McKinley Elementary School

McKinley is a phenomenal school with an excellent Principal and staff. With the addition of the new Annex building, the campus is newly landscaped and looking better than ever. In the 5 years my kids have been at McKinley I have never heard of fights breaking out or "random people on the premises" nor are children "bused in" (where would they be bused in from? BSD doesn't even have buses!) There are some very special things about McKinley, the Harvest Festival, father/daughter dance, Founder's Day, our beautiful garden and of course the amazing parent community (I could go on). Go Bulldogs!
--Submitted by a parent

McKinley Is an amazing school with an excellent staff. The school has a very diverse population that is just wonderful. The curriculum is challenging and the teachers are very collaborative. They have soccer coaches that come once a week at lunch, The Physical education has implemented a program for recess coaches and this provides the older students a leadership role. Have I mentioned how awesome the parent community is. We are a big family at McKinley.
--Submitted by a parent

Very bad school which is really a bummer for this area. Nobody cares. There are random people on the premises, multiple cases of kids clothes theft, nobody watches kids, nobody cares about education. I can speak only for K-2, but chaos is there, fights!! and swear words!! and it doesn't seem that things change for older kids. Stay away! Really, it is not worth it.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is not what you would expect from a Burlingame school. I would not recommend moving to Burlingame for this school. It lacks good leadership. The focus is not on education. The playground is wild and needs better supervision. Many kids are bused in and that might be one of McKinleys problems. My experience is that problems are covered up rather than addressed. This is very frustating.
--Submitted by a parent

McKinley delivers the state mandated basics to the children, but as another reviewer stated, little else is taught. Science, technology and music are weak while the art program is taught by volunteer parents. Kudos to the parents for filling these needs! Also, the Spanish immersion program is like a school within a school with minimal integration between immersion and non-immersion students. It's unfortunate because everybody can benefit socially and culturally from having both curricula at one school. Communication from the school and the teachers is minimal and inconsistent (website and newsletters are often missing important event dates), which makes it difficult for parents to actively stay involved in their children's education and social integration. There is, however, a strong sense of community but that is only the result of an involved and caring group of parents. The teachers are good, but as a whole, the school needs a lot of improvement.
--Submitted by a parent

Parents are really involved, Teachers are really happy to be there and the Kids are having a blast and learning at the same time! My daughter is in kindergarten and loves to go to school everyday!!
--Submitted by a parent

McKinley is the ideal school. It has an old fashioned aura, strong family influence and a principal who puts the children above all else. Her leadership is strong and sincere. Her staff and teachers love their jobs. The difference at McKinley is the kids are on the forefront of everyone's mind. EVERYTHING comes back to the well being, academically and otherwise, of each student. What is happening at this school? Learning and loving it! Respect, caring and high standards for ALL.
--Submitted by a parent

This school lacks a strong leader and support staff. Communication from school staff is very weak. Academics are moderate and additional school activities and enrichment classes are limited. Moreover, the school campus lacks sufficient playground equipment and is filthy. On a positive note, parent involvement and volunteerism is very strong. Also, the student population is very diverse which lends itself to increased cultural awareness.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has an excellent principal and staff. I've never seen a principal who knows every child's name AND knows their parents. The parents are very active and friendly. The teachers are smart, caring and collaborative and i feel like the school as a whole makes a huge effort to communicate with parents regularly. Overall I'd say the the school focus' on the right priority--instilling a love of learning. I'd much rather have my daughter have a great life-long attitude towards studying- rather than drilling for test scores and a dislike for school.
--Submitted by a parent

The teachers at McKinley are wonderful! They are very supportive and helpful in finding different programs to enrich my child's educational development.
--Submitted by a parent