Kyrene de la Estrella Elementary School

I am a former student from Estrella and I can't say how much I miss it. The school was great and and took great deal in it's pride. Especially in CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. They created this new thing called Character Counts when i was in 5th and other Improvemnts like We deliver. We deliver is kind of like a postal service for the pupils in Estrella to send letters to. I was using it non stop! I've read comments about bulling. NOT ONCE IN MY 6 YEARS GOING TO ESTRELLA HAVE I EXPERIANCED OR WATCHED BULLING. WE HAD FREQUENT TALKS ABOUT IT ACTRUALLY. I'm sorry but as a fomer student their i can't say I believe you. Sorry. My 2 sisters go there and love it. My brother will soon to. . Its is a great school and for 5th and I am so glad i did it. It was fun even though I didn't win. Oh yeah i almost forgot. There is this thing called K3 and I thinks it helps you with reading and i went there. In 3rd I was able to read twice above my grade level and now i can read a whole trilogy in 2 days! Im not exagerating. Ugh there is so much i can tell you about but i barely have enough room left. Estrella is a great school, so keep it in mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The staff is dedicated and doesn't give up on your child, even if they struggle. And Mr. Maloney is the coolest school admin you could ever meet. My son thinks he's hilarious!
--Submitted by a parent

It was sad news to see the principal leave to go work in another district. He was always kind and put the kids first. Dave will have BIG shoes to fill -- Dave is a wonderful person and I am happy to have in as principla, but Will miss our old principal!! He even did morning crossing some days!!
--Submitted by a parent

My kids and I absolutely love Estrella. The teachers are wonderful and are always willing to take the time to talk with parents They genuinely care about the students. We have never had any problems with bullying, nor have any of the other families I have asked about this. My oldest is now at Akimel and excelling in honor level classes. I give credit to the teachers at Estrella for my child's success. Great school!
--Submitted by a parent

Both of my children attend Estrella Elementary and we can't say enough about how much we LOVE this school! We attend Estrella by choice - our home school is Kyrene de la Cerritos, but we find Estrella to be a much friendlier, welcoming school. Both of my children have much smaller class sizes than they would have at our home school - each with 20 students per class. I believe this makes the biggest difference in quality of education. They receive plenty of 1 on 1 and small group time with their teachers due to this small class size. The teachers at Estrella go out of their way to make our family feel welcome and to feel part of a community. My children have both been tested "gifted" through the district and they are constantly academically challenged. They have never had a problem with "bullying," either directly or indirectly. The school follows the Character Counts program and the teachers make behavior expectations clear and follow through on any discipline as necessary. The office staff is warm and welcoming and we couldn't be more pleased with our decision to choose Estrella Elementary as our school.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has attended Estrella for 4 years. pros: front office staff is wonderful, most teachers are super helpful and very qualified. Cons: Bullying IS a problem. Some kids lack any compassion for others that are different. Over the last two year is seems to have gotten worse and I'd have to say that nothing seems to get d one about it. I have thought about going through the district but instead look for alternatives for my child to attend another school. And it breaks my heart to do this because i afore the teachers, but when your child says they want to leave, you have to listen. No one should feel scared and anxious to go to school. This school started out great but has gone downhill with bullying behavior and the leadership seemingly not caring.
--Submitted by a parent

My kids have been at Estrella for 6 years. We love it. The teachers, administration and staff are fabulous and have always been responsive to our needs. The school has a science fair, art masterpiece program, readathon and now a character counts program as well. Class sizes are not too big and my kids love their school. Not sure what bullying problem another reviewer mentioned. I am frequently at school and have never seen/heard about it. I recommend this school to everyone-average student, special needs or gifted.
--Submitted by a parent

The Bullying problem is big at this school, unfortunately. The bigger problem is how many teachers turn their backs to it. Story after story of kids being bullied, and teachers doing nothing. I was amazed. The Principle did very little as well. In my case i finally had to being in the District to deal with it.
--Submitted by a parent

This school was wonderful for my child in the beginning. The teachers are very good at what they do and I couldn't be happier with the teachers. However over the past couple of years I have noticed the overall character development (that this school once pride itself on) has fallen way off. Some kids are becoming disrespectful with a serious problem with bullying behavior. This school needs improvements in this area. Sending my children there next and last year is becoming difficult knowing that character development is no longer a priority at Estrella.
--Submitted by a parent

I had nothing but good things to say about this school until the principal leadership changed. Very unpleasant to deal with, very, unreasonable, particularly difficult when you are a single/divorced parent. The teachers are outstanding, very dedicated and willing to go the extra mile. Based on my experience with the leadership I would not send my kids back to this school.
--Submitted by a parent