My son attended this school for kindergarten and 1st grade, and it was the worst experience ever,…read morefrom the administration down. I would receive calls about my son being physical and having difficulties in school. Granted, I hate using race as a factor, but after a year of being removed, I feel strongly about it because staff claimed they couldn't control him. They wanted to send him to a STARS program for special needs kids to get him out of their hair, even though my son didn't fit those requirements. So we had an IEP meeting. After a year of my child being kicked out and receiving bad reports, I just knew something was off because our child doesn't exhibit any of the behaviors mentioned in those reports or in other settings.
It was so bad we asked them to move him to another school, and Freedom Elementary had so much negative information in my son's file that the new school became concerned, preparing for him to be labeled as a "bad kid." I can't make this up. The other school was prepared to give him extra help in class to prevent physical aggression. We would call the new school just to check in on him, and his teacher would consistently say he was doing fine. When we visited for lunch, one staff member remarked that they were baffled by the information in his report because he was clearly not the child described. The whole school loved him, and the staff was supportive. We were astonished by this positive feedback.
Eventually, we moved out of Keller to a new district, where the new school quickly requested an IEP meeting with me and my wife. The new school's IEP board noticed conflicting information in his file and requested a review. They removed the behavior-related concerns, stating that they had seen his file and found it to be inaccurate. One board member even noted that it seemed someone had a clear agenda against our son. I genuinely appreciate the honesty of the two new schools, but the experience at Freedom School was horrific. It felt like they didn't know how to relate to Black and Brown students, and while they were admitting more students from diverse backgrounds, they were inadvertently harming kids in the process.
Last year, a new principal took over, and he was a significant improvement compared to the previous principal, Mantz. However, the old assistant principal was still there, and I believe she was the biggest issue for my son at that school. Thankfully, I've noticed a new assistant principal in place now, so I'm hopeful that things will improve.
Parents, please stay involved with your children. If you don't, some of these educators may not have your child's best interests at heart. Keller ISD, I strongly urge you to reconsider your hiring practices and ensure that staff members reflect the diversity of the students entering your doors. Otherwise, you're doing everyone a disservice.
This has been my experience, and while it has been negative, I genuinely pray that the new administration can get it together for the kids who deserve a nurturing and understanding environment.
