Linwood E. Howe Elementary School

Linwood Howe is a great neighborhood school, but not average. First thing that springs to mind is COMMUNITY. This school has a tight knit community of families, who not only care about the school and the education their kids are receiving, but they care for each other s kids. We watch out for each other. On any given day, you can see most of the neighborhood kids and parents walking or biking to school together. To sum it up in only a paragraph is hard. The teachers at our school are phenomenal. Our programs include, art outreach, edible garden and nutrition, Green Team, Math Olympiads, the list goes on. The parents and staff at our school go beyond what's required to make sure our kids are supported in the classroom and after school through the programs offered at our school. It's truly a unique and special community here at Linwood Howe.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has been remarkable for both my children. It's only our first year, but so far we are beyond impressed. The individualized attention that each of my children receives is almost indescribable. Especially my older child who needs some help in the classroom. His teacher communicates with us constantly about his progress and makes us feel like he's her only student. I know for a fact that this is not at the expense of the other students because every parent in my class says the same thing. My other child needs no help in the classroom but in fact needs more challenge. Her teacher rises to the occasion. The school is in no way perfect and I'd love to change a few things. But for being a neighborhood public school, we almost feel like our kids are getting a private school education. And it's full of really great families who are genuine, involved, down to earth and caring. The diversity is impressive too - not just ethnic and socioeconomic but international - a really pleasant bonus.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of a third grader at Linwood E. Howe. My child has been going to this school since Kindergarten. We started out at a very prestigious pre-school in Beverly Hills, and then started at Lin Howe. I can tell you that we both feel like we are the luckiest family in the world...Lin Howe has been truly a dream come true. It's a family, it's strong and beyond excellent teachers have given my child the very best a school has to offer. We are so blessed to have so much support from the parents, and full support each and every day from ALL of the teachers. There is no place I would have wanted to be but as a Lin Howe Viking! My child is proud, happy and educated. We have a lifetime of memories as a child should be given, thank you Linwood E. Howe, thank you parents, and thank you to our fabulous teachers and leadership. We look forward to two more years at this wonderful school!!!
—Submitted by a parent

Linwood Howe's test scores have been steadily rising, but that's not why we love it. We love it because the teachers and staff are passionate, dedicated professionals who care about our kids.
—Submitted by a parent

We love Linwood E. Howe! I have been a parent at this school for almost six years now, and I have seen many changes. We chose it first because it was our home school, but were won over completely by the team of fantastic kindergarten teachers. As our children have gotten older, we have discovered that you can't really go wrong with our teachers - there is a type of teacher for every type of kid, and the teachers work carefully with each other to offer the best transition from grade to grade. In each grade different units are managed by the separate grade level teachers, so you get three for one! This allows our teachers to focus carefully on an area of study, and also prepares our kids for the multiple classrooms of the middle school. The leadership and staff of the school are proactive, vigilant, and most importantly, human. The parent community is generous with their contributions of time and expertise to supplement our kids' learning. Lin Howe has been a great place to have my kids learn not only how to read and add, but how to communicate with people and work as a part of a community.
—Submitted by a parent

We LOVE our school! Amazing teachers who genuinely care about the students. Significant parent involvement. We have watched the school grow over the years and could not be more happy!
—Submitted by a parent

We just moved to the area and enrolled our daughter in Kindergarten at Lin Howe. We are extremely happy with the school. The teachers are very caring and invested in the children's education. The parental involvement is HUGE and there are tons of extra curricular activities both fee and non fee based. It is obvious that the Lin Howe community cares about it's students and wants to make this school as fantastic as possible.
—Submitted by a parent

Teachers foster a cooperative and caring atmosphere, Strong curriculum which begins at K. Good after school programs as well.
—Submitted by a parent

Linwood Howe is a true gem. With a genuine focus on the whole child, the teachers and active parent community foster a love of learning, strong social responsibility and respect for our earth. Students at Lin Howe build confidence, leadership, independent thinking and empathy. The active Booster Club and PTA organizations provide valuable funding for instructional aids in the classrooms, enrichment programs, and fun activities for the families and community. This school truly enables children to flourish.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a truly excellent school. My children transferred in from a charter school and they were behind, but Linwood Howe has graciously caught them up and now they are advancing beyond belief! Really excellent teaching going on here! I am amazed at how much my children are learning. I knew it was a good school but it is even more challenging than I thought it would be and I love it. There is a great spirit here as well. It's a happy, positive, healthy place. And the principal is truly outstanding. Children and parents love her, she's involved and engaged, and she addresses concerns promptly and efficiently. I am so grateful for this school. 5 stars for Linwood Howe!
—Submitted by a parent

I had my son in Ventura County schools up until the middle of 3rd grade. His 2nd and 3rd grade school was rated 9 out of 10 by Great Schools. His teachers were nice, but they didn't push him. When he transitioned to Linwood Howe in the middle of 3rd grade his teacher said he had a lot of catching up to do. I saw a huge improvement in his reading and writing in just a few months. We absolutely love his 4th grade teacher who communicates with us and is really on top of how he is progressing in her class. She even offered to have him stay after class to work on his homework with her, which I never had a teacher offer me in the past. The afterschool program is wonderful, my son enjoys the time spent with his friends after school-they are really good with him and communicate with us on a daily basis. LH has been nothing but a positive experience for our son!
—Submitted by a parent

Sure LH could do better, but it's on the right track. API improved to 826 - can only hope it keeps gaining because LH is better than its test scores. While test scores are important, LH is also focused on nurturing a well-rounded child. It focuses on social responsibility as well as academics. Lots of parent support. The 2nd grade teachers are fantastic. Class size is manageable despite budget cuts. Principal knows each student by name & listens to parents. An active booster club raised money for class aides. Downside, for 2011-2012 the boosters scaled back aides to 3 instead of 6 because of threat by the union (ACE). Kids were cheated of aides because the boosters was forced to unionize volunteers. I bring this up because dedicated staff & parents are working to better LH and create an enhanced instructional environment despite budget cuts. When a group like ACE complains that the boosters are taking away union jobs that didn't exist & are not paid for by CCUSD, their actions hurt our kids by taking donations from classes. As a parent stakeholder, I want LH to be the best in the district and it has the potential. It has a diverse student body and great parent community.
—Submitted by a parent

This is our 1st year at LinHowe and we are pleasantly surprised by our experience at the school having moved into CCUSD and we were not able to get into Farragut. The principal impressed us in our one-on-one talk with her to discuss our concerns about LinHowe being the lowest ranking school in CCUSD. She continues to impress us by being very involved with the kids and we see her roll up her sleeves to help with the mundane behind the scenes tasks that go to run the school smoothly. The jury is out on how savvy she is on dealing with the district to benefit LinHowe, but she has proven to be approachable, dedicated, and hard-working in a thankless position. I find the homework to be light, but I understand LinHowe follows CA standards. When we complained to the teacher, she went out of her way and made a set of extra homework for our child. Our teacher is hardworking and collaborative with us to meet our child s needs. There is strong parent involvement and a lot of fundraising, which is ever more needed because of state cuts. Between the many LinHowe activities, afterschool and Cornucopia programs, our child is getting a good balance of academic and extracurricular stimulation.
—Submitted by a parent

Obviously the Parent who put that Lin Howe is a mediocre school is a disgruntled parent. Probably an Ex? Speaking of mediocre education, for future reference "bye" should be "by" in the context that you wrote it in. Furthermore you neglected to put specifics on what makes this school mediocre. Someone who wants their child to go to the Valencia School District is obviously unaware of the issues the Valencia Schools have, as my kids used to be in an Elementary School in Valencia and are now in CCUSD. If a parent has a problem with the school you should address the principal or district to see what can be done to improve the situation. This was clearly a parent who is uninvolved. Be proactive. Linwood Howe has outstanding parent involvement and incredibly dedicated teachers. My children are thriving at Linwood Howe. As far as Ivy league education goes... My first concern is that my child grows up to be a happy, well rounded, productive, member of society. I'm not knocking it, if my child or any other strives for an ivy league education, great. But it's not everything, don't forget, there are a lot of people who went to ivy league schools that are now convicts.
—Submitted by a parent

Mediocre, LinHowe is NOT. Public schools in California follow the California Content Standards, Culver City to Coto De Casa, they are the same. It is a small community school, that is extremely diverse . LinHowe is focused on service learning, the environment (a pilot school for Green 5), has programs like Hiking Vikings, a walking school bus, where over 100 children and parents walk together each Friday. Each year the academic advance . Outside organizations bring in programs like The Young Story Tellers, Shadow Puppets, Music, and assemblies. The strong parent groups raise funds to support extra help in the classroom, green projects and art out reach. Programs like Pair Pals teaming students with special needs with buddies for social events allows all our students to better understand disabilities and eliminates the misconceptions almost eliminating bullying. While our test scores may not be the highest in the district, the gains each year are remarkable. During computer lab time, students have access to success maker software, a program that teaches testing skills, at the students academic level, class time is about developing the love of learning, not teaching to the test.
—Submitted by a parent

Linwood E Howe is anything but a mediocre school. My son started in Kindergarten this year. We moved to America from the UK 2 years ago so this is our introduction to the US education system, Lin Howe has a great community spirit, led mostly by the amazing principal. She knows each child by name and always has time for the children. There are numerous opportunities for kids after school, and lots of parental involvement. For the previous parent wanting their kid to go to an Ivy League school. Huh. I want my child to be happy, successful, and achieving his potential. Which he is. To be honest I don't look past the next couple of years never mind college Lin Howe works to meet each child's potential. I volunteer in kindergarten and today was "retaught" how to do 3 numbered multiplication. By a just turned 6 year old. The teacher spends "free time" encouraging and teaching children in areas they are interested in. For my son, this means he has fun playing Star Wars. For this other kid she teaches him multiplication. Lin Howe absolutely rocks and offers children and their parents a great education with a great sense of community spirit.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a former student and now a proud parent of a 1st grader at Lin Howe. We have had nothing short of a great experience at Lin Howe. My daughters teacher (Ms. Burns) is wonderful, incredibly dedicated and very hands on. The environment is like a very close knit neighborhood school, where the parent involvement is outstanding and all the parents know each other even when their children are in different grades. We couldnt be happier at Lin Howe.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has an incredible parent base who give a lot of support to the school. The principal is very strong and directing the school in the right direction. Every contact I have had with the staff and parents has been really inspiring.

The school is a mediocre school where the kids aren't pushed very hard hard to succeed. It is a school to just get bye there is nothing great about the school in general and improvements are hopefully in the future going to come. If you can avoid it try to send your kid to a school out in valencia or out of the la unified school system. Culver city schools are not in the la unified school systerm and thats why people say they're better but in reality its just a farce to make yourself feel better. There is nothing great about culver city school. Sending your kid to a culver city school is really nothing special. If you want your child to go to an ivy league school then dont send them to any schools here. If you don't care about that and you just want your kids to go to school and drift through the system the culver unified schools are for you for in the end you are getting below par education
—Submitted by a parent

I am a very happy and proud mom of a wonderful Lin Howe student. I have my child in morning and after school care due to my work schedule, but she does not mind being at school for extended hours because when I pick her up she always makes me wait. CCUSD Office of Child Development has an excellent morning and after school care with a wonderful and caring staff. I would recommend this school and extended programs to all working parents.
—Submitted by a parent