Lookout Mountain School

First of all this school was most recently rated as a B school. Yet, the "excelling school" banner is still advertised out front. That should tell you something about the administration. Next, we had a teacher who could not write a complete sentence and misused words (as though she did not know the meaning of them). This teacher assigned the parents homework...perhaps because she did not know how to teach the children herself. She made the parents do remedial activities with the kids. This parental homework was for things that the children should have known years ago. If the parent did not sign off that he or she went over these items with the child, then the child got in trouble. Obviously, this school knows nothing about how to create responsible children if it is punishing and rewarding children directly on their parents behavior instead of on the child's behavior. The women who work on the playground are disrespectful towards the children and target certain kids that fit their profile. Bullying runs rampant. There is no anti-bulling program at this school and we were retaliated against for explaining how our child was physically attacked. The mornings are total chaos.
—Submitted by a parent

Im a student at LOM its awesome! Right now there building a new school for it i am relly,with LOM.

This school year started out on a rough note which could have been helped by better planning by the administration. A Band teacher was not hired for several weeks after the start of the year so music students suffered. Bad fit between honors teacher and classes left students frustrated and then without a teacher after teacher left. Administration could have been more proactive to lessen the negative impact. Quality teaching time was lost.
—Submitted by a parent

Sadly the quality at Lookout has plummeted. The class sizes have gotten far too big in the past couple of years, making it difficult if not impossible for teachers to be effective or fun. The rigid curriculum makes already stressed teachers teach to a test rather than find innovative ways to help our children learn. I realize the lower quality at Lookout is a result of the deep cuts so many schools across the state have had to endure. Unfortunately, it's our kids who suffer.
—Submitted by a parent

Lookout Mountain is outstanding! From the incredible teachers, fantastic principal and administrative staff, to the after school programs and school resources (such as the student television news program and extensive music and sports), this is truly one of a kind in Arizona. Parents in nearby districts are constantly looking for ways to get their kids into this school, and having had kids there for the last three years it is easy to see why. Only one negative (and a small one at that) -- students that live within one mile of the school cannot take the bus. If this rule were taken away, pickup and dropoff would become much easier. But that is a small price to pay for the excellent education our kids are getting here.
—Submitted by a parent

Transferred to Lookout Mountain from Mesa in the middle of the year. Tried everything possible(including three visits) to ease the transition for my children, but leadership didn't follwo through, making the entire process more difficult than necessary. On arrival, we learned that no precautions had been taken. A part time staff member ultimately assigned classrooms.... without even reading trascripts. Leadership certainly talked a good game prior to the move, but when the rubber hit the road, she was nowhere to be found. Parents and teachers later shared similar stories and expressed a degree of apathy that was alarming. I would like to think our experience was unique and that anyone in charge of the transitioning process would recognize the importance of helping kids feel welcome and fit into a new environment...our experience was disappointing to say the least. The curriculum was good and the teachers we experienced genuinely cared, but were clearly confined by their leadership, or lackthereof. Moving schools can be traumatic...having a caring voice on the other end can make the difference. After our brief experience, we moved our children to a private school.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school! Challenging courses, experienced teachers, homely campus, intelligent students. Saying it is an excelling school is an understatement. A profitable experience for any child.

This school is the best of the best because of all the dedicated parents and staff members. The people who are deeply involved in children's education always do the best they can. The parents are superior, the staff is awesome, and the community is super involved. No where does there exist a school with a better contingent of staff and parents. Lookout rocks.
—Submitted by a teacher

great teachers and friendly staff. terrific playground and safe neighborhood. my kids have made many friends and definitely enjoy learning daily at their new school. very impressed. mr. archer is the best teacher at the school.
—Submitted by a parent

LOM is an ok school. The facilities are old, leaking and full of asbestos. The classes are over max. Seems they accept way too many children out of the area. Parking and pick up is crazy. Frankly I am surprised there haven't been some serious accidents.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been attending since Kindergarten and is now in 3rd grade, my son started Kindergarten this year. This is a wonderful school. The teachers have all been awesome! Mrs. Turner (K), Ms. Baird (K) and Ms. Bridgewater (1st) have been the most wonderful and caring people. It's been obvious that it's not just a job to these 3 teachers, they actually care for the students and want them to succeed. I moved out of the area last year and I practically begged the school to keep my children even though we are now out of the district area. I have nothing but good reviews for this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I was apprehensive about moving to Phoenix and into the AZ public education system; coming from a smaller town and an excellent charter school. Because of economic stress, we were forced to leave our area and home, and start at LOM in the middle of the school year. The principal was amazing as she allowed our children into the school as open enrollement students, and making them feel comfortable and welcome. We chose to do open enrollement at LOM, as the school closest to us has a poor ranking and lower standards than I prefer. The school has a high level of unity and parent involvement which helps to keep it running strong. The teachers are great as well. While we do miss some aspects our previous charter school, LOM has made the transition easy for my children, which was a big concern for me. I knew that if we went into a school with low standards, from their previous school that they would have a lot of problems adjusting and confusion through the gap in standards.
—Submitted by a parent

Great teachers, great community, great administration. What a school should be!
—Submitted by a parent

We just moved to Phoenix and as a parent I was very nervous about the public schools here. LOM is an awesome school! Teachers, staff and the students are great! There is alot of parent involement. I can not say how wonderfull this school is. Your child will be lucky to attend such a great school!
—Submitted by a parent

The quality of teachers and instruction is top notch. A beautiful campus, both staff, students, and parents take pride in Lookout. With a healthy supply of parent volunteer involvement, Lookout is a campus where students see their parents care about their education. The after school enrichment programs are diverse and plentiful.
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent, I am frustrated by the budget cuts we are currently facing. However, I am grateful that my children are able to attend a school that has such dedicated teachers and staff. I have found the administration to be open to comments and concerns and extremely proactive in it's approach to dealing with parent concerns. Both of my children are involved with the gifted program and while I have some frustrations with the program set up, I have learned that it has little to do with the way it is run on our campus. The program guidelines are largely dictated by the district. The teachers are extremely dedicated and the new program director is a breath of fresh air. Any changes will take time to implement, as they have to work things through the district level. I am extremely satisfied with the quality of education my children are receiving.
—Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately, the problems at this school existed before the budget crisis and will exist after, due to the current administrations all talk, but no follow through attitude and inability or wiliness to make decisions. The budget should not be used as an excuse to lower the quality of the gifted program, current administration explained that no teachers are being cut from gifted program. Yet, quality continues to decrease at the expense of our children!
—Submitted by a parent

Lookout Mountain is a wonderful school filled with dedicated teachers, support staff and administrators. I suspect any hesitancy to implement new programs is a result of the budget crisis the public school system is facing due to the Governor's plan to cut funding and not related to LOM's adminstration directly. As a parent I feel that LOM provides many opportunities for further enrichment for its students. There is also a real effort for parental involvement on every level, the teachers are easily accessible and open to volunteers and the pto has several levels of participation available.
—Submitted by a parent

Overall a good school with committed teachers and parents. Administration (principal, etc.) could be much more proactive - lots of talk about looking into new programs, suggested changes, etc. but not a lot of follow-through = lots of talk but no action. Sadly, the gifted program is really lacking to the detriment of students that qualify for it.
—Submitted by a parent

A school draws its lifeblood from three distinct categories: parents, teachers and the principal. LME has excellent involved parents, a high number of dedicated teachers, but a very poor principal and assistant principal. In the past there was an atmosphere of cooperation and openness, nowadays teachers are afraid to take a stand or make a point for fear of censure. The 'gifted' program is a joke mainly due to lack of funding. In short, same ol' same ol'. Too bad as the students are some of the best behaved, caring and self motivated kids that you will ever find in a public school system.
—Submitted by a parent