Marquez Avenue Elementary School

Our family moved to the Palisades because of the public school's reputation. Successful fundraising is one of the main reasons Marquez can offer so much more than your average public school and we are grateful to all of the parents and families who work so hard to make the school as good as it can be. Being able to walk to school and go to birthday parties and play dates with our neighbors is a blessing. Our complaints have been with the principal and an appalling lack of leadership. There is a fundamental cultural shift that needs to happen on campus, from the front office to the TA's. Since the 2-years-new principal has been in office, there has been no overarching vision or sense of a moral code. Parents' concerns are routinely brushed aside. Small problems become big problems unnecessarily. But our experience with the families and the community have been wonderful.
—Submitted by a parent

To those few (or one) below who griped about fundraising, get a grip and pay your fair share! Most Maqrquez families are hard-working and not wealthy, and we make sizeable donations to the school when asked because we appreciate that our children attend a great public elementary school with wildly substandard public funding. WIthout supplemental funding from parents, our school would not be able to provide science classes, "media lounge", PE, gardening, music, smaller class size, teachers' assistents, and many other amazing opportunities that enrich our children's experience. Those few of you who do not pay your fair share of family donations are free-riders and should be ashamed! Unlike the unhappy reviewer(s) below, I have only had positive experiences with teachers and other parents. But maybe that's because I am not a free-rider who tries to avoid making any contribution to the community. If you want to be part of an active community of caring, engaged parents, Marquez is a great school. If you want no responsibility beyond letting your child in and out of your car at the curb, then Marquez may not be the school for you.
—Submitted by a parent

If your child's teacher doesn't like your for any reason, watch out. This happened to us as well as some of the other parents that I knew when my child attended Marquez. The teacher will take it out on your child by grading them wrong, marking their attendance wrong, covert bullying, among other tactics. Marquez has great ideas, the implementation of said ideas is ridiculous. They have student plays during school hours & if you can't attend you are made to feel guilty & frowned upon. If you are a single parent, beware, some teachers, not all, but if you get that 1 or few that look down upon single parents watch out. Your year will be complete hell & regardless of your own education level you will be spoken down to & treated like a lowerclass outsider. The ONLY redeeming value is that some parents are aware of all of the issues & literally go to school with their child to keep an eye on things, if your child is friends with that child then you have a parent looking out a little for your kid if you can't be there. A parent shouldn't have to do this. They do not prep the kids for the real world. Kids are in a bubble. None of the kids that I know who go there will be ready for JR high.
—Submitted by a parent

The only thing this school cares about is the API scores, $ for attendance, fundraising, and keeping their property value high and the school & neighborhood not ethnically diverse.
—Submitted by a parent

From the moment you enroll your child in Marquez to the moment you leave Marquez you will be bullied by their fundraising organization. They expect you to put your name & a dollar amount each year on a form. This information goes into their database. The fundraisers never end, even if you tell them it's not in your budget. If you do not donate you will get harassing emails from people in the organization demanding just 1 dollar, how about they donate a $1 in the name of the student who's parent's can't afford to give because not everyone is a stay at home parent with alimony/rich husband/or rich by birth. There is too much pressure throughout the year & future years, as the parent bullying about $$ doesn't stop on the less financially well off parents to donate $$ when they can't.While there are computers in the classroom many teachers don't know how to use them.
—Submitted by a parent

People rate well because they value their property$ & Classism. Marquez is lacking. Some teachers expect children to be in class even if they are contagious & sick. Children are afraid to tell the teacher they are ill because they don't want teacher to yell at them or be vicious. Some teachers will threaten to hold your child back due to "to many illness related absences" even if you have doctors note & your child isn't behind. They can't legally do this but they will threaten. If they let the kids stay home instead of spreading flu/cold/etc other kids wouldn't get sick so often. The monthly projects are ridiculous. The homework load is out of control. Favoritism & class-ism is common. If you donate $ you get to pic your teacher. I have to re-teaching my child what was supposedly learned that day at school & my child isn't special needs. Some of the teachers just don't teach, they send homework home & expect you to teach it. Oftentimes homework was sent back graded wrong giving the equivalent of a C when it should have been the a B+. Drop off/Pick up is terrible. People who donate $$ park in the pickup zone & get away with it. All they care about are test scores & $ for attendance.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school in a great community with an ocean view for my kids right from the playground. Being a public school, there have been many challenges with the budget and yet the community has worked together to donate money to the school to maintain enrichment programs - arts, science, music, PE, a media lounge (more than just a library) and small class sizes (no class currently has more than 25 kids). When I was a kid we took a lot of those classes as a 'given' at school but not now. The teachers are well educated (a few are even ex-lawyers) and the parent volunteers help make it a community. The Principal is new but my kids adore her and respect her. When she disciplines them, they listen. Her positive attitude with the kids is 'don't say what we don't want but instead say what we do want - such as "thank you for walking" instead of "don't run". She's definitely focused on the children. She's great. The school comes across as a private school and yet it's a public school. I say this because of the programs and the education my kids are getting.
—Submitted by a parent

I currently have two kids at Marquez, and have been an involved parent for the last 9 years. Our current Principal has been with us for approximately 15 months. During her short tenure at our very large public school, she has done an excellent job of focusing on the top priority items for our students. She has built up an excellent relationship with the students, in her kind and dynamic manner. She demonstrated excellent listening and communication skills to resolve the budget problems for this fiscal year, resulting in our smaller class sizes. While she is still learning how to manage the myriad of issues that come to her, I think she has handled the high priority issues that impact our students very well. Over the last 9 years, there have always been differences in opinion about how well a Principal prioritizes certain issues raised by parents. It's healthy to discuss these issues openly at school, but the fact that a concern remains unresolved does not necessarily mean the Principal is ineffective. Personally, I have great confidence in our Principal, and predict that she will have a great future at Marquez, with parental support.
—Submitted by a parent

Teachers are excellent, especially with the smaller class sizes they have more insight and can draw out more from your child. The Principal is ineffective, unapproachable and out of touch. Maybe she'll get it in a few years as the Friends of Marquez will never let her go. Volunteering in classrooms as a parent is great but in the greater sense it is hard to get anything done in public school and quite frustrating, catty and unfulfilling. Volunteer in your church or your particular cause.
—Submitted by a parent

Marquez is a fantastic school. We have had wonderful teachers who care about and love the kids. My son LOVES his first grade teacher Mrs. Lew! We are strong supporters! Great community of people too!
—Submitted by a parent

My kid went here from k-5....love this school!Too bad Paul Revere Middle School is not as great:)
—Submitted by a parent

Marquez is an amazing school. The use of technology is 1st rate. Their STAR after school program is awesome. Your child can choose from so many different activities with really knowledgeable instructors.
—Submitted by a parent

Marquez is an excellent choice as a school. The Principal is very effective and will listen to your point of view. The computer program is 1st class. The teachers are caring. The after school program - STAR, offers every class you could think of. My child was in the theater class and the end of the year production was fabulous. My child is always happy to go to school and never wants to leave because of all the great classes after school.
—Submitted by a parent

We transfered into this Marquez when my older son (now an honors 7th grade student getting straight A's at Paul Revere) was in 1st grade. In his years at Marquez, we were never disappointed with any of his teachers, if anything, we always felt that he ended up with the teacher each year that could supply him with the tools he would need to excel the following year. He absolutely, loved 5th grade and in our opinion, the teachers did an incredible job in preparing him for the jump to Middle School. He went on to have a great 6th grade experience and is continuing on this track in 7th grade. His younger brother, now in 1st grade, is following in his footsteps. He enjoys school as much as his older brother and although he is a different type of student, he is also doing well! Our experience with the teachers and faculty has always been excellent and we love the principle Mr. Hollis! Any "small" issues, which have been purely social, have always been quickly resolved in a very thoughtful manner once brought to the attention of the faculty. An all around great school which I am happy to drive my kids to each weekday!!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This is an incredible school with an amazing staff of caring and creative teachers. I can't say enough about all the wonderful programs and teachers they offer. LOVE principle Phil Hollis!!!
—Submitted by a parent

The parent reviews here reflect their personal agenda based partly on real estate values and in keeping them high. The main drawback at this school for many families is that it actually has no accommodations for higher level kids. It teaches to one level and keeps the high achievers at medium pace resulting is frustration and boredom. The teachers are extremely resistant to any suggestions for improvement. Also in fifth grade the plays, produced by one teacher, occupy much time and involve all kids weather they have a part or not. Their time could be much better used by engaging in more progressive activities such as science projects of art work. Unfortunately they have no choice.
—Submitted by a parent

Terrible and heart-breaking. It is shocking that such a beautiful school can be ruined by uncaring, unprofessional teachers and staff. Their API is a 10, but only a 3 compared to similar schools, probably due to the lackluster teachers. There are major differences in teacher quality and parents cannot request teachers (probably because some of the teachers would never be requested). Our child had two part-time teachers - and they seemed overburdened by even working that much. We never knew which teacher would be there on a given day. At the end of the year they were 'too busy' to have parent-teacher conferences. The senior teacher acted as though her job was a burden and would yell at the kids. There was absolutely no dedication to teaching or preparing classrooms - at 3:30, the staff parking lot was always near empty. The only redeeming quality was the after school STAR program.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful, caring teachers and a great administrative office. Love the families!!!
—Submitted by a parent

we have the best principal, teachers & staff, good comunication between them and parents is why marquez api is the highest ever...
—Submitted by a parent

We love Marquez because of it's wonderful and caring teachers and staff and let's not forget about the ocean view the kids see everyday they play outside!
—Submitted by a parent