Sherman Elementary School

The young and inexperienced principal certainly has brought the school down. She has an unbelievable dictatorial nature. She often violates the SFUSD's guidelines and no one seems able to curb her. Maybe someone in the administration will wake up and see that her abuses are hurting the school and certainly irritating a large number of parents/taxpayers. I pity the teachers who have to work under her rule. Great that she is a Harvard grad but it was NOT in education. On a positive note the garden is awesome, a number of teachers are superior although many are quite young, the facilities are quite adequate; AND one of the greatest strengths is the parents who actively contribute their time and money to the school. There seems to be a great tradition of parent involvement that has carried through over the years.
--Submitted by a parent

I like this is school. It is the one of the best of best. My two children are in this is school. And Everything is the best. Keep it up! I love Sherman Shark!!!
--Submitted by a parent

The entire Sherman community collaborates to ensure my son has a positive education. I respect the principal, the librarian, the speech teacher, the art teacher, the garden teacher, the fellow parents and the amazing PTA. I feel fortunate that my son can enjoy this lovely school. There is an expectation for parents to contribute time, talent and/or money, but I think this is a positive approach to counter he recession. Sherman Elementary PTA raises funds to support many "extras" and I think all families should do what they can.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is starting his third year at Sherman (now is second grade) and has continued to thrive here. So far, we've been very happy with each of his teachers and have felt embraced by and have become a part of the community. I attended California public schools years ago during their pre-prop 13 heyday and can honestly say that none of the schools I attended had as much going for them as Sherman. I love the green schoolyard, the library, music and arts enrichment, and friendly and involvement group of parents. The principal is a rock star. My son cherishes his friends here and is thriving socially and academically. I feel so lucky that he's part of this community.
--Submitted by a parent

It was Open House at Sherman this late afternoon. I was shocked to see the class schedule that was posted on the whiteboard. My son spends most of the instructional day on reading and language arts. The remaining minutes are relegated to "enrichment" programs. Do the teachers teach at this school? When I asked when Science or Social Studies are taught, the teacher just smiled and said, "That's how we do things at Sherman." As it is, my son is not getting any reading instruction. He's not getting proper Science and Social Studies education. There's really no point to being here.
--Submitted by a parent

With two kids at Sherman I have been around for a while. Our school has its eye on the prize -- strong academic achievement with a broad selection of enrichment. Classrooms are clean and safe. Teachers are supported and engaged. The focus on literacy is amazing with added student and teacher support at every grade level. Parents are involved in many volunteer activities including Parent Coaching, Library, Computer and Art. Yes, we fundraise...but in this economic environment if the parents want the "extras" we need to reach deep and volunteer/fundraise to have them (and we do). Best: School Carnival, Winter Musicale, 4th Grade trip to Sacramento, great Art Teacher, strong focused Principal, Amazing (!!) Teachers, great afterschool program; Worst: start time (7:50 ugh)
--Submitted by a parent

I am quite surprised with most of the reviews here. I thought I was the only parent who is unhappy with Sherman. Glad my negative sentiments are shared by others. Let's just see if there will be visible improvements in their academic programs. With the economy that we're in, expect more zealous and aggressive letters for donations 2x to 3x a week. The principal is really good at this. Her motto of "be a friend" is one of her pet projects.
--Submitted by a parent

Sherman ES is a high quality school. Its strong academic program, nurturing environment and excellent teaching has more than prepared our kids to be successful in middle school. The teachers are the best and the school provided our kids with a solid curriculum and a variety of experiences that has made them well-rounded. We would recommend this school to anyone!
--Submitted by a parent

Sherman ES with the poor leadership of the current school principal lacks challenging academic programs. Efforts are mostly geared at raising funds and donations. I am now beginning to think that ratings are based on the collections. Where does the money go? Kids are not learning, there's no tangible projects going on except for the garden which is not really that impressive. It's all hype about the school as well as the principal...
--Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately, most of the negative reviews are accurate. The staff works hard to educate our kids, however a few do get away with low standards and expectations for the students, and I can only think that they are the administrator's favorites. My daughters are ill-prepared for this fall, and I'm absolutely appalled by the lack of instruction they received just this past year. The first grade teacher has her monotonous routines and lessons were hardly lessons, just busy work. My daughter goes home telling me her teacher told her to say certain things to us so we could think she was happy learning at school. Then there's my fourth grader who barely had any homework. Her teacher lectured behavioral kids in class on a daily basis, taking away learning and instructional time. She sat in her chair while having student teachers run lessons all year long. She has probably less than 10 years of experience. Seriously, this principal has got to go. The mood is unwelcoming with her presence. The Asian community is nonexistence as she pretends that there are parents and grandparents around to provide Chinese translations during the morning intake. Beware prospective families!
--Submitted by a parent