Jeff Davis Elementary School

Posted: February 28, 2021

We have been at Back Bay for 2 years now (kinder and first) and I have zero complaints outside of COVID hindering our face to face parent/teacher communications/events but that is out of all of our hands. Before though, they constantly had fun hands on events and activities for the whole family to attend. I feel like my child is perfectly safe thanks to all of their security measures. The front is always secure and you must fully check in and be verified before stepping foot inside and even then the teachers take extra precautions to ensure the kids are safe. My child has learned so much from this school and has excelled more than I ever could have imagined thanks to Back Bay Elementary.

Posted: February 28, 2021

Posted: February 28, 2021

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Posted: July 15, 2020

Posted: July 15, 2020

My kids do love it because they have their friends and they love school. In a parent perspective the communication and parent involvement is severely lacking they seriously test in math and reading every month, which I think personally is too much for a kid. That is on top of AR testing and spelling test, and weekly subject testing. Everyday it seems my kids have a test of some sort. When you voice your concern they seem to just brush it off or sweep it under the rug. Was not happy with this school!

Posted: July 15, 2020

It is the same thing over and over again. It's almost like being a robot doing it. My kid doesn't learn from she needs something that challenges her.

Posted: July 15, 2020

They care about the students at their convenience it seems. Kindergarten was amazing and then first grade the teacher was gone it seemed half the time. Communication with the teachers is awful, it takes forever to get a response if you get one at all. They don't let parents know anything. You find out through your kid half the time and that's if I ask

Posted: July 15, 2020

They do reward students with an AR party and student of the month and give them different incentives to make good choices.

Posted: July 15, 2020

There have been so many changes and some/most weren't even needed. They got rid of PTO and it seems that they don't like to have parent involvement. All talk and no action when it comes to events, activities, fundraising, etc. Again also no communication it takes a week to get a response and that's if you email for the second time. Or they say they will call you back and you hear nothing.

Posted: July 15, 2020

Posted: March 21, 2018

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Posted: March 21, 2018

Posted: March 21, 2018

My sons attended JD for 1st and 3rd grades. We are a military family. I was very nervous about coming to MS and looked at the other school options. We ended up at JD which was a good choice. My boys are both gifted and my older son is twice exceptional. The gifted program is a full day pullout. There are two gifted specialists full time at the school. I have never seen another school with that much GT support. The school was flexible to both of my children’s needs and supported my older son with social skills and a safe place if he was having a rough day. I felt that there were lots of caring teachers. The principal signed every report card and make a kind comment. That type of leadership is exceptional. (She has moved on and I do not know the new principal.) Like any school your child will have more opportunities the more involved and aware the parents are. I was pleased with our year at JD and miss a lot of things about the community.

Posted: July 28, 2017

I must say that my child’s experience in kindergarten was the best and the teachers really seemed to care / stayed in contact with the parents. Unfortunately my other children (4th and 5th graders) had horrible experiences. Teachers where not concerned / kids would get in trouble for asking too many questions / requested personal parent teacher conferences with no reply’s or returned calls. Additionally if my child failed a test the teacher would go over the questions and let them retake the same test / no incentive to study…

Posted: July 28, 2017

Syllabus not provided / homework inconsistent or not graded

Posted: July 28, 2017

Not all teachers are bad / had an excellent kindergarten teacher, but some lack compassion / not conserved or involved with students / will push kids through without consequences

Posted: July 28, 2017

Teachers seem to concentrate on & inforce integrity, compassion and respect between K-1 / gradually drops off throughout the next few grades.

Posted: July 28, 2017

Leadership appears to be concerned but it’s all about the bottom dollar / most kids with discipline issues are not kicked out or suspended / attendance equals $$$

Posted: July 28, 2017

IMO the school has good intentions / but lacks skills to deal with students with learning differences.

Posted: July 28, 2017

It’s the schools policy to prevent bullying, but it still happens / offending students for the most part are verbally counseled / rarely ever suspended. It’s hard to hold parents accountable for their children if they’re not required to deal with it directly.

Posted: May 23, 2017

This school is subpar to say the least. My daughter has gone here for 4 years and although she has had SOME great teachers who seem to care, the school and administration itself needs some major work. "Dr" Nelson, the principal is part of the main problem in my opinion. She rarely shows up at school functions and will not address issues that have been brought to her attention by parents. I had a couple of concerning issues involving my daughter who by the way has been a straight A student and has never been in trouble. She completely ignored my emails and even a heart felt letter written directly to her by my daughter. This school is all talk no action. The communication overall between staff and students and staff and parents is poor. The vice principal seems to be somewhat of a stand in for Principal Nelson but since coming on board I haven't seen an improvement in the slightest. The school gets funding from the federal government since more than 80 percent of their students are military including my daughter but what they do with that funding is beyond me. We will be moving thankfully and unfortunately this school has lived up to the terrible Mississippi school system's reputation.

Posted: May 23, 2017

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Posted: October 6, 2016

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Posted: October 6, 2016

If you have a child with any special needs stay far far away! The curriculum is terrible and they have no flexibility in their teaching style/ accommodations made. Coming from a public charter school up north I can say there are MUCH better schools out there! It's a disgrace to call this an A rated school!

Posted: October 6, 2016

Posted: October 6, 2016

Posted: June 11, 2016

My daughter attended this school for almost a year. The school likes to promote their pro-military ideas and programs but in reality they are just horrible.
First the curriculum is years behind anyone else in the country let alone the DODDS schools that we used while in Japan.
Second the teachers just don't care about the students or their needs. My daughter came from a DODDS school (1st grade) doing multiplication and was far ahead of anything in MS. The teacher was unwilling to even understand that what they were teaching was too easy. So naturally my daughter fell behind and had to play catch up when we moved away. My friend had his 3rd grade girl beat up by three 6th grade boys, not only did they not receive even a phone call but when they confronted the school on the matter they were just blown off.
Third the teachers play favorites, they pick the kids they like and treat them different. On several occasions my daughter forgot her school work. When asked if they check they said they do random checks to make sure kids remember. They never checked my daughters and when asked why we were told that it was because she was one of only 4 white kids. Completely unacceptable from a school teacher.
The last thing was a school project, the students had to make a book report and put it on a display. They were given clear instructions on what it needed to have. My daughter came up with an idea to have the information behind doors on the display board. We helped her to set it up but let her do most of the work. She was extremely proud of it and put in a great deal of time making it. It was sent home with a 30 percent grade because it was missing labels. The teacher said that it was in the instructions that it needed labels. We double checked the instructions and no labels were required by the instructions. When confronted with this we were told oh well she still gets a failing grade for missing one item. Further confrontation resulted in my child just not getting graded for the assignment.
This school is awful. Sad thing is it is probably the best in Mississippi. If you have the option or ability please do your children a favor and home school. The MS education system will just set them back and ruin their love for school. I have yet to meet a child who attended that school who still likes to go.

Posted: June 11, 2016

Posted: June 11, 2016

Posted: June 11, 2016

They don't grade fairly, don't send home grading criteria. The teachers are not fair or just in any way.

Posted: May 8, 2014

My son has gone to this school for kindergarten and first grade.To be honest I have been very disappointed.Their curriculum is odd even at that level to say the least.My son brings home math homework and I can't begin to try to help him understand the way they want him to work out the problems because it is something I have never seen before in my life.I asked his teacher to help me understand so I can help him.Her answer to me was to be honest she didn't understand either.Thank goodness I am retired from the military now and can get my child out of this school district.

Posted: January 29, 2014

I hate this school. My children have been attending this school for a short time. During this time they have watched many movies, which doesn't make very good use of education time. My children have regressed from where they were at when they started attending jeff davis. The teachers and principal truly seem to care about the students but do not have quality curriculum to teach them with. I have a child who is so confused by what they have taught him in math that he seems unable to solve problems that he could solve last school year. I find grammar errors on their language homework. Grammar rules on those same papers are so confusing that I'm not sure how they expect any of the children to understand. I'm very disappointed in this school and am extremely concerned for my children.

Posted: January 15, 2014

My daughter has been here for two years now and I have been very pleased. I love the teachers and the principal. I don't have any complaints.

Posted: July 17, 2013

Go to a private school. My daughter had a traumatizing experience here, to say the least.

Posted: June 20, 2013

Both of my kids attended JD over last 3 yrs and could not be happier with the teachers and entire administration. Military families...this is the school you want your kids in. They care about the kids and keep great communication with parents. If any parent disagrees, I wonder if Dr Nelson was involved, but after 3 yrs/ 10 teachers, I've never had a problem. Best PTA involvement/activities for kids. Rewards programs galore.Thriving A/B Honor roll kids and I do believe it is bc this school encourages and celebrates EVERY little milestone.

Posted: June 20, 2013

One of the best schools I have ever attended.Sure, maybe the teachers will yell at your kid or yell in general, but kids need discipline. Have you ever thought maybe it was your kid doing all the problems, like roaming the halls, or talking in class? It isn't the teachers faults, so I don't know why you guys are writing bad reviews.Personally, as an All A Honor roll student, the 10 year old in Create, the kid who attended this school for 5 years, this is personally the best school I've ever been to. Schools who just say move your clip, you acted up, I don't know why you like these schools better, you will never get proper discipline, and your kids might like the teachers, but they probably only like them because they'll never get caught when they act up. There is nothing Jeff Davis should improve, but I have had successful grades and thats from the wonderful teachers that teach there. So the people complaining about yelling, I think you've got it all wrong

Posted: June 15, 2013

Jeff Davis was AMAZING!! The teachers were awesome, the Principal was always evolved knew all the kids and their parents! Being military we have moved to Colorado and whoever said schools up north were better is crazy! It took me 2 years to even see the Principal in Colorado. We definitely miss Jeff Davis!!!!

Posted: May 21, 2013

Jeff Davis Elementary School is a wonderful school. I have one son who attended this school. I absolutely loved all of the teachers and staff. My son has had many great things happen to him due to the teaching he recieved. He had all A honor roll each year and perfect scores on his MCT2 tests. He also participated in robotics, the stock market game, CSI Biloxi, and many moreprograms. Thank you to ALL of the staff at Jeff Davis Elementary School for great years. Best school!!!

Posted: May 13, 2013

We miss Jeff Davis! With being a military family, my children have been to 3 schools. Our favorite, by far, has been Jeff Davis. We were welcomed with open arms. I cant say enough great things about the staff! From the custodians, to lunch ladies, to teachers and the administration, they all made it a great experience. Dr. Nelson is one in a million! She is an intelligent, strong, beautiful southern woman. You can see the love she has for the students. When my son was admitted to the hospital, she took time out of her schedule to call and check on him! It has been very hard to be at other schools because no one can top this principal and staff. Mrs. Pettigrew is an amazing teacher. She is a hands on teacher. I was thrilled when my prayers were answered and she was Jake's 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Rushing and Mrs. Allen are a dream team. They balance each other out perfectly. Mrs. Clemons was one of my son's favorite teachers. He always enjoyed her class,especially since he would learn more unique things than the regular classroom. I could go on and on. If we could move back to Biloxi, we would in a heartbeat. Especially for this school! We will never forget Jeff Davis Elementary!

Posted: January 15, 2013

This is one of the worst schools I've ever had to deal with. My daughter has attended this school for 2 years now and I have seen no changes or improvement the quality of her education. No matter how hard I try to be involved with her teachers and education it seems like I'm always getting the "brush off", they want to try to make it seem like everything is ok when it is every but. I have tried numerous times to schedule teacher conferences so that I may be informed as to what is going on with her grades and to no avail have they attempted to give schedule a date and time for this. I would also like to mention that security is a joke at this school as well, I've witnessed multiple times people walking about the school and no one seems to question as to who they are and what they are doing there. There have also been 3 incidents where the school has "lost" my child, and when I say "lost" I mean, the teachers had no idea where she was at in the school. My husband had to go and find her one day because they had sent her to the library by herself and she didn't have any idea where it was. Over all the teachers do no care, and they have too many students in this school for my liking.

Posted: June 4, 2012

I am sick of all the bashing this school receives. My kids have been going there for the last 3 years and we have had nothing but AMAZING results. Dr. Nelson is the best principle I have ever encountered. Ms. Taylor and her SPED staff go above and beyond to help my son. When it comes time to leave Keesler, I will be very disappointed to leave this awesome and caring staff at JD.

Posted: March 4, 2012

HORRIBLE SCHOOL AND ADMINISTRATION. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF KIDS BEING YELLED AT. WOW. Everyone is FAKE and its seems like a political game, All in who you know. The only ones suffering are the CHILDREN. DO NOT PUT YOUR CHILD THERE.

Posted: March 3, 2012

Removed our child after she started hating school because the teachers yelled all the time. Curriculum is mediocre at best, and teachers spend most of their time disciplining problem children. My child was in G&T program, now in a private school.