Went to pick up my daughter due to an emergency after her school right before she started math tutoring and when she came out she had tears in her eyes. Last time I had asked her to come home and not stay they made her stay during that time she didn't have a phone so I didn't know if she was somewhere waiting for me or at the office or at her math tutoring. The lady that works at the office during school hours clocks out and abierto lady with zero knowledge of the school or after school programs is there so it took her about 20mins to find my daughter and give me an answer about where my daughter was at, this incident was so unprofessional for a school and child safety that I ended up getting her a phone after this. This happens in October is already mid April and they have this lady still untrained still with zero knowledge of after school classes, clubs, etc. So I called my daughter because it was an emergency and this lady didn't know where she was at. She then walked to check in which class she was and my daughter came out. My daughter came out crying because a teacher named Mrs.Ewald or whatever put her on the spot when she saw my daughter using her phone to communicate with me, keep in mind my child is not a problem child she is very respectful and very kind and never causes disruption in class. I don't know what's the point of becoming a teacher and not being able to set a good example to little kids, instead she got this "grown adult" that works with the school and children acting authoritarian, how her first instinct is to make a child feel uncomfortable like if they're doing sornhign bad when they have zero history of being a problem. An adult, a proper adult trained to deal with kids and handle situations right without escalating them should have first asked " is there an emergency for you to be on the phone?" To me it was such a nasty energy from a "teacher" even just an adult, why work with kids if you're not gonna be a good example to follow. Can totally see why the school I claimed this page they have zero accountability for teachers doings and even for some students and are enablers. read more

Update from my last post I guess it rub somebody the wrong way. Can anybody believe that after I voice my thoughts about the secretary that works in the front office of Kennedy stem Academy . My son, a child that is in special needs was kick out of the school 3 months before the school year is over. When he attended the school we lived in Cerritos which made Kennedy his home school. Obviously we proved he lived there when we first enrolled by bringing all the necessary documents needed. We then moved to Lakewood but because he was already half why though the school year we decided to finish it out. I mean nobody would want to switch their child in the middle of the school year especially if the child can have issues with having such a big change. We got a letter that said we have notice that you no longer stay in the address in our system and that a staff member (Evelyn) went to the address to confirm hahahahahaha No principle would have did it .. the teacher loved my son she definitely didn't do it. Who could have access to all this information address etc ! How about the office secretary!!! This woman who looks as if she has no life outside of the school . No husband no kids no one to love her push hard to get a 5 year old kid out the school It has to be an evil agenda behind it because why let the whole school year go by in with 3 months left all off a sudden notice the address change . Who go to ppl homes to check but a bitter (female dog) her new name should be BOB FOR BITTER OLD B!!!! But we will call her EVIL-Lyn On the other hand she did the devils work but god did us even better . MY SON has a new school's right by the house same programs and he adopted perfectly . So although she try we def still took the win! Ps he might be out of that school but remember this yelp post will be up FOREVER FOR YEARS TO COME UNTIL THE INTERNET SHUT DOWN and everyone who read this will know EVIL-Lyn aka BOB Oh the teacher my son had was Amazing beautiful souls the class mates got to hug my son they made him a story book with him in it the rest of the staff principal down to the janitor was nice . The school is a great school But that secretary is HORRIBLE read more

I enrolled my child into Kennedy STEM academy because I felt this was the best school in the area and the school I attended as a child. This what took place this school year. The teacher my child was assigned is Ms. Jennifer Matthews, whom before school started brought me in to speak to me for reassurance since I explained I was a single parent involved in a lot of litigation for my child, I was allowed by the court to pick the school my child would attend because at the last school my child's mother solely enrolled my child into counseling only to have my child tell the school counselor that I "hit her in the face," this triggered an investigation by Child Protective Services which was closed as unfounded. Her mom hoped to use this against me in hopes I would lose custody. I explained to Ms. Matthews the fear I had that this would again happen at Kennedy, she in return stated that she was from a "divorced" situation and understood and would be very cautious of any requests by mom. She advised me she would inform me of any requests and also assured my child that things would be ok. A few weeks into the school year, mom began making demands at the school, including one that my child could not use her nick name. Quickly Ms. Matthews changed her tune of supportive teacher and brought moms requests to my attention. I saw that mom was getting to her so I quickly asked for another teacher which the principal Ms. Valentine denied. What has happened now is that mom again requested a counseling referral from Ms. Matthews, the two met behind by back and mom received a written referral by Ms. Matthews stating my daughter had emotional problems and issues. I never received a copy of this note nor was I notified of the meeting between the two. I found out in court, and again had Child Protective Services and the police at my door accusing me of child abuse; again the case was closed as unfounded. I find it hard to believe that this was not an act of retaliation by the teacher due to me asking for a different teacher at the start of the school year, now because of this teachers actions and lack of awareness mom was able to go court with this note, stating my daughter was failing in school and had a lot of issues supported by the teacher, mom used this to prove that a 50/50 shared custody was not working. Case is now pending litigation. During my parent teacher conference I was told nothing about a written referral, only that basically my daughter bothered her too much in class and sought a lot of attention as to which I agreed to talk with my daughter. The sad thing is my daughter really believed this teacher was special and held her in high regard, my daughter believed this was her friend. Be aware of this educator, she poisoned my relationship with my daughter. Do not allow this incompetent teacher close to your child. Neither the district nor the principal do anything to assist, they only make excuses for the educator to cover and support her actions and protect themselves from any legal consequences. ************************* Thank you to the parents that have reached out, I know it's not an easy topic. Appears Kennedy staff is trigger happy when it comes to calling child protective services. I would urge parents who have fallen victim to make your voices heard. You can file a complaint against an educator with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. All I can say is the staff here is under direction of its manager or in this case a (principal) and that "manager" has upper management or in this case the (district). So it all starts somewhere. It is unfortunate because it is not their kids they affect with their decisions. They go home unaffected after their 8 hours are put in. I was recently hired at ABC school district, coincidentally the next day I received a letter stating they rescinded their job offer. I've been retaliated against even further for voicing which is fine as long as their is some awareness. read more

We transferred here from a different district and my child has been challenged with his reading skills. So far he has been here one year, but the staff is so helpful and always kept an eye out for my child. His teacher was able to guide him with reading at about 3rd grade level. We thrive to keep going and always learning more, but it was refreshing to see such passionate and loving staff. read more

My child has attended this school since TK and is now in Kindergarten. He has learned a lot from his TK teacher and is now being challenged by his Kindergarten Teacher to soak up as much knowledge as he possibly can. He is very social. And loves to read and learn new things, I thank his teachers and the awesome staff that's hard at work here at Kennedy each and every day. read more