Hubert H. Bancroft Elementary School

This school is the best Elementary school my kids have ever attended in California. The Principal is amazing! He cares about the students, teachers, and parents. I know my children are safe and receiving a great education when they are there. There are a couple of teachers that should retire because they have been teaching too long and are cranky and impatient. However, there aren't many. I would highly recommend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

It's been a while since we moved from Sac. and my son still misses this school. Ms. Cohen is an excellent teacher. Tha staff it's great and the P.E. class also helped my child a lot, we never are going to forget Ricky her dog he used to help in the P.E. class. I recommend it.
—Submitted by FLOR CHAVEZ, a parent

My son attended Bancroft for Kindergarten and I enjoyed the program very much. The teachers were very supportive of the students as well as the parents. There was a teacher at my son's baseball game. I am s single Mom and many times homework and volunteering can be overwhelming, but I definitely felt supported and encouraged to do what I could by staff and other parents at Bancroft. There is a good balance of education and self value so that all children feel appreciated and accomplished. I enjoyed the atmosphere and will be re-enrolling my son into this school. I have now realized that there is more to school than soley academics. Bancroft allowed us a healthy balance of education and self development/motivation.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is starting 1st grade and this will be her second year at the school. I love the school and the kindergarten program was great!
—Submitted by a parent

My son is finishing up 1st grade (2nd year at Bancroft). The school is ok. My son needs structure and a little extra help (elements of ADD). The teachers won't help. I have requested help over numerous times but get denied. I am a squeaky wheel and will continue until my son gets the help he deserves. I agree with a previous rating which noted the 'urgency' of the school isn't up to par. The staff seems to be nice and is readily available. There is a lot of parent involvement - too much. Too many chiefs - the school has it's fair share of 'drama parents'. The school setting is good as well as location. Parking is never an issue. Class size is about right if not a tad bit smaller.
—Submitted by a parent

Bancroft has a strong committment to a child's experience in elementary school, not just to their test scores. I can't emphasize that enough! Bancroft seems to strive for a balance in education, arts, science, community and parent involvement, and last but not least...they want the kids to have fun! I had my 2 children in a '10' school and they were miserable! Sure there are things that could be better but Bancroft seems to do more things right than wrong, and for that I'm thankful to have a few more years here.
—Submitted by a parent

Good school for K-4. A lot of extras during the day including science, music and art and a great talent show and other after school stuff. I wish the band program had continued after school too. A lot of parent participation.
—Submitted by a parent

Attending Bancroft has been a positive experience for my daughter. There a a lot of opportunities for extracurricular activities such as choir, nature bowl and talent show. She has been able to extend beyond the typical school activities and has enjoyes it very much. The level of parent involvement is very high. I believe this contributes to the success of the school.
—Submitted by a parent

There is a high level of parent involvement in the school. The principals and teachers appear very visible and accessible to the children and parents- you can sense the dedication that each teacher has for the children.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a second grader and a kindergartener at Bancroft. They are two very different children with unique learning sytles and personalities but they both are excelling in this setting. The teachers are responsive, caring, hands-on and really children-centered in their educational approach. The principal is highly visible, knows each of the children (and most of the parents!) by name and is always available to students and parents alike. There are many extra-curricular activities that are offered to the students from choir group to the well known annual talent show. They are regular school socials such as family dances, fundraiser nights in the community, and even a movie night or two complete with popcorn. Both my children visit the school library weekly, my second grader has science (with a seperate science teacher) weekly and my kindergartener uses computers 4 times a week. The PTA is very active and I always feel comforable on campus.
—Submitted by Elizabeth, a parent

The level of parental involvement is very high at this school - parents volunteer in the classroom, in the office, at coordinate fundraisers throughout the year. There is so much commaradarie here with the full-time participating parents, that working parents are frowned upon for not taking time off work to have a more active a role in school. I find many of the active parents to be clickish. There is an annual musical performance that is the talk of the neighborhood - it's packed like a Sacramento Kings final playoff game. There is alot of time and money put into the musicals - the kids are addicted to being a part of the yearly program. The academic programs are top rate - they litterally believe that no child can be left behind. If your child does not score an 80% or above, tutors are assigned. The school will flunk your kids.
—Submitted by a parent

Bancroft is a great school, with a very approachable principal who cares and is involved with the kids. The parent participation is fantastic and welcomed by the staff at the school. I am especially impressed with the PE program, as are my kids who love the teacher. This school has an overall good atmosphere promoting learning and fun.
—Submitted by a parent

Great family oriented school. Parent participation is awesome! Teachers are wonderful. Principal is very down- to- earth and reachable. Located in a great neighborhood!
—Submitted by a parent

Great school, loads of parent involvement, great teachers, very sorry when we had to move- the new school doesn't compare!
—Submitted by a parent

My child had a good experience at this school. Class size was small, so he receieved alot of one on one attention. Principal stresses the overall development and learning of a child rather than focusing on tests scores. A few extracurricular activities were offered. I would have liked to see more. Parent involvement was average.
—Submitted by a parent

There are definate pros and cins to this school. The teachers are wonderful and experienced. The school has arts programs which I feel is crucial to a childs devlopment and many schools do not acknowledge this. We have a strong parent involvement here, this is great as well. The down side is that there has been a serious decline in this last year of schoold violence, children bullied. When addressed to the principal, it seems it is not getting better. He is a very nice and kind person to the kids, but has no sence of urgency when dealing with very dangerous issues. I no longer feel my child is safe here, very sad since this was a great school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been extremely pleased with the level of parent involvement at this school. The staff encourages parents to use their talents and skills to enhance the childrens' educational experience. There are many extracurricular activities not found at many other public schools: a yearly talent show, Spanish, music, Science, Scouts, 6th grade plays, carnival, Ice Cream social, dances....I am sure I am forgetting something. The student body is small at the time of this review, so the teacher to child ratio is very good. That doesn't mean it can't change in the future, however. This school uses Saxon Math (which maybe all the schools in the Sac Unified do, I don't know) and it has been a wonderful tool for my child to learn math. She is learning and understanding math so well that I feel soon I will not be able to help her---she'll know more than I do.
—Submitted by a parent

My child has attended this school for a few years now and there are many great things they offer. They have arts. which the last school did not have. I have seen a decline in student behavior and principle abilty to deal promptly and seriously to problems that arise. There has been an increase in school bullying. Children were beat up on one occasions while yard duties talked to each other and did not catch this without children getting them. It was a wonderful school, but I do feel that the children are not as safe as they could be and that the teachers and staff have dealt with these things a little too late. I am very unimpressed. I have never had problems with this until this year. The principal is very kind with the kids, just not very good at being a principal.
—Submitted by a parent

I think Bancroft is an excellent elementary school. It's biggest attraction to me is the high level of positive parent involvement. It helps the students, significantly adds to the quality of the schools programs, and keeps the administration and teachers on their toes. (The quality of the teaching staff is quite good.) From a parent's perspective, being involved also gives me a network of friends and colleagues that makes the whole K-6 experience more meaningful and fulfilling.
—Submitted by a parent