Larkspur Elementary School

Larkspur is a great school. Sometimes a bit disorganized, but I think that's district wide. My daughter loves all of the teachers and school activities. The front office is always friendly and extremely helpful. We are moving soon and one of my daughter's concerns was that we stay within the Larkspur boundaries. I hope to see more positive reviews for Larkspur.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is really disorganized. The open school night is a week after school begins. My son will not be able to meet his teacher before the first day. They don t even know when busses will be picking up students and school starts in a week and a half! The lack of preparation they have also shows with in the classrooms. Last year my son was not welcomed and his teacher sent home notes on a daily basis for things like him rolling his pencil and getting a drink of water without asking. If this year is as bad as last we will be moving him out!
—Submitted by a parent

My family just moved to the area from Chandler and my son has been here for about a month now, I am very disappointed in this school. My son is in 1st grade and his teacher is constantly sending notes home complaining for every little thing, If she wants to be so detailed about how she wants things done then she should have sent a paper explaining how her class is run.Instead my son and I are left in the dark trying to figure out what to do to keep up with her demands.I am left asking my 7 year old what this or that means or when this or that is due, thats a lot of responsibility for him and I am annoyed with her lack of responsibility as a teacher and leader.After this school year I hope next year his teacher is more professional or we will be relocating to another school!
—Submitted by a parent

I moved my 3 children to Larkspur after having trouble with another school. The principal is wonderful and always avalible to her parents and student I have children in 3rd 4th and 5th grade all the teachers I have delt with at Larkspur have been great they really have a passion for education and their students
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been at Larkspur since kindergarten, going into the 4th grade. The principal is awesome!! She really makes herself available to all. Parents can't complain to others, yet not be active in finding some sort of resolution for their child's problems. Say something to the principal, she'll help you. The rating of school is solely based on AIMS. With the Hispanic pop at Larkspur, THAT does bring the excelling status down. Doesn't make it any less of a great school and the Hispanic pop. doesn't take any attention away from my kid. Hispanic kids have pull out classes that help them. My one tiny complaint is that my son's 3rd grade teacher basically quit teaching after AIMS was taken. No more homework and not much to show in a day. I'm sure they were doing SOMETHING, but there was such a drive and HUGE amounts of homework before AIMS, then nothing afterward. Kind of dissapointing, but something that could happen with a teacher at any school. There are lots of ways for parents to help out and help is definitely needed if you ask. The PTSA this past year was amazing with free movie nights and best carnival ever! Larkspur rocks!
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent of two kids attending this school...this school is better than most when handling problematic kids and other issues. I have had to leave another nearby school due to unprofessional and uncaring attitudes from the Principal on down! Larkspur is amazing and VERY supportive of any concerns that I have had and with positive results. I believe society has put way to much resposibility on the schools to handle "bullying".....It is also the Parents responsibility to teach their kids not to be victims and handle rough situations on their own. School is not perfect, and neither is Life. Let your kids experience the normalcy of what it has to offer, and stop being a wimp and let others fight your battles.
—Submitted by a parent

There is alot of Bullying at this school. You let the principal know she does what she can but as parents of kids that go to this school. Who are bullied everyday we need to stand up and take action and try to stop all of this. I'ts not right for our kids to have to deal with this everyday. They deserve a safe learning environment and should not have to fear going to school everday. So as parents we need to put a stop to BULLYING now. No child should have to go through this.
—Submitted by a parent

A lot of bullying at this school. Not very accepting of parent helpers. If you want your child to be challenged, I suggest a different school.
—Submitted by a parent

Larkspur staff is so amazing. The nurse informs you if your child comes to see her. That is very comforting. The Principle is so sweet she treats these children great and cares about their education. The Principle is the most amazing lady with a heart. The teachers actually teach our children, which will help them so much in middle and high school. Our children at Larkspur will have a jump start with their education and will be so much further along than other children from schools. We are so lucky to have a school that cares. My children have had to deal with a Principle and staff that threatened my children so much, we had to move them out of a PV school within less than 1 mile of Larkspur. Thank you to ALL the staff at Larkspur and the awesome parents. You care so much. We are very happy!!!
—Submitted by a parent

I moved all of my children out of another PV school close to this school to have my children go to this school for several reasons. The staff/supervisor is excellent and fair with all the children at the school. The school grounds are secure from outsiders so our kids are safe. The school has so much to offer for all the children and children with special needs. Teachers work to help our children succeed at this school. What the principle says she does, this school is amazing. I will recommend this school to everyone. I give 5+ stars. The art on the walls the kids don't beat each other up, the parents are great. Thank you Larkspur for being so Great to my kids, my kids say they have went to heaven. They do their homework right away and they are so happy. We are happy!
—Submitted by a parent

A lot of time is wasted with the 'make your day' program. School seems to cater to ESL programs with the growing hispanic population. They really push the free lunch program at the Open House to get everyone to sign up. If you want your child to be challenged, I'd definately suggest a different school.
—Submitted by a parent

So far in the 2 years our child has been at Larkspur we are thoroughly impressed with the teachers. They are just wonderful. My verdict is still out on the principle but I would still highly recommend this school to anyone. Our child loves it and we are just as happy.
—Submitted by a parent

School seems to cater primarily to high Hispanic population that needs extra resources just to learn English. Leave other students needing help without assistance because thereis not enough resources for all children needing help staying at gradelevel. If you are not at the bottom of the bareel or average or gifted you are left to fend for yourself.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started Kindergarten this year at Larkspur and it is amazing to see how much he has learned and his continued love of learning. His teacher is fantastic, along with the Larkspur staff. Make your day allows student the ability to articulate concerns and take responsibility for their actions. The parent that made comments about excessive bullying and low academic expectations must be talking about another Larkspur Elem. b/c Larkspur is labeled Excelling by the State Dept. of Ed., you must have high academic expectations in order to be excelling (not just teaching kids English). One of the beauties of Larkspur is its diversity.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started kindergarten this year at Larkspur and so far we are impressed. His reading, writing and math skills have improved dramatically and we owe that all to the wonderful teaching staff. We are so impressed with how much he has learned and how much his skills have increased.
—Submitted by a parent

Excellent learning environment. Horrible disciplinary system. 'Make Your Day' is too harsh in my opinion. Everytime my son laid his hand on another child's shoulder, he was placed on a step 4, and a parent conference was called.
—Submitted by a parent

My son just started this year. He is in the 5th grade and so far the teachers he has been in contact with have gone above and beyond our expectations. He feels very good about himself and so far LOVES Larkspur. I am so far very happy with how the school is run and his classroom teacher is absolutely fantastic! The principal and teachers told us flat out...their focus is on education and not parties and field trips which we agree with 100%. We spend time celebrating his successes and holidays at home and take family trips so we don't feel a need for the fluff. I am so happy we are at Larkspur! Glad we made it here and hope the next two years are as good as the past two weeks!
—Submitted by a parent

We were so pleased this past year with our experience at Larkspur.We had transferred here early in the year and disappointed to learn our children were behind. The teachers worked after school a couple days a week and our children were caught up by the winter.
—Submitted by a parent

Larkspur is a good school overall. The staff is caring and kind. When we experienced bulling the principal took immediate actions. However both of my children think the bathrooms are horrible.
—Submitted by a parent

I felt Larkspur was an excellent environment for my 3 oldest children while they were there. The make your day program was helpful, as they most often would make their day. However, my youngest son was different, and had trouble making his day. He was made to feel less than adequate, and often felt like he was 'bad' He was only in Kindergarten. The make your day program is wonderful if you have a child that can easily succeed. The following year he attended a different school for first grade. Thanks to the different discipline policy they had in place, he did much better, and began to feel better about himself.
—Submitted by a parent