Pasadena Avenue Elementary School

Let me start off by saying the school itself is not bad. The teachers are great! The problem I have with this school is the bullying and supervision of students when they are out at the lunch recess. This school has a problem with bullying and the principal would rather be a friend then an administrator. She tells the parents what she thinks they want to hear to avoid confrontation. During the lunch recess the teachers are on there breaks so they have yard duty people (parents they pay to watch the kids) who are watching K-2nd grades (5 classes with an average of 32 kids in each) and there are only three adults out there. This leads to kids being bullied and also kids getting hurt almost on a daily basis. The kids that are the aggressors are never punished the way they should be. They either have a recess taken away or are told to not do it again and sent back to class.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughters have been at Pasadena since Kindergarten and absolutely love this school. It is a small school tucked away in a residential neighborhood, but definitely has a country feel. The teachers are all friendly and supportive, the principal even opens your car door for you as you drop your children off in the morning ;-) There is plenty of opportunity to volunteer inside the classroom as well as field trips, family nights, after-school choir, Early Engineers and a yearly Harvest Festival. I've read previous reviews about children being "bussed" into the school...I, myself, live in the neighborhood and feel proud to send my children to this school. The test scores improve every year and have even been one of the top in the district in recent years. Go Pasadena Panthers!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This is our first year at this school. My children and I love this school. We were overloaded to Pasadena from a nearby school at the beginning of the year. At first I was apprehensive about my children attending a new school, however once I went to the school and met the principal (who is VERY accessible) as well as the teachers and office staff I fell in love, I immediately felt at home and comfortable. We came from a large and over-crowded school that was extremely disorganized with very little parent involvment to this great smaller P-5 school where there is huge parent involvement. This school is like a family. The teachers are AMAZING. I have met them all as I am often at the school helping out and they are so committed to the children and super approachable. They have an awesome program called Writer's Workshop that ecourages the children to write and be creative. My kindergartener has grown so much in his writing. They have an Art Docent program that exposes the children to wonderful works of art and allows them to do a variety of art projects pertaining to the art shown. They have a music program and a Early Engineering program.We are blessed to be a part of this school.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at Pasadena for four years now and love it. We love that it is a small, neighborhood school where we know everyone. The teachers and staff are wonderful, friendly, and helpful. The new principal is a lovely and welcome addition to the school. Our kids just joined the afteschool program offered, Early Engineers, and not only do they love it, but they are learning and getting to be creative. This program goes right along with the school's STEMs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focus and is a wonderful addition to the school. One of the focuses in the classroom is the Writer's Notebook and it has been wonderful to watch both of our children go from not liking to write at all to writing stories and carrying a notebook around all the time so they can write whenever they feel like it. While our children are not involved with this particular program, I do know the school has a after school choir program as well. I would recommend this school to anyone looking for a nice, caring, small, local school where everyone is important.
—Submitted by a parent

WARNING! Despite being located in a nice, middle class area where parents will struggle, pinch-pennies, and work overtime to live in for the sole purpose of sending their kid to a school where the risk of a lousy peer group is minimal, this school has voted against that in favor of busing kids in from lousy neighborhoods to ensure a drop in classroom scores and in increase of belligerent, ignorant behavior, ruining a potentially decent school. Way to go!
—Submitted by a parent

Sadly, this school deserves no stars. Good teachers are hit and miss - probably 1 percent of the teachers really care about the individual students. Yesterday, a child was told by an older 6th grade male teacher that "no one wants you here." He should know that in that one sentence, he just wiped out hours of counseling that the child and his father have been vigorously attending. Those few words have destroyed that work and this child's self-esteem. The teacher has no clue what the child has to deal with abandonment by the mother and many other issues regarding her. SHAME ON HIM. He parades around the school in his shorts like the pied piper of pasadena with all the little girls following him. Unless your child is perfect, this is not the school for you.

Pasadena Ave Elementary has WONDERFUL: teachers and a great academic program. The campus is very nice and the classrooms are spacious. This school is, however, pretty chaotic and the staff does not have the upper hand over the students. The principal often does not take appropriate measures in disciplining bad behavior and lets problems like bullying and physical altercations go without being addressed properly.In my experience, and the experience of my children, the office staff is uninviting and even rude at times.. All in all, academically, this is a wonderful school. Socially, it is a very impersonal environment where individual emotional needs of students are not met.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been at this school for the last 2 yr and he love it there and my other son will starting there soon as well we like it there
—Submitted by a parent

This school is a hidden treasure. The test scores are always rising. The parents are always friendly. Feels like a home away from home. I know my children are learning and are happy, so am I.
—Submitted by a parent

I absolutely love this school. I have had 8 (yes, you read that right) children enrolled there through the years. I was welcomed with open arms even before we enrolled. I was encouraged to participate on site councils every year and my opinion as a parent on where funds are placed is valued. My children feel safe and have wonderfull connections with their teachers. You cant ask for a better teaching staff!
—Submitted by a parent

Our son has attended Pasadena for the past 2 years and we have been quite happy with the education he has received there. In our experience the teachers have been wonderful. They seem to be fully invested in their students education and welfare.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is clearly suffering from a lack of funding due to the declining enrollment in the district. One area in which this is most notable is in the area of educational technology. The computers are sadly out of date. The teacher population is clearly aging. While some of them show excellent expertise from their years of experience, there are several others who show clear burn out. The academics your child receives here depend on the teacher and classroom.
—Submitted by a parent

The preschool is good. I think the location helps the school be less busy than others close by.
—Submitted by a parent

Pasadena is an overflow school. They bus kids in from all over the district. There is very little parent invlovement. The teachers, although with good intentions are just too overwhelmed to take any extra time for the students. My child entered Kindergarten with only one other boy in his class. When I mentioned that I wanted to be involved, they were shocked and pleased at the same time.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been at Pasadena since K and is now in 2nd grade. The more cuts they make in the public schools, the more my son gets lost in the shuffle. Now they are shortening the school hours next year? How much more can they cut, before they notice they are harming children's education?
—Submitted by a parent

My oldest son has gone to Pasadena for 5years, my youngest has been there for 3years. I would never think about changing schools. The Teachers at Pasadena make the school the best in the nation in my book. Thank you to all the Teachers at Pasadena for all your hard work & commitment to helping the students succeed.
—Submitted by a parent