Irving L. Branch Elementary School

I'm a parent of 3 kids that currently attend this school. Our teachers, staff, and principal go above and beyond with limited funding/budget. I think the parents that have rated this school low are the same ones we (active parents) are trying to get involved in the school. We need more volunteers to help the PTO, people to help the teachers and to make their voices heard at the school board meetings. Please take these complaints with a grain of salt. I hear people complain about the school every so often but the minute they are asked how they are helping to improve things they shut down.
--Submitted by a parent

Very disappointed with the school. Staff is unfriendly. I completely agree with the other parents that say this school needs a lot of help
--Submitted by a parent

Love, love, love this school! I am an educator myself in Lancaster, but my children attend this school! Excellent speech therapist who not only provides me updates on my son's progress, but provides him with focused nightly practice and actually has him catching his own mis-pronunciations now as a third grader! Excellent principal and assistant principal who are understanding, kind, patient, yet firm with expectations! Multiple opportunities for parent involvement and easy access to all staff. Well organized teachers with true highly effective good first instruction with provisions of multiple opportunities to demonstrate their mastery! Spectacular test scores too!!!
--Submitted by a parent

This is one of the worst schools my children have ever attended. I am all for working with the teacher and reinforcing what my child has learned each day, but that's not the case here. I have pretty much been the educator, homeschooling my son when he gets home from school. The teachers he's had do not teach. I can now see why many of my neighbors homeschool. The people there have been there too long. It's so hard to believe many are considered "educators." Classes are crowded. My son was a pretty good student prior to moving here. Straight-A's to As & Bs for the most part. Branch teachers do not do a good job of preparing students for the next grade. I don't feel my son has truly learned much from going to school at Branch. I've had to supplement his learning with after school homeschooling which is time consuming. When I was in Grad school, my professor told us, "When a student fails to learn, the teacher failed to teach." The only bright spot at Branch, and I do mean ONLY, is Mrs. McCormack. They could all use a page out of her playbook! Extremely happy we will not endure another year at Branch and even more happy about going to a place with wonderful schools!
--Submitted by a parent

Our students have been straight A students for the past 4 yrs at the local private school, we decided to try public school...that lasted 3 weeks before we transferred them OUT of Branch. Denied special accommodations for our wheelchair-bound son (who is a student there!) so he could get through the doors and also for his heat-sensitive issues. The doors used to have wheelchair accessibility but have been disabled and the administration was unwilling to put them back into service. Our two other typical students there came home with nearly NIGHTLY tales of bullying in their classrooms and on the playgrounds. Extremely crowded classrooms. Admin told us 25 pupils cap per classroom, but one of our children had 36 kids in their classroom. Pretty campus but disappointing and unaccommodating, exactly the same experience another parent reviewer commented on.
--Submitted by a parent

We LOVE Branch! I have two children. One child is in 1st grade and the other is in 4th. Both of our children were in very small classes in Florida (approx. 15 students), so the class size difference in California was a hugh shock for our family. However, the administrators are so caring and treat every student as if they are their own. Both of my children have AMAZING and dedicated teachers and I'm thrilled they come home with challenging and fun assignments. We really feel like we found an oasis in the desert with Branch. :-) Both of my children do have P.E. with their classroom teachers a few days a week.
--Submitted by a parent

My child goes to this school and no there is not any PE. Its up to the teachers if they want to do it once a week or not at all but its not on the curriculum. I am pretty pleased with the school though. My sons 2nd grade teacher sends home lots of homework but i appreciate the math she teaches them because its getting them ready for 3rd grade. I think my son will do great next year thanks to his teacher. I do think its a crock that there are 25 kids in my sons class with only one teacher but that's certainly not the teachers fault. Its just due to the lack of budget. I hope the PTO improves next year though because right now they do more for their kids than any other kids and most are very rude ladies.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is very disappointing. My daughter is a bright gifted student and was very bored. The curriculum was well below our next district. Additionally, she brought home a lot of busywork homework. My son with ADD received no support from the school. If you have a short-term assignment, I would highly recommend home-schooling as there is a great home schooling network on base.
--Submitted by a parent

I'm happy for the students that seem to e having a great experience at Branch. There are a few excellent teachers, mainly in the lower grades, but unfortunately, most teachers have been there WAY to long and are just killing time. Sent 2 kids through this school-both had come from schools where they had been in gifted programs only to watch their education levels plummet. There is absolutley no plan for kids who are higher learning, and many of them in the school are. Parents are VERY involved, if not for the parents many of the activities would not get accomplished. When we finally moved, I had to explain to my son's 7th grade teachers that he had virtually no English, Science, or History instruction in all of 6th grade. There is a distinct lack of discipline and very little professionalism amongst the staff.
--Submitted by a parent

Unless your kid is a cookie cutter learner, don't count on them excelling here. We came from MN schools andtThe CA school systems are constantly being stripped of resources - so the ratios are large. My son is ADHD, but not on an IEP. Academically, given the resources, he could have excelled in 3rd grade (as he did in MN schools for his first years). He was in 10 weeks and we pulled him for homeschooling. The teacher, frustrated with his behavior and no classroom help was allotted, punished him and sent his homework home - all of it - every night. Given that he was tired, he simply atrophied in this school and quickly learned to hate the environment. Keep an open mind if you choose to school your different-needs child here.
--Submitted by a parent