Palmquist Elementary School

Classes are over filled, the teachers (at least the one my son has) don't give that one on one time he needs. He went from an amazing school and excelled, to this one where he has not learned one thing! If you can put your kids in another school I would very much recommend it!
--Submitted by a parent

Palmquist is a wonderful school and community environment! I am a very involved parent and have noticed that there are so many other parents who take the time to get involved too! My kids have had so many great experiences and I love all the teachers and other staff there! Kudos to them for all their achievements last school year! Keep it up Palmquist!
--Submitted by a parent

I just want to say that I am VERY UNHAPPY with this school! I love the principal, but my daughters teacher is a JOKE!! I can not count the number of times that I have been in her classroom and she has yelled at the students to the point where I have seen 3 students beging to cry! She is a bully and rude and she has NO BUSINESS teaching at that school!! That is the only reason I'm giving this school a bad rating. After compaints to the principal there has been no action taken against the teacher. The teacher in question has made the comments to several parents about wishing they would allow them to have alcohol on campus. And while that may have been a joke, I don't find it funny. The teacher has a very bad habbit of just leaving the classroom with out having anyone in the class to watch the children and she answers her cellphone during lessons with the kids!
--Submitted by a parent

There has not been a review in a while? The school has been through a lot of change. The focus is so much more consistant. The principal, teachers, and parents are on a pathway to creating something great... Stay tuned!
--Submitted by a parent

Palmquist has been a great school for my children. Palmquist had a principal change last year which with that lots of changes have been made through out the school. Sometimes change is good but not for everything!! I believe the new principal does waste time in the morning by doing the outside get together assembly for about 15 minutes then the other kids or just 5th graders have to run around a few laps. I thought it was outragous honestly, I believe that maybe once a week hold that but on a daily basis come on!! Other than this whole new principal change it has been a great place for my children to learn. We really miss the old teachers who had been teaching here for many many years they left with the old principal and that was sad to see since I was an old student as well.
--Submitted by a parent

Wow! What a great year! Palmquist is such a neighborhood school...the families are incredible! It is so nice to be involved in a school where the teachers care as much as the parents and are willing to go above and beyond to help the students be all that they can be. I think a lot of people were scared about the new principal, but there have been so many great improvements internally, and with the construction of the new buildings, it will just continue to get better every year. Congrats to those families that have 'stuck it out' and have been able to have their children reap the benefits!
--Submitted by a parent

Palmquist is turning out to be a surprisingly nice school. We have moved to oceanside from del mar 6 years ago and were quite concerned with rates and general comments about oceanside school's performance. Our 6 years old daughter loves her kinder class and our 4 year old is looking forward to start kinder. The school needs a lot of improvement, facility wise. There are great groups of committed parents working with the new principal and make it happen.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has been in Palmquist since kindergarten. Academics at Palmquist have always been less than challenging, and, when asked for higher education for him, the standard answer is, 'just wait for the rest of the kids to catch up.' Nonsense. It is fortunate, however, that due to the much needed faculty change, most of the former teachers are gone. There is one left, however, that needs to go as she is completely inadequate to learning. Most fortunately is one teacher who is now gone, as he had no business being around children. On more than one occasion I had witnessed improper behaviour between he and his female students. Letters were written to the district, to no avail. It is not just the school, it is the district who should be held accountable for inadequacies. Educate your own children, don't leave it up to the public school system.
--Submitted by a parent

I am very disappointed in the quality of the education my son received this year, so much so I am transferring him back.My son was being taught what he learned the year before at another school. I was also alarmed to learn of the bullying that occurs on the playground. I've called to complain but saw no results. I'm glad I'm getting him out.
--Submitted by LJ, a parent

Most teachers seem solid and dedicated. The curriculum is adequate. Facilities are old but functional. Previous weak principal was 'teach-to-the-test-only' focussed, and arts suffered somewhat. The big problem is the playground culture of violence/bullying, which, despite numerous complaints by many parents, is ignored or downplayed. Common sense says that 500+ students with 2 playground monitors(up from just 1 last year) during recess and lunch is inadequate. Being unsupervised, the bullies have mastered their intimidation routines. Waiting until monitors are focussed elsewhere, and then ganging-up on one kid happens daily. 1st Graders armed with plastic knives is not uncommon. With time, new leadership may rectify this, assuming a dedicated approach, but we're not willing to wait for possible improvements. It's not worth subjecting our child to more 'junior-gangster' behaviour. We're going elsewhere.
--Submitted by a parent