Lake Mathews Elementary School

I was torn about which school to send my son for his first year of kindergarden. After sitting down in an impromptu meeting with the principal our minds were easily made. The communication between staff, principal, teachers and parents is great. We all are very happy with lake mathews elementary.
—Submitted by a parent

Lake Mathews is a great school.they have great teachers and have a amazing principle. I have one child going their and one left to middle school. I'm glad that my children went to such and amazing school.
—Submitted by a parent

This school does have GREAT test scores. I have seen a teacher not agree with a state mandated test question and give it correct with out it being correct. This school is like a Public Military. Kids are not allowed to talk during lunch time. Although all the employees claim the kids can talk during lunch if you ask any kid they will say no and if they do they will be benched. They can't play tag or chase during recess because someone may scrape a knee or bump heads. My daughter gets her behavior clip moved down if she wants to go to the restroom. Kindergarten kids have to go sit on the lunch benches and wait till the bell rings.
—Submitted by a parent

Lake Mathews is a great school. I have 3 children that attended the school for the past 5 years & still do.Trhough the years I encountered many teachers . I was very happy with most of them. Once in a while I wasn't very excited about a particular teacher's methods but overall the school is doing great. The API has been going up about 10 to 15 points every year. One of my children scored a perfect 600 on CST math test twice in a row. That child is going to middle school now and didn't score that well last year which upset me. I am very happy with the principal. One of the most devoted principal I have seen.
—Submitted by a parent

Lake Mathews is a great school. Many of the negative comments are coming from parents that are more than likely not present at the PTA meetings to voice their opinions for improvement. My children previously attended private schools and the work is just as challenging. The kids will be more involved, when the parent is involved (volunteering and field trip participation). May I suggest a Chorus program. Go Bobcats!
—Submitted by a parent

Transferred from Harrison Elementary which, while less culturally diverse is a much better school. Our teacher is lazy, giving only about 3 homework sheets per week and my normally advanced child is falling behind. Lack of playground supervisors puts recess at jeopardy daily. Very disappointed.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is great! The more involved you are in the school, classroom, etc. the better your student will do. We also must remember that we are our childrens best teachers!
—Submitted by a parent

I am very happy with Lake Mathews, teachers, principal & staff are very involved with the school and the students, however, they need to focus on extra curricular activities of the students, they do not have those, except the band. I hope that the Principal's office can think of something new to make this school more successful. The API went up this year and that is a good sign that Students are great. Keep it up!
—Submitted by a parent

I am not happy with this school! Our children came from a local private school where the academic programs were stronger. The leadership of the school staff is strongly lacking! The Principal demonstrates a complete inability to enforce the rules and has not been able to promote discipline. The facilities are new and the classrooms are very well set up with advanced audio and visual equipment. There is no strong G.A.T.E. program to help advance gifted students and no extra curricular programs of any value (outside of Band which is great). Outside volunteer organizations (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) provide the majority of the extra curricular activities. If I could afford the cost, both of my children would return to the private education system!
—Submitted by a parent

My children went from private school to Lake Mathews and we love it! The curriculum is more challenging. The principal, teachers, and parents are very involved at every level. My son enjoys their band program, and my daughther loves their Girl Scout program. The only thing that could use improvement would be the class sizes and more programs.
—Submitted by a parent

Although this is one of the better elementary schools in the district, that does not say much. It's new, which is nice.
—Submitted by a parent

Great campus, however a lot of inexperienced teachers. Not very many school activities, no 6th grade science camp, not a lot of fun things for the students. Lacking in a very good G.A.T.E. program. You really have to stay on top of your childs education. It was much stronger when it was under the leadership of the previous principal.
—Submitted by a parent

Beautiful school in really nice area. This school lacks pride. My child is a great student, but isn't excited about going to school. Most of the teachers are wonderful, but I truely feel the teachers are'nt happy with school leadership.
—Submitted by a parent

The school has been great for my children. We have found the teachers attentive and caring. The level of parent involvement is high. My one complaint is the lack of extracurricular activities.
—Submitted by a parent

What a wonderful school with amazing academic programs! The teachers are highly qualified and the best around! I would trust my children with no other school!
—Submitted by a teacher

My son learned beyond his grade level. It's a new school and still needs to develop some more programs. There is a great level of parental involvement.
—Submitted by a parent

I am the mother of two Lake Mathews students and I believe that the school is excellent. I believe that the curriculum is challenging and creative. I have had a wonderful experience with all four of the teachers that my childeren had. They are very responsive to parent/student needs. There is also excellent parenatal support and involvement. As a former public school teacher and a current high school counselor I can assure you that Lake Mathews is a quality school.
—Submitted by a parent

Lake Mathews is a public school. We have a very large campus, and large play areas for the kids. The PTA is very involved. There are many parent volunteers. Our principal, Pam Williams, is very dedicated and really cares about the kids. My daughters' teachers are both great this year, but are not able to be very creative due to the strict district curriculum which dictates how and in particular form that they teach every concept. The library is new and growing. The bus service makes attendance very convenient, but they are not very timely in regards to pick-up and drop-off times, varying up to 10 minutes before or after scheduled times. The cafeteria is good. The office personnel are very professional and efficient and work well with the kids and parents.
—Submitted by Francie Chase, a parent