New Traditions Elementary School

Principal was useless. Just absolutely no idea on how to successfully administer a school that should service and respond to a diverse, culturally-enriched student body.
—Submitted by a parent

We love this school! It's a warm, caring, compassionate learning environment. My child is thriving here. While this was not our first choice schools, we could not be happier.
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions is a wonderful school. My child couldn't be happier going there and is learning so much. The school community staff and parents are warm and welcoming and dedicated to improving the school.
—Submitted by a parent

We love this little school! I have a 2nd grader and a kindergartener at this school and I have only seen the school improve over the years I have been there. The parent community is warm and inviting. The principal is a rock star (principal of the year!) - she keeps our test scores rising while maintaining the arts enrichment throughout the curriculum. The school is truly diverse by languages, ethnicity and family composition. I love that it is small and that we all know each other - it's like a small town school in the big city. My kids look forward to going to school every day and adore their teachers. We couldn't be happier.
—Submitted by a parent

I couldn't be happier with this school for our daughter! She started in kindergarten last year and is now a first grader and LOVES going to school every day. The school is small and really inclusive of everyone. She knows children in all grades and there is a real sense of community within the school - students, parents, teachers. There is significant parent involvement and the faculty and principal are really dedicated and involved in the school community. The best part is the arts focus! Every WEEK, my daughter has music, drama and art classes and there is a variety of after-school programs for a fee (Spanish, chess, drama, ceramics, piano). Fantastic school!
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions Alternative Arts School has been a great school for our daughter and our family. Our daughter is thriving in her education, social skills and artistic expressions. Our family has found the school to be welcoming and appreciative of parent involvement. The teachers and administrators are dedicated to the school and the community. We love that the school is small but rich in socio-economic and racial diversity-- as well as inclusive of children with learning and physical disabilities. All of the children participate in visual and performing arts. There are exciting changes underway as the school is beginning a 'greening' process and turning part of its blacktop playground into garden areas. The school is located in a quiet neighborhood near Golden Gate Park, just north of the panhandle.
—Submitted by a parent

NT is a small friendly clean school with a strong arts focus. Everyone in the school knows our kid by name. Our kindergarten teacher is very dedicated. He has a very organized way for parents to volunteer and at least 4 parents volunteer once a week. We ve had many fieldtrips both thru the class and informally afterschool. We really like the art program, you'll notice that the art projects of all the kids are very good. (Which I take to mean they are really teaching) After school my kid is booked up with classes that she loves (Chess, Ceramics, Drama, Piano). Works out well too since I just need to pick her up an hour later. No one group is more than 1/3 of the school, so it has lots of diversity without having a dominate group. Most importantly my kid is excited to go to school every morning.
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions is a special place. Its small size (160 kids) and truly diverse population (one-third caucasion, one-third African-American, one-third Asian/Hispanic) make it unique in San Francisco. We love the late schedule; it starts at 9:30 which makes for relatively mellow mornings. It's full of interesting, artsy, progressive, engaged parents. The teachers are outstanding and because of the small size the teachers know most of the kids, not just the ones in their class. It makes for a very comfortable and warm environment. Art and music education are important to us and New Traditions has really delivered. My child is very happy and is doing great academically. So many places say this, but it truly is ' a hidden gem of a school.'
—Submitted by a parent

I really can't say enough great things about this school. My daughter is in 4th grade and we've moved around a lot, so this is her fourth school but she's doing great. She s very bright and creative and is flourishing here much more so than in the strict academic high-test score public school that she attended a couple of years ago. She is in GATE (the gifted program), studies drama, dance, violin and visual art, adores her teacher and her classmates, and is getting a solid academic education. The class sizes are small, the principal and teachers dedicated, and the parental and community involvement is the best I've seen. My only wish is that the school had more funding, but that can be said of any small public school in the city. I'd highly recommend New Traditions to anyone looking for a great community arts school for their child!
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions is a beautifully diverse school rich in different cultures and well traveled parents. It lives and breaths the old saying 'it takes a village' with it's community and hard working families, teachers and on site YMCA program. The principal has an open door policy to her office and works hand in hand with the PTA to support the school. The PTA is strong and passionate and funds a beautiful art program (which, by the way, has a kiln). You can find the San Francisco Ballet teaching within the walls of New Traditions as well as The Conservatory of Theater. This old school is equipped with two pianos and an amazing vintage stage that is used daily for arts education. The teachers are happy, knowledgeable and caring and go out of their way for their students and parents.
—Submitted by a parent

Both of my daughters attended New Traditions their entire K-5 years. They have both received an excellent education (and also scored very well) in a atmosphere that celebrates diversity and the arts. The principal is now working very well with the students and faculty after a difficult start. It is a small school and very diverse and that may not make it for everyone - but if you value involvement and community it is an excellent choice.
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions is a small school with a diverse student body and caring, supportive teachers and after-care staff. What makes it exceptional is the focus on arts in the curriculum. There is a strong core of dedicated parents who in addition to fund-raising for the arts also volunteer time in the school. It has a welcoming atmosphere.
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions is not in our neighborhood and we have never heard of it until we got our school assignment. We toured the school and decided it could work for our child. There were things that impressed us. It has an arts focus. Most of all, it's a small school with a 'small town' attitude. Everyone knows each other and watches out for one another. The staff is caring...all the younger grade teachers know our child. It's one major benefit of a small school. The PTA held 2 picnics and an orientation for incoming k students. By the first day of school, our child knew her teacher, spent time in the classroom, and made a few friends. We also got to know some of the parents prior to school starting. There is diversity...economic and racial. The principal and her teacher have always been available for individual conferences.
—Submitted by a parent

I ve read over the many ratings and was compelled to write a response. I am a young single mother and I chose New Traditions for my only little girl in 2000 because my cousin attended the school over fifteen years ago and is now an artist who travels the world. As a native Western Addition resident, I ve watched the school metamorphosed from a school housed in someone else s school into a marvelous microcosm of San Francisco. My daughter has spent her full k-5 experience at NT. I would not change a thing about her time, her education, and her wonderful friends. In third grade, she was identified as a GATE student and has discovered she gifts in scscreen writing and dance. I recently moved to the East Bay and fought hard to keep my daughter in the school. No, no school is perfect, but this one comes very close. I ve enjoyed the support of the parents and students, and yes from the staff.
—Submitted by a parent

New Traditions was actually 3rd choice on our lottery list, but a huge disappointment. The principal has problems with follow through. Chaos reigns supreme at this school. The teacher quality is very, very spotty - some are great, ours was really, really bad. I was lucky to get a transfer to another school, and now keep asking our new teacher, 'am I on another planet? Is this a dream?' The experience from one school to the other is like night and day.
—Submitted by a parent

The problem, as I can understand it, is the principal. She encourages negative reinforcement rather than problem solving. After school, parent involvement, though, are great!
—Submitted by a parent

Well first off I thought that the academic programs at this school was fairly ok for my child's learning development. My children did enjoy some of the extracurricular activities it had to offer but was very costly for something that's only once a week... However I wasn't too pleased with some of the staff at this school. I thought they were highly unprofessional and a bit snooty.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has 40% low-income students, but the problems of low-income children and parents are ignored. It is run as if it were a private school, or a school in an upper-middle class suburb. Some great teachers; at least one snippy and judgemental. Extra-curricular activities are very expensive. Principal's attitude about discipline is more the 'You're bad' type than the 'You've done something wrong and we need to correct it' type. Continual emphasis on donating money discourages low-income parents from participating, when they might otherwise be willing to volunteer time. There's strong involvement on the part of a small group of white-collar parents, but some of their attitudes also effectively discourage participation from low-income parents. It's a nice, clean, safe school for non-minority, middle-class children.
—Submitted by a parent

I believe New Traditions is one of the best schools here in San Francisco. They have an excellent academic program and the teachers are very helpful and they spend time with their students.
—Submitted by Jessica Campbell, a parent

New Traditions is great! They have a creative arts focus, incorporating the arts into the classroom curriculum. The arts consultant works with all the teachers to enhance the students' classroom experience, as well as teaching the arts break-out sessions in the custom retrofitted arts bungalow. The school is small, which fosters lots of interaction within the very diverse school community. The principal knows every student by name, and most of the teachers know all of the kids, not just the ones in their own class. There is a state of the art computer lab, funded annually by a foundation grant, with a computer consultant who works with all grades. Plus, there is an on-site YMCA before and after care program, great library, loads of afterschool enrichment programs, etc. etc. Our son loves it, and is thriving, both socially and academically. Check it out!
—Submitted by a parent