Menlo Avenue Elementary School

This school is negative five. Apparently allow Police reports to get filed on students without informing parents. As if that is not enough, police question children regarding these police reports, AGAIN without contacting parents.
—Submitted by a parent

The school can be a bette place for all our kids if the principal would be more involved with the teachers and the school would be more clean. the restrooms are always super dirty i feel terrible for the kids that have to use it. it seems like they dont have a voice. trash is all over the campus. this school sure needs a little make over. the cafeteria is always durty and the crew serve the food knowing that they would not even eat half of what the kids are being fed. How sad that for being a poor community this school is taken for granted.
—Submitted by a parent

I also went to Menlo Ave school and it was the teachers like Mrs Ima Jean Lawrence and others that made that school a wonderful place. She was the best and I loved her. She made learning a pleasure and we need more of those type of teachers that care about our future. Thanks to Mrs Lawrence and many others who made my life and learning time important to me. Ruth 1970ish

I graduated from Menlo in 1977. It was a great school because we had Teachers like Mr. Hansen who dedicated his all to the kids at Menlo. ALL the kids!!! We wanted a drum corp so Mr. Hansen used his own money to buy the drums and uniforms we needed. We wanted a safe place to swim so Mr. Hansen had a swimming pool built in his back yard for us. It was teachers like him and Mrs. Ima Jean Lawrence who made Menlo Ave a gr8 school. I have a special place in my heart for Menlo Ave and anyone who attended this wonderful school.

I went to this school from Pre-school to third grade! I thought it was okay! I am now a Sophmore in high school and live in Virginia. I remeber one day we were all outside in recess and all of a sudden we here the fire alarms and a minute later we were hearing cops and it was a car chase. We all ran inside and it was pretty scary. but overall its pretty awesome. Its a good school.

Well i went to this school in second grade.Yeah i loved it here but they had its ups and downs.Like when we went on break and came back the school will be covered in gang signs and different types of words.So if you were to bring your child to this school i prefer you watch your kid check up on them and just keep on eye on them,and make sure they don't say bad words because when i was there every single child would be saying bad words.The profanity there is so high i was amazed on how many kids said bad words.I am not saying DONT BRING YOUR KIDS HERE i am just saying make sure they are not followers but leaders of a good tribe or in this case friends with good kids.I am now in 5th grade and this is how i saw menlo

This is by far one of the worse schools ever. I had two children at this school from 2008- 2010 and the experience for my children and me was all bad. Parent involvement is not encouraged. Unexpected visits to check on your child...forget about it. It will not be permitted. There is zero communication with the parents unless it is for parent- teacher conference. To get a call from the school under any other circumstances your child must be extremely out- of- control and/or being sent home. There seem to be a common stereotype amongst the staff about inner- city families. Unfortunately, the area surrounding the school has a high level of gang and criminal activity. Yet, that does not mean that that negativity is an accurate depiction of everyone in the area.
—Submitted by a parent

i went to that school from kindergaten through 2nd grade in 2002 and then i moved to joliet,ill i really loved that school and i didn't want 2 leave i am now in the 8th grade at washington jr.high in jolet,ill and i say i had a great time at that school. and i think your kids will 2. people said it was a bad schoolbut that was only because they belived the steryiotypes that it was a bad school. and that is coming from a former student opinion
—Submitted by a student

My daughter has been going to menlo since pre-k. She loves that school so much. Until know she has learn a lot. She has had great teacher that take out the best in her. She loves to read. My experince in this school has been wonderful. I hopefully that it will stay this way until she grauduate. The only problem I have is with staff and how they run the school. They dont have to act to mean when a pareant approach them to ask for information. We as pareant need the help of the school staff. I will really want to see a change in this situation as a concern pareant.
—Submitted by a parent

I had a daughter that went to that school in the 3rd grade. And her experience there was not plesant at all. The teacher had no control of that classroom and most of students there were out of control especially with the language. They are lacking in books for the children and proper guidence in that school. I know the principal and his staff does their best at Menlo but its up to the parents to take part in their childs education as well as the school district and school board. To learn to handle serious situations in a timely manner and not wait unitl it gets out of hand. Overall it can be a great school if the parents and school officals can come together and agree on what to do to make Menlo a better place to be. Have a plan and stick with it no matter what.
—Submitted by Bridget Little, a parent

No Child Left Behind has a lot of catching up to do at Menlo Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, California where Separated and Unequal is the common practice.
—Submitted by a parent