Daniel Pratt Elementary School

We are a military family. We have heard that Daniel Pratt is the best elem school. We are truly disappointed. This school is very, very far behind. We know that they are a public school but I would rather have my child be able to have an art class, music class or constant recess time than waste money on school dances. They have verbal rules that were given to me that were not enforced. The front office told me that I cannot walk onto school grounds to pick up my child. Once I left the office I found several parents waiting outside school doors for their child. They seem to make up rules & guidelines as they go. They enforce them only to certain people. Make sure you are the right color or you will get the run around & the rudeness that they can dish out. Very unprofessional & sad. They like to point out the "rules" to only a few people & let others get away with ignoring them. It is a place where some of the old racial southern ways are not quite dead. Be wary. We are sending our child to a private school that offers a much better curriculum & attitude. We would rather give her a positive learning environment.
--Submitted by a parent

Where do I start?? The only good thing I have to say about the school is the teaching aspect of the school otherwise, whoah! SOAR for the smaller kids who are trying to figure out what they did wrong that day or maybe it is the teacher not watching the child is sick and needs to be sent home or maybe the teacher was told something in private and she yells to your child about it or lets get in the childs face and scare them or they threaten the child they will be punish is they tell the parent something other than what the teacher wants them to say.Hmmm..
--Submitted by a parent

We are a military family and I have two children in Daniel Pratt. We have been attending Daniel Pratt for three years and I have been nothing but impressed with both my children's teachers and their academic success. This is a very large school and maybe in the future the district can be rezoned or add another elementary school in this part of town. Having said that, the teachers and staff do their best with the resources they have. Mrs. McNider is an outstanding administrator as the Vice Principal. I have been very unimpressed with the principal, so thankfully, Mrs. McNider fills in where he is lacking. The principal is almost never there. You will not find any school where 100% of the parents are pleased. This school is a really good school, my children are honor roll and they love it here. I encourage you to come visit the school before you rush to judgement. I, too, volunteer at the school as often as I can.
--Submitted by a parent

Daniel Pratt is not suitable for any child. I volunteered weekly and quickly realized that it was not academically, socially, or emotionally suitable for children. In 2009, I personally witnessed: -- A teacher challenge students, stating You want a piece of me? Come on, which of of you wants a piece of me! , another screaming in a child s face, and so on. -- Incorrect use of English. -- The principle's daily welcome statement This can be a good day or bad day, the choice is yours --A detention box in the office where they would punish children by having them sit in it all day with nothing to do. --I witnessed racism between children, which went unaddressed by witnessing staff members. -- PE, large groups would sit on the bleachers and watch smaller groups have PE in 15 min. shifts, or weather permitting have a free for all recess outside. I found the school s environment to be so disturbing that I moved my children midyear leaving my husband behind to finish his assignment. If considering Daniel Pratt s school I highly recommend a trip to the school before considering enrolling a child here; show up without an appointment and stick around awhile.
--Submitted by a parent

Daniel Pratt is touted as being a good school. Let's talk. My children have attended it for several years and I've spent significant time volunteering in the school, so I do feel like I can speak about the school. Class sizes are large. Kids do not get to have recess, but there is time for each class to go to the snack room and buy things like chips, gummies and slushies. There's no art program anymore (as of the 2011-12 school year), but even when there was, there were no supplies to use except what the children brought. Music is nearly nonexistent (2x per month). The motivation program "SOAR" teaches kids that going to detention is no big deal and they are encouraged to go, to earn back any points they may have lost and it rewards kids for adequate behavior. The school is dirty. The bathrooms stink and many of the classrooms have mice. As a parent, I don't see everything, but what I do see indicates to me that administration doesn't support the teachers like it should, making it harder for the teachers to concentrate on what they should. On the positive side, there are still many good teachers there who do try to teach. However, I'm very relieved we're moving this summer.
--Submitted by a parent

We are a military family and thank God we just stayed there for a year only. This is the WORST SCHOOL ever my daughter been to. Every week they will come up with field trips, any activity that concerns money. Fields trips and activity that don't have any connection with their studies. The teaching is poor. Their SOAR POINTS AND DETENTION are just money making coz at the end of their quarter they will have an activity an parents will be the one to pay. VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A PARENTS TEACHERS MEETING AND IF YOU HAVE CONCERNS THEY CAN'T ADDRESS IT. A LOT OF EXCUSES .
--Submitted by a parent

DPES is not a bad school. The staff are dealing with 1,264 students. They don't have time to make every parent feel warm and fuzzy. I know that there are good and bad teachers here. Luckily my daughter got all the good ones. We moved to AL from CA where my daughter struggled with reading, writing, math... everything. At DPES her 4th grade teacher Mr. Guin, told her one day he was proud of her for keeping her desk clean. That simple "I'm proud of you" changed her life, she started actually caring about her school work and went from C's to A's. The traditional down to earth teaching methods made sense to my daughter and she started to "get it". I worried that she was getting the A's because the work was so easy at DPES and that she would again struggle when we moved to our current nationally top ranked school district. Not only does she not struggle but she was actually ahead in some areas. If you're military family, chances are you are not going to love DPES. But don't be afraid of it, it's not a bad school.
--Submitted by a parent

We are military and moved here this past summer. I was very excited about Daniel Pratt Elementary because I heard so many great things about it. Everyone was wrong! Enrolling our daughter here was the worst mistake we have made as parents...such a disappointment. None of the staff takes complaints seriously, the vice-principals are extremely rude, and it is impossible to get a meeting with the principal. If you are looking at this school as a possibility for your child, I would advise you to run!
--Submitted by a parent

Thankful we are only here for the year. No art program, music twice a month, P.E. is daily, but is mostly a recess. The teachers are nice and academics are average. There are no conferences at any point in the year. Parental involvement is very hard and I don t feel welcome. They use a behavior modification program called SOAR. If your child behaves you get to pay money for them to attend parties and field trips. The last SOAR activity was a trip to see a movie for $10 and no parental chaperones were allowed. If you did not want to pay or disagreed with the no chaperones policy, your child could go to detention instead. The school is very focused on this program at the cost of never highlighting any academic achievement. I guess bad behavior must be rampant at the school for such a focus to be placed on this program. Those of us that have high performing students, I am told there is no recognition until the end of the year. Students clean the lunchroom by washing tables, sweeping, and pick up garbage off the floor. All the military families I know are dissatisfied as well. However, I am told this is the best for this area unless you go to private school route or homeschool.
--Submitted by a parent

This is an average school with lots of hard working teachers. Most of the front office staff is always polite and welcoming. However, the principal is unprofessional and extremely rude. I had a meeting with this man about parking in the front parking lot and walking my child to the door (this kind of activity is frowned upon here at Daniel Pratt). What I got was a good-old-boy cuss out. I was informed that if I choose to continue to do this legal action will be taken against me. I was also reminded that my child does not have to attend Daniel Pratt. Be aware that if you choose to voice your opinion about any of their policies you will be quickly put in your proper place.
--Submitted by a parent