Finley Farms Elementary School

Both me and my younger sibling attended Finley Farms (I had previously attended Islands Elementary, an experience I do not miss). I'm a college student now, but I remember the school with a general fondness and felt that they deserve a review. There are several factors that remain ingrained in my mind. 1) Excellent principal. My parents may not have gotten good feedback from several of my teachers, but always managed to get what they needed by directly approaching the principal. 2) I had some incidents with a 6th grade teacher due to favoritism, and my brother had several issues with kindergarten, 4th and 6th grade teachers. But in retrospect, we realize that most of our teachers had our best interests in heart and tried their best with us. I know if not for the persistence of a few, I would not have become the student I am today. 3) Strong extracurricular involvement of students, and esspecially EXCELLENT band program. Seriously, see if you can find anything on youtube.

Half-Day Kindergarten (Mrs. Callan) is the best, by far! The school is usually pretty clean. The staff if friendly... but the best part of the school is the Kindergarten. They are all amazing... but especially Mrs. Callan. If you're considering a half-day kindergarten for your child, FF is definitely the place to go! :-)
--Submitted by a parent

I love this school! I've had children in this school for 8 years and counting and I've found that the principal, Mr. Maas, as well as his front office staff, are caring and genuine. The faculty address problems quickly and efficiently and the principal is very involved with his students. I would highly recommend this school to anyone!
--Submitted by a parent

If I could, I would give FFE 10 stars! We have been a FFE Family since 1999..having at least one child in attendance there in each of the successive years since moving to Gilbert. Mr. Maas is the hardest working, most involved Principal I have ever had the pleasure of working with...as well as the best that any of our friends, and church family has ever spoken of. It is truly no wonder why the housing areas zoned for FFE are so highly desirable! The families living with in the bounds have the greatest Elementary School in the East Valley! Go Falcons!
--Submitted by a parent

My son has attended three schools in Gilbert. This is by far the best. The Principal is worth every penny they pay him. He is very involved with the children - does crosswalk duty, greets the kids, works the lunchroom. The teachers are wonderful. My son is very happy at this school and we are happy to have him attend. The staff actually listens when there is a concern and doesn't just push their opinion ahead of the parents. I would recommend this school to anyone.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is the one of the worst I have ever seen. We sent our child to this school based on the reviews we saw on this site, but the reality is very different. Our childs teacher is verbally abusive, desplays favoritism on a scale we have never seen, and reserves scorn for the children that the teacher deems as bad kids. Our child had great grades and no behavioral issues at a previous Gilbert public schoold, but now.... We are very involved parents and we believe that someone needs to look into the behavior of certain staff members.
--Submitted by a parent

My son was in Basic Charter for a month when we moved here and once we moved we put him in Finley Farm Elementary 'FFE' and I have to say it was the BEST thing we ever did. Basic Charter was a great school but VERY LIMITED. That is not to say it wasn't a great school but because of their size if you kid is having the slightest issue or needs some extra help forget about it. Basically it's seen that he/she is holding things up. My son is done terrific here. The homework is realistic for his age, they have great activity and balance in their day. He is learning a great deal in this school and I am so thankful for all those who work there. It is tops for our family!
--Submitted by a parent

I love this school!! The principle is wonderful & knows my kids by their names, and so far all the teacher my kids have had are wonderful!!! Thanks to all them- Mes Sissler,Mrs. Callan,Mrs. K,Mrs Pollack, & Mrs. Bottomfield!!!! Also to Mrs. Werh (speech, sorry don't know how to spell it)
--Submitted by a parent

The principle is wonderful with children as are some of the teachers. Its seems as though too many of the teachers are able to get away with verbally abusing students. Be watchful of this behavior.
--Submitted by a parent

I have one child who went to Finley K thru 6 and we had exceptional teachers every year. I have one child currently attending in the primary grades and currently has an excellent teacher in second grade. Although I believe the first grade teacher my child had was downright awful and should NOT be teaching at all. Hopefully that was a one time deal. I think getting good, quality teachers now is hard. I prefer the seasoned, experienced teachers to the new ones. Finley has a mixture of both, but overall with the exception of one teacher, all is good. Principal is good w/kids but seems soft on staff. Still think it's a great school and we are happy with the education our child had/has. So much does depend on the child. Good kid, it's usually a good experience. Bad kid, bad experience. Some parents don't see that.
--Submitted by a parent