We initially thought this was a great school, but over time, severe safety, cultural, and academic…read moreissues became apparent. Administration consistently prioritizes the school's reputation over student well-being.
Severe Bullying & Dismissed Violence
Bullying is very rampant, and administrators sweep physical fights under the rug. My child was punched in the face during a PE activity of tag for catching another student in the game, which leadership dismissed as an "accident." On multiple occasions, another student hit my child under direct teacher supervision; the teacher did not care, and leadership dismissed it as well. These are not isolated incidents but is instead a culture actively fostered.
Physical Staff Outbursts
Some teachers get physical with students. A school counselor violently yanked a desk, causing a student to fall. Another teacher pulled multiple students' arms. Despite video verification and multiple student reports, that teacher is still employed. Administration only offered to switch the reporting students' classes rather than taking disciplinary action even after receiving video verification through school security cameras.
Academic Neglect & Discouragement
There are many kindhearted and great teachers but we have experienced many that were in favor of the bare minimum. They assign excessive homework on content barely or even completely uncovered in class, straining parents. When my student advocated for tutoring in a challenging subject as they received in the past before, their teacher completely rejected them. After I stepped in to tutor my child at home, the teacher explicitly accused my child of cheating multiple times and destroyed their confidence in a subject they were trying hard to master.
Unreported Missing Students
During student dismissals, multiple students have gone missing. Administration hides these incidents. While waiting for my own child who was released late, I witnessed teachers frantically searching for two missing students (one a kindergartener) who had left school grounds. The school never communicated this to the parents, likely because the affected family did not speak English.
Hypocritical Food Confiscation
Under the guise of "healthy eating," staff completely confiscates students' lunches and snacks without warning, including whole-food snacks and PB&Js. Disturbingly, leadership admitted these snacks are given to the staff to eat because "the staff works so hard" when students questioned why staff can eat unhealthy things but the students can't. Confiscated lunches are never replaced, leaving children hungry, even though the cafeteria serves the exact same items. When students point this out, staff has told them that it's not PB&J sandwiches they're serving, but sunflower butter ones which is contrary to their school menu that states they serve both in their cafeteria. On another occasion, staff was selling chip bags and then confiscating the same chip bags later since they were unhealthy. This hypocritical policy meant to "demonstrate school health guidelines" is only selectively enforced based on opportunistic gain rather than from a place of genuine concern for student wellbeing.
Inappropriate Political & Ideological Pressure
Staff aggressively pushes personal political ideologies on young children. During a gender discussion, my 6th grader stated she was happy being a girl. The teacher targeted her in front of the class, stating, "Are you sure? That's kind of boring, you can be a boy too," repeatedly putting her on the spot. In another incident, a teacher asked students who their parents voted for, then declared to the class that all white ethnic people are racist and that they would never vote for a white politician.
This school jeopardizes child safety for appearances, fosters unchecked bullying, permits physical outbursts from staff, and pressures children with political speech and peer pressure. Parents, please talk to your kids about what is really happening in school.
