Collier Elementary School

Over the last 7 years, both my children have attended Collier. When my daughter went, it was definitely a great school, morale was high, and the overall teacher quality was excellent. But with the change in principal 4 years ago, things have definitely changed for the worst. Morale is low, and parent participation has declined significantly. There are still a handful of great teachers at Collier, but if your child happens to get one of the bad teachers, it ruins your child's whole year, and it is difficult to switch your child to another teacher. My recommendation is to research other schools, and the teacher your child is going to have before going to Collier.
—Submitted by a parent

Collier at one time was a great school, things have definitly changed over the last 3 years. Parent Involvement is down, moral is low and great teachers have been lost. It no longer has the unique warm family atmosphere it once had, now it is just another school. With prior leadership the children would be excited to see the Principal come into their classrooms, not anymore. Test scores might be good, but if you have other choices I would explore them first.
—Submitted by a parent

My children were at a montessori charter school prior to attending Collier. They have spread their wings at Collier. The teachers are fantastic and really care about their students. They have taught my children to be organized with homework and exceed expectations. The principal provides leadership and is very approachable to not only parents but students too. The campus is lovely with enough room for the kids to excercise. The school offers tremendous help to those with special needs. Crystal McGuire
—Submitted by Crystal McGuire, a parent

I think Collier is a great school. Kids are offered many afterschool activites such as art, Spanish, and chess clubs. They are also given art lessons, music lessons, P.E. and Spanish as part of the curriculum. Not all public schools offer this. The class sizes are farily low (average of 20 students per classroom).
—Submitted by a teacher

The teachers and staff work hard to make learning a positive experience for every child. There is a very active PTA and father's group. I have been so lucky that this is our neighborhood school.
—Submitted by a parent

I think it is a shame to see such a decline in parent participation. They used to have parent volunteers bring art lessons to the classrooms, not sure if that still occurs. Placing well on AIMS is important but at what cost?!
—Submitted by a parent

Parent involvement very high, which is great! However, the principals leadership leaves much to be desired. Some years there were great teachers, then move to the next grade and you get one who is either not interested or busy playing kiss up to a particular parent. Overall, we have spent 4 years there and my child can still barely read. I would not recommend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

We found this school to be just average. Moved to a charter school...much happier with the quality of education.
—Submitted by a parent

In general, education level is not up to par.
—Submitted by a parent

Special Ed. could use some improvement.
—Submitted by a parent

We switched our sons in the middle of the year to Collier from a private school. I was a little nervous that it was not stimulating enough for them. They did fantastic. The teachers are caring and very interactive with the kids. The school is very well maintained, and the children at Collier are taught a lot about not being a bully. We are very pleased with the academics and the parent participation in the school. We are so happy we made the move to Collier.
—Submitted by Christie Noriega, a parent

Great PTA and parent involvement. However, my sons class was 27 kids to one teacher. Way too many kids, so we moved to a charter school and are much happier. My son is getting much more direction, and has advanced a great deal in his studies since we moved to the new school. It is too bad that TUSD seems to think that a good teacher can be effective with that many kids. Also, very disappointed with the PE and Art at Collier-- It is next to non-existant.
—Submitted by a parent