Foster City Elementary School

I think it's important to realize that the slow progress in refurbishing this school isn't the teacher's fault, or anyone' s for that matter. Education funds are scare everywhere, and the current physical condition of this school by no means reflects the teacher's abilities to provide superior stimulation and education for our children. I think the teachers are doing an outstanding job with the tools they have to work with.
--Submitted by a parent

For such a top rated school, I expected a lot more from the teachers, but all I have experienced so far is just mediocre teaching standards. For the Kindergarten class that splits time with two teachers, neither teacher is 100% committed. Both teachers are unorganized. For example, there was a PJ day but neither teachers informed the class so while everyone else wore PJs, this particular class was excluded. Both teachers would get dates mixed up and it causes confusion to the students and parents. When time is split between 2 teachers, how does either teacher keep an accurate progress on each student? Also, when the wrong report cards are sent out, it makes me wonder if the homework and tests were recorded correctly for the right student to begin with. What a mess! As for the school itself, it is old and needs a lot of work. All the buildings that are currently unoccupied have a faint smell of mold. On the plus side, I see great parent involvement. Perhaps that is the reason the school gets such high API scores is because of what the parents do behind the scenes rather than what the students are getting from the school and the teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has a lot of caring teachers but budget cuts and being in temporary classrooms seem to be taking its toll. Work on the refurbishment has been slow over the past 2 years with more to come. The students have crowded play areas and class sizes are mostly 30. The hardworking PTA fund many programs that have been cut by other schools.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter is not getting the basics. Spelling is assigned as homework but not covered in class. There is NO small group instruction and the teacher cannot tell me what reading level my child is at. In addition, reading and math strategies are not being taught. Memorize, memorize. Mad Minutes are fine for practice but they are not meant to be a teaching tool. I get back my daughters homework for the week along with several "busy" papers or art work- word searches, color by number, etc. This is not quality learning material!! My biggest concern is SAFETY. Anyone can walk on campus and walk into a classroom. Kids have to leave the classroom and walk outside to use the bathroom and I have seen many students doing this alone. When I brought up my concerns to the office, I was assured they have never had problems. Really!? I could not believe that was the response. I have never had my car broken into but I still lock the doors when I get out!! I am sure there are good teachers at this school but she does not have one and I am not willing to wait until something bad happens to a child before the administration decides that safety is important.
--Submitted by a parent

We're paying more for less since the new owners have purchased the school. Although the teachers do a great job, after school care leaves something to be desired and is well over priced for teen aged baby sitters. As for their summer program, stay away, you'll get much more for less almost anywhere else, we did!
--Submitted by a parent

My son transfered to this school in mid-fifth grade. I read all the reviews, looked at test scores, and the location. First, the location is great, but they need a crossing guard. Parents park in crosswalks, and the road is a small residential road where it gets blocked easily. The curiculm is not my favorite. They do a program for math that no other school I have seen is using so if your are a transfering family it may take your child some time to learn it. My son often comes home and has no idea how to start on his homework. Now his teacher is the least favorite part of our experience at this school. She has made my son feel targeted and has implyed to him and myself that he is a liar. Always a good feeling that the teacher has your childs best interest at heart.
--Submitted by a parent

The teachers are the best, most caring, most energetic bunch I've encountered. My son loves it and he's blossoming as a student.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughther's been going to Foster City School since Kinder. She enjoys her time in school and abosulely loves her teachers from Kinder till 3rd grade. Ever since she was in Kinder, I always volunteer to help out in her class and so I get to see first hand how her teachers dealt with the students. We have been fortunate so far that our daughter had, in my opinion, great educators. Every teachers has their own style and we have the end result, a well-read, eager, enthusiastic, happy and an A student daughter. We would been happy with a B because we want her to enjoy school. But so far, it shows that she was always in good hands.
--Submitted by a parent

Our experience with Foster city elementary has been hit and miss, mostly misses. My son attended the school for 3 years. His Kindergarten teacher was just ok, didn't know how to deal with parents and super sensitive to comments. It was her first year of teaching, so someways understandable. To this day, my son counts her as his least favorite. His first grade teacher was just fantastic and we all loved her. His second grade teacher was the worst. She used to give weekly homework on Mondays and he used to finish it in an hour. Then the rest of the week, he has nothing to do. My son used to love her because he used to get 'lots of free time in class to read books and talk to his friends' once he finished with his work.
--Submitted by a parent

FCE is as stated above average in what they expect academically. It is a large school however which makes it difficult to feel a sense of community and togetherness. The parking is a mess and I think that the school itself could use some clean up. It has a lot of garbage and weeds for such a high income area school. I would also like to see more extra curricular offered.
--Submitted by a parent