Flightline Upper Academy

Jacksonville Lighthouse Flightline Upper Academy continues to be the #1 school in Jacksonville. The atmosphere and the people are what make the school great.

I personally regret sending my children to this school. This school is very unorganized and under staffed. There are lots of distractiing at the school which affects the quality of instruction. The arts infused aspect of the school is very low when it comes to music, band,drama, dance. The morale of the students i slow and personally I wouldn't recommend the school until there was a change in administration and it is properly staffed. The principle doesn't seem to be experienced in managing which thus it flows down to other staff. You would think the DOT and Office Manager runs the school. They have a part time nurse, their special education teacher is almost non existent. She is shared between the two Lighthouse school is Jacksonville. The dance teacher is also shared and she is rarely there. The DOT had to step in many times as well as other staff to fill in because she was not available.
It seems to be great until you are actually involved and began to observe what really goes on at the school. The way the some teachers speak to the children is very unprofessional. One teacher more downplays the students and when it was reported by several parents, it was overlooked and issue was never really dealt with and of course she continues to belittle the children. They have not developed respect from the children and they are more controlled by yelling at them and of course giving short and long forms and work studies. Many of the students had an issue with the math teacher there but because it was said she got results, all issues was overlooked. concerning her. Honestly she do not need to work with children, she was more of an adult educator or possibly she should have been the DOT and not working directly with the kids. She was very immature in her dealings with the children, from rolling eyes, yelling, and making smart remarks and slurs. The kids didn't like her and often complained about her and the Director of teacher as well as the principle. They had some good teachers that any school would love to have, they deserve a better environment and better administration. They were dedicated even though they knew the school was not in order.
The National office really need to step up and actually get involved more in the schools and spend time in these schools to see whats going on and make sure each of their schools are properly staffed and that they are actually upholding the vision and philosophy of the organization. As I stated before, it is far from being an art infused school. I believe they can do a lot better as far as staff is concerned.
It was frustrating because almost everything was last minute with this school because they were so organized, two weeks left of school and they don't know where the field day would occur but they had parents paying for t shirts for the day but no plan of attack for it. It almost feels like it more of an experiment than actually getting down to business. I am not sure this staff can continue much longer like this, there has to be some changes. Teachers and students are not happy and that says a lot to a parent. All I can say is that there is more to just passing test and getting a rating. Many schools are overrated and in my opinion this is one of them. it has potential just need the right people with the right heart.

This school has lots of potential however teh socila environment among the students is poor. The zero tolerance for bullying is really taken as a joke. They have alot of discipline issues aong the kids which causes lots of distractions. Most of the students are very well behaved but the few that cause distractions make no small stir. I beleive the teachers really do care for the students but their hands are tied by lack of consistency among the ministration. I feel they do their part but when it comes to enforcing rules, the chidlren knows there is no major consequence to their actions and they take it as a joke therefore causing more disturbances. They laugh about it and are direspectful to both students and the teachers. This school has a good curriculum and they have the right teachers With a makeover of student body and more consitent manangement, structure and discipline, I believe this school can be successful.

I really like Flightline Upper Academy! With all the information that our kids need to learn today, they find a way to break it down in small pieces; while still giving the kids the whole pie! With the pressure to succeed in our world, they make every child feel capable of learning.