrooms always look clean when I'm there for drop-off, and they are really strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule, which is a bit of a pain for working parents but totally keeps the flu from spreading like wildfire. I also really appreciate that the nurse actually calls back to follow up if your kid gets a scrape on the playground or feels off. My only gripe is that communication about local outbreaks can be a little slow sometimes—usually, the parent group chat knows a stomach bug is going around a few days before the official email goes out.