Dry Creek Elementary School

This school is the "WORST" elementary school my children attended. The teachers, the psychologist, the nurse and the principal just work there to get paid but, not because they care or have passion for the kids they served. It's sad to have professionals like them working with children.
—Submitted by a parent

They sometimes"parking lot" special needs children in an effort to mainstream at the rear of the class. Bullying is Zero Tolerance so they turn away from recognizing passive bullying or and sometimes outright torment.Not enough guards on the playground and out in the field. The main Principal hands a lot of things down to the 2nd rank Principal. Good school for athletic or highly intellectual students, but not enough care and support for the kids suffering with AD without and IEP, or the basic struggling student. I star to the Principals for turning away from facing bullying issues in the real world, not thier textbok definition..
—Submitted by a parent

Dry Creek Elementary is an excellent school with great teachers, aides, support staff, office staff, Principal, Vice Principal, and very active parents. I am actively involved in volunteering at the school in both of my children's classrooms, so I see a lot of what goes on in the classroom and on the playground. I have a special ed child that just transferred in from Cole Elementary (another excellent school). There were definitely some adjustments needed for his curriculum and socialization into a mainstream school. However, I felt the school was very quick and responsive to issues as they came up and have resolved the problems quickly and as well as possible given the circumstances. There are still some improvements that can be made with educating ALL of the children about tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. However, I feel that as these problems arise, the school quickly gets to the bottom of what the problem is and deals with it appropriately with the resources that they have. Keep up the great work Dry Creek!!!
—Submitted by a parent

Couldn't be more unhappy with a school. My child cries frequently and says her teacher yells in the classroom when there are no other adults around. After months of tears and frustration with a child that once excelled now struggling, I spoke with the principal. He told me that she is a good teacher and he doesn't believe it is true. I have spoken with other parents who have informed me that their children say the exact same thing. The principal was too busy being defensive and protective to hear me out. It is concerning to me that he wouldn't believe that this is possible. Sometimes even good teachers make mistakes. I wasn't expecting him to march in there and fire her, but acknowledging that there may be a problem and working towards a solution would be better than denial. I am NOT a complainer or difficult parent. I spend time in the classroom and I do my part. I am disappointed in this school. Very disappointed. My children are moving to a different school next year.
—Submitted by a parent

Dry Creek is a fantastic school! The administration staff is a powerful team. The teachers I have worked with, Koop, Howell, Rios, Contreras, Wetzel, are outstanding. Many parents who volunteer there are also FUSD or CUSD teachers. My children (all three) have been very successful thus far and I would drive an hour each day if necessary to continue my children's education in such a fine establishment. Even the after school program is fantastic. Great Job Mrs. V. and staff!
—Submitted by a parent

We currently have child that attends Dry Creek and two more that will attend in a few years. Dry Creek is a great school. Mr Hansen is Awesome. Mrs. Koop and Mrs. Vizcarra are both excellent teachers. Dry Creek has excellent academic programs and the teachers always keep the parents abreast of students progress. Awesome School. The ladies at the office are great too!
—Submitted by a parent

Principal Mr. Hansen and the GIS, Mrs. Sells, are awesome! Mr. Hansen is very personable. We love Kay & Jodi! Dry Creek is a great school, especially considering it is the largest elementary in FUSD or CUSD. The teahers do vary in dedication, but you'll find that at any school. Overcrowding does not fall on the school, but on the builders and those who allow them to overdevelop. This should have been addressed before they were allowed to continue building. Place the blame where it belongs! A new school is currently being built, Rank Elementary.
—Submitted by a parent

What an outstanding school! We are moving to a different area and still want to keep our child at Dry Creek even if we have to drive an extra 20 minutes each day. Awesome teachers!
—Submitted by a parent

This school has gone downhill in overall quality every year since Rich Smith left as principal.
—Submitted by a parent

Overcrowding has gotten way out of control. Portables are not the solution. Not enough resources to deal with that many kids. Still a great school, great parents, great teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

This once proud school has slipped greatly in the last couple of years, teacher quality varies from an wide extreme; one year you can get a very good teacher who works with students strengths and weaknesses and really teaches-- (not just for test scores) and other years you get the other kind, of which their are too many! And what happened to teaching these kids writing skills? Kids aren't taught to write because their is no testing on writing! Math facts are important, but not the be all everything. Kids are pushed to hard and to fast; the joy of learning is gone, its all about the test scores. Practice tests over Easter vacation--c'mon... Leadership I'm sorry to say is lacking as well; This used to be a country school with parent involvement, the whole room parent thing and holiday event planning thing was poorly done. no more space sorry DC.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an excellent school. The principal is very involved, gets to know every student and visits each classroom every day. The awards program is wonderful, really encourages the students to achieve. I would recommend this school to anyone.
—Submitted by a parent

Mrs. Koop is the best kindergarten teacher I can imagine. Mr. Smith made each child feel like he knew them. The school has a 'small-town' feel, and everybody seems to know everyone else. I can't think of a better school for my children.

Mr.Smith is probably as good a principal as Clovis unified has. The new principal has very large shoes to fill. Under Mr. Smiths leadership school test scores were always among the highest in CUSD, and his involvement in extracurricular activities was great; The little things he did--like keeping up the school website with current pictures was always appreciated. My kids were always lifted up by his positive encouragement when he spoke at school assemblys and grew immensely academically at Dry Creek under Mr. Smith and some excellent teachers such as Mrs. Mullens, Mr. Mueller and Mrs. Bishop who were able to handle my sons strengths and weakness's to bring out the best in him. Thank you - Leon Goorabian Clovis CA