Frank L. Huff Elementary School

Up through 3rd grade, we had a great experience. But whatever you do, stay away from Melvin in 3rd grade. Plays nice with parents but yells, bullys, and screams at students. Principal is too weak to make a change, but she's headed to Menlo Park, which is for the better. Great school, but they teach to the highs and lows of the class, which means that if your student is in the middle of the pack, you're stuck.
--Submitted by a parent

I totally agree that the kinder teachers are excellent. My daughter is attending kindergarten room3. Her teacher is patient, caring and willing to go extra mile to help students. I can see my girl growing up everyday.
--Submitted by a parent

School struggles to offer differentiated learning opprotunities to its higher level GATE students who represent a reasonable % of the school s population. Budget for GATE funding provides for a once a week after school club with non-academic activities. Teachers struggle to offer differentiated learning opportunities for advanced learners while also meeting the demands of districts misadventure in Continuous Improvement (CI) with its myopic emphasis on drills to pass NCLB and State testing. The school should consider other approaches including targeted middle school style class rotations starting in grade 2 that would allow teachers to offer targeted intervention at the right level for each student allowing teachers the ability to focus. If the many parent volunteers took a break, the school would have serious challenges.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school. Parent and community involvement is exceptional, and Huff is doing a great job of navigating the current economic difficulties.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter went to Huff for Kindergarten. Her teacher Mrs. Lopez is great. She was having some problems at the beginning of the school year and Mrs Lopez gave us some material to take home to help her out. Everyone in the school is very friendly and it's in a great community.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is studying at huff, it is a great school, all the kinder teachers are great, our son had Ms Martincic, she is a wonderful teacher. She went out of her way to help our son in class and outside of the class. The parent community is great. Many parents volunteered in class. It was good for students to have that extra parent involvement in class. My son learnt a lot in his one year at Huff!!
--Submitted by a parent

Huff is a solid school, better than most, a bit in the shadow of the better financed Los Altos schools (at least perception-wise) but with very motivated parents, which makes a big difference. My child is in the early years, but I am hearing that there's not much available for kids who excel and that classrooms tend to get bogged down by lesser performing children. This is a common them in public schools, but one that needs to be addressed, else parents like me (and others), will take their kids elsewhere. It's a safe and nurturing environment, though, and that's the most important thing.
--Submitted by a parent

We've been at Huff for 9 years and find it a very nuturing place where children from 23 countries mix freely in a safe and fun environment that promotes learning. Their annual Science night, Hawkfest, Winter festival, Music programs, Chess club, Garden center, Talent contest are examples of the vast array of parent-supported programs for all to enjoy. The principal and staff work very collaboratively with students and parents to find the right level of intervention for each child. Great place to be!
--Submitted by a parent

We have been at Huff for 4 years now. We love the community. Parents are very involved and take pride in our school. This year, we have a new principal. He seems to be doing a good job. The previous principal had a long track record and we easier to comment on his level of competence and the excellent guidance that he provided to students, teachers and parents.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is ok but not as good as oak elementary. Wish they had more challenging programs for kids.
--Submitted by a parent