love this fucking school. put ur kids in this school because its a good school unlike the rest of…read morethe helena school district. but the principal is rude and sucks. but that doesnt matter because the school is great. love it

This school is supposed to be a great school. Unfortunately, even if you live in the neighborhood,…read moreodds are you'll never find out. The school is so full that they are sending the children to other area schools to deal with the overcrowding. And, in a recent land acquisition, instead of building on to the building to create more education space, they created a new parking lot. I'm sure all the parents bussing their children to other schools appreciate that effort.

We have since moved away-but when my son was in the second grade, Kareen Bangert, principal, took…read moremy son into her office behind closed door and yelled at him. When he started to cry she sneered at him don't you cry. I use the word sneer because listening to the story from a second-grader, "sneering" would be the correct term. That incident stayed with my son and made him terrified of school principals. We went through two schools in different districts-while we were moving from one rental to our purchased home. In the first school, a wonderful principal, was calling different children in groups to get to know them, and NOT behind closed door. She commented to me how fearful my son seemed of her and she had never encountered this before. I told her the story of what happened in Montana. She worked with my son to gain his trust back. Purchasng a new home led us to be in a new school district once again and right off the start I met with the principal and told her what had happened when we lived in Montana, at Rossiter elementary school by their principal, Kareen Bangert. Living in a bigger city, I understand now that she would never have been able to do what she did without legal problems. It's no wonder that she moved to a smaller town in a Western State. I don't believe she is good for children-unless she likes them. But if she doesn't-she is inappropriate, and mean. A person such as herself should be in charge of adults, not children. I think many many parents would agree that she is an unusually selfish woman, out dressing others-presenting herself as though she should be on Hollywood stage. It's obvious she craves this attention- she should leave children schools and go to Hollywood. My son is now in the seventh grade and as has been brought up on a few occasions, he still remembers what Kareen Bangert did to him. And as he gets older, and more independent in his thinking, he would gladly go back in time for a moment and tell her a thing or two about her behavior. One word comes to mind to describe Kareen Bangert: BULLY.

My son started here when we lived out in the valley. Jim Darcy was full, and we got shipped down to…read moreRossiter. We decided to drive him ourselves so he wouldn't spend so much time on the bus. It was in the first couple weeks, we came to pick up our son. There was a long line of cars into the parking lot. Parents were stopping at the front to pick up their children and then moving on. I got in line. My son opened our vehicle door and buckled up. He was just about to tell me about his day when the attendant opened our vehicle door, unbuckled my son, grabbed him by the arm and tore him from the van. His papers went flying everywhere and he was pushed toward the wall of the school. I parked the car and got out to find out what the heck was wrong with that woman. She said we weren't allowed to pick up our kids that way. I walked over to my now crying son and he showed me her hand print in bruises on his arm. We tried to file charges, but that was buried. However, the very same school year, they re-did the entire parking lot. I would NEVER send my children back to that school ever. I don't think manhandling a small child is ever the way to get the point across. If the attendant had spoken to me calmly about it, I could have just changed it and we could have gotten on with life. That woman was not even disciplined for her behavior. Definitely not a safe environment for children.

This is the only public school in Helena that I was able to enjoy somewhat, and receive a good…read moreeducation. When I attended Hawthorne School in the 1970's, they had the best teachers, by far. Not sure why this is not listed as the school that it is. It is called Hawthorne Elementary School, and it should be listed as such, here on Yelp. I went to first grade in the little one or two room schoolhouse, to the side of the main elementary school. My teacher was Ms. Wilma Miller, and I shall never forget her. She was such an asset to Hawthorne School and had been there for ages already it seemed, when I attended. One of the kindest and most helpful teachers, that I have ever experienced. Ms. Miller taught us so much and her class was the best, in my opinion. She also was the first person to realize, that I was already being pegged as an outcast and seen as weird. This would be because I was born LGBTQ, and she knew it somehow. I knew perfectly well what I was and who I was, even in first grade!!! It is amazing to me, that Heterosexual people still like to believe it is a 'choice'. It should be pretty obvious that it is not, by my story. We cannot help that we were born this way. Have a little compassion, please? It is just something we have to deal with. I know many will choose not to believe me, but it is the honest truth. I knew who and what I was, even as a baby! Some humans are just born way ahead of their time and peers. I am one of them. I was also born with a eidetic/photographic memory, so I am not able to forget anything. This is why I can remember being a baby, and recall perfectly, my time at Hawthorne School, when I got a bit older. Some humans still do not believe that some of us are born with special abilities, but I assure you, it is so. Anyway, the remainder of my time at Hawthorne School was pretty great, except that I was bullied quite a lot for being different. So many cool teachers back then, and I learned more there, than at any other school. So, that is saying something, I believe! My second grade teacher was not all that great unfortunately, and I wish I had been in the other second grade class with Mrs. Cameron as teacher. Instead, I ended up with Mrs. Smith, who was not all that great, and was not such a great teacher either. She was rather mean and dismissive. Third grade with Mrs. Nyland was great, as was fourth grade with Mrs. Heen. Fifth grade was extremely memorable. I had Mr. Reuben Tucker for a teacher, and he was also someone who was way ahead of their time. He taught us Latin and Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes, which has come in more than handy in my life. He would also have The Beatles playing when we came to class in the morning. So cool!! He also taught us about archaeology and ancient civilizations, which is why I became an archaeologist when I grew up. I learned more from that man, than I can ever express, and would love to find him and thank him, even now. Sixth grade, my final class at Hawthorne School, was Mrs. Michelle Abney. She was also excellent, and also prepared us for Junior High, which I appreciate. Our principal, was Mr. Wenger, and he was such a nice guy too. We had it really good at Hawthorne, and I hope it is just as excellent as it was when I attended in the 1970's. It should be pretty obvious now, that I indeed do have a photographic memory. Thank you, Hawthorne School. I miss you. Btw, I am now 59 years old.

This place was truly amazing for our child. He is starting kindergarten this fall, and I feel…read moreconfident he is ready. The teachers truly care about their students and families. It is also wonderful to hear my son talk about Jesus and Bible stories every day. These teachers instill a love for Christ in each child. The kids leave becoming more respectful, caring, and ready for elementary school. The play area is also wonderful. Truly the best for preschool!