D. J. Sedgwick Elementary School

I agree with the posting about mean staff at Sedgwick. Tracy never puts a smile on her face and I have come to the office multiple times for multiple reasons. NEVER SMILE! The new principal provides poor leadership and ruins the good reputation for Sedgwick. I moved to Sedgwick this year because of the good rating but have been very disappointed at the adminstration and quality of teachers. Our family will definitely move to a another school next school year!
—Submitted by a parent

I'm not sure if the school staff is posting positive reviews of themselves here, but I can confirm the earlier posts who say the office staff is mean. They are almost like bullies, but to believe it, you have to see it for yourselves. I didn't believe it until I visited this week.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great neighborhood school. People are friendly. Tracy in the office is very personable and goes out of her way to identify each and every student and parent by name. She will stop anything to help. Always a welcoming face. The principal is new and seems to have a good relationship with the students. Mrs. Wang is always friendly and available.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the comment below regarding the new principal. I have tried to reach her several times but her front office staff is always giving excuses for her. She does not respond to emails or phone calls. She is zero help when it comes to listening to the parents. She has created a very antagonistic environment.
—Submitted by a parent

***Front office staff are unfriendly and rude. Sedgwick is an adequate school with satisfactory teachers who are competent. If you have a chance, do ask to observe in the classroom. After doing so, I realized that the high academics are not because of teacher ability but because of the student's and family's high regard for academics. Overall, the school is diverse and gives a balanced education. The worst part of the experience would be the office staff. Whenever I interact with Tracy and Viviana I always get a very upset look from them, frowning, bad attitude (like I am bothering them for being in the office and need to ask a question). I always try to be polite, but they are always very snappy and sharky. I went in there with a friend of mine and I had not made mention of the staff to her before. She was also shocked at the "rude customer service". She said it was worse than being at the DMV. As parents, tax payers and interested parties, we deserve to be treated with kindness and caring. The front office staff are the face of the school. Right now the school has a very ugly face. I would like to see cheery, happy people replace these employees.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree that the front office staff is very rude and unprofessional. My first experience with Sedgwick was speaking with the office staff and they were so rude and unfriendly that they almost had me in tears. The high scores at this school seem to be more because of parent involvement and/or because the children attended a better school before hand. My child's teacher cares only about following the curriculum to the letter. She does not want to give extra help to children who are struggling and certainly does not want to do anything to challenge students that are a head of the grade curriculum. If your child is right on track for their grade level then the school could be passable. If your child needs help or is more advanced then other children at the same grade then do not send your child here. They will not be challenged. Unfortunately the Principal is new and offered zero help.
—Submitted by a parent

Our child has been in Sedgwick Elementary for a year now and we are very happy here. We were looking for a school that focuses on developing well-rounded and well-balanced, independent, and "whole" student, and yet still must have high academic achievements. So far this seems to be just the right school for us. We attended and enjoyed many of the school activities such as international food festival, ice-scream socials, picnics, movie nights, and met many parents and our kid's friends as well. We like the clean, safe, very family-friendly, and very walkable neighborhoods in this whole area. The community is well educated and reasonably diverse, with parents who care about their children's development. The teachers at the school are experienced, patient, and friendly, and the kids are happy there.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has a bad community. Some teachers are nice, but be careful, a teacher who is a first grader teacher is designing and not be trusted.
—Submitted by a parent

Sedwick has been a great school for my daughters. The PTA works so hard to make sure that the kids have a wonderful music, computer and PE program. My daughters second grade teachers was fantastic with great focus on science, reading and math. The science projects were very engaging and my daughter has grown to love it. The K teachers work as a team to teach our kids and have a great program. Great community all around.
—Submitted by a parent

I have 3 kids attending Sedgwick for more than a year now. I am totally agree that Sedgwick is doing the right thing for our kids. The eldest boy is naughty, active and sometimes got into troubles. The principle and teachers helped us to discipline him in a fair and effective way. He now improved a lot. He is responsible and knew to take care of himself. He even woke up very early by himself and made to the soccer team and is extremely happy. Their soccer coaches are the best I've ever seen, 2 women teachers ^_^. My daughter and the other K boy love their teachers and school too. They are on the quite and smart side so not many troubles so far. Not all of the teachers will do things the way you'd like but overall the environment here is positive and ambitious. You can see their test score improvements year over year. Maybe next semester they will be in top as other schools in CUSD. Cheers!
—Submitted by a parent

Mrs. Stokes a new principle at Sedgwick is awesome! All of the teachers my sons have had over past three years were exceptional. I was a parent volunteer who witnessed hours of classroom teaching that I base my opinion on. They have clubs, my son was in a computer club for an entire year mrs Sing is computer lab instructor really creative educational games. IEP teacher Mrs Husting helped my son greatly with his LD. Amanda Boyce the Title 1 instructor is the most caring & patient of all the staff. There is a CDC program on campus with a fun & caring staff as well. Sedgwick School also has 2 pick up & drop off areas that are very helpful for the busy parent. There are a lot of patent volunteers who contribute weekly. Many activities that involve family and instill in the kids a great sense of community. It's what the students & parents contribute to the school that makes a real difference:)
—Submitted by a parent

Some Sedgwick teachers have a problem teaching boys. My son went to Sedgwick for 6 years (K - 5). All of his teachers were women. Two of them seemed to have a basic problem with teaching my son. After multiple meetings with each (these were different years) I concluded that they were unwilling or unable to deal with boys in their classrooms. If you have a son that is shy or withdrawn, then he might do fine at Sedgwick. At least he would be the kind of student that some of the teachers seem to desire. If your son is a normal boy, then watch out! You are going to have trouble. I don t know how they relate to girls. My suspicion is that very few girls get the kind of negative treatment they give to some boys. Other than that, this seems to be a good school.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been in Sedgwick school for 3 years. Overall, I am very satisfied with the school; my son is very happy as well. He has very good academic results and his teachers were all very nice and caring. Compared to other Cupertino schools, this school has slightly lower API scores as Sedgwick school has more diversity among students regarding their social and ethnic backgrounds, which is great. I highly recommend this school to everybody.
—Submitted by a parent

I sent my kindergardener reluctantly thinking that there are better schools in Cupertino that Sedgwick. After being in school for even less than a year now, I wouldn't switch the school even if I had a choice. The teachers are very friendly, hard working and approachable. They are quick to respond which has helped us work with our child in ways that is effective for her. We also love the fact that the focus is improve the school for the children and to expose them to different things in a fun manner. In partnership with Discovery museum, they had a science fair last week that was really fun for the kids and the parents. They are working on getting new computers and doing fund raising in really fun creative ways. I can't wait for my second child to go to this school!
—Submitted by a parent

Both of my daughters go to this school. They love their teachers. The teachers are very committed to student success. I would recommend this school to everybody.
—Submitted by a parent

The principal Lisa Hickey was very unwelcoming to our daughter who needed extra help.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter loved going to school everyday. She just finished Kinder and I loved their program!
—Submitted by a parent

This school is small. And every teachers know every kids. Very nice,and friendly. I love this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I love this school we have after school clubs and great teachers. I have been here for three years and I always love going to school!
—Submitted by a student

My children have been at Sedgwick for 5 years and we have loved the great diversity of the student body. The teachers have been responsive to students' needs and always available for conferences. The turnover is low. Last year there were only 2 new teachers and I think only 1 new teacher this coming year. I feel very comfortable with my children here getting a full education - a nice balance of academics and developing character and skills to work well with peers. Parent volunteers often run clubs and there are programs for GATE students.
—Submitted by a parent