Sherman Elementary School

Sherman has a great mix of structure and art. Love the way the teachers engage students in learning.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful teaches, wonderful parents, great programs. All my family members are happy with Sherman.
—Submitted by a parent

Nurturing, Scholarship, Sense of Place, Pride, Extraordinary Teachers and Parent Support, environment, vertical mentor ship programs, garden, recreational facilities, play equipment, music, drama and athletic programs. WOW
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman Elementary School has a vibrant community of dedicated parents, teachers, and students. We are fortunate to have a beautiful building with bright airy classrooms, a grand auditorium and an amazing garden that serves as an outdoor classroom for the whole school. The school's focus on literacy and reading is a core to the curriculum. My kids have thrived there!
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman is a great neighborhood school. The teachers and principal support the academic and social growth of all of the students, and foster a strong community spirit.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman is a very dynamic and excellent school! The parent community, teachers and principal are very dedicated and with their diverse and strong backgrounds bring a tremendous amount of experience and expertise to the school. I love the beautiful, large and well-maintained organic garden and its related science and nutrition education.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman has a terrific parent community, wonderful staff and even better children! The principal is very dedicated to providing a well-rounded curriculum with extremely high expectations! She also continuously fosters teacher development and is always open to new and creative ideas! We love our school!
—Submitted by a parent

Shermna was a wonderful school, howeve, ever since the new principal has come, the school is going downhill. She is clearly using this experience as a stepping stone in her career. Under her leadership, the scores have fallen and she has been unable to explain that. She is focusing on the wrong programs. The PTA is amazing and I wish they would have the courage to speak up instead of just going along with her. The kids can't stand her, and she is rude and disrespectful to parents and the staff. Worse still, she plays favorites!! It took years to build up this school, and she has come along and starting to undo all the work. She needs tp leave.....and if she goes, the school will on on the rise again!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter went to Sherman and had an overall good experience. The teachers are outstanding, the secretary is an absolute angel, and the school is among the cleanest I have ever seen. The only downside and reason I didn't give 5 stars is they have a new principal who is absolutely awful. i have seen her treat staff rudely and disrespectfully, and she embarrassed my daughter by telling her that hers was ' a funny name for a boy.' If Shenkan leaves the school, I am sure the rating will go back up to 5 stars. Don't let this scare you away, the teachers are great.
—Submitted by a parent

This campus has become the center of citywide parent activism, addressing the projected HUGE cuts in state funding. Best news I have ever heard about Sherman. Better than having a great garden. My child attended this school from K-3. If you are stoked about this school, and want admittance, please start asking parents about their experiences with grade two instructors. A double breath of fresh air at this level would greatly improve the school experience for your child.

My daughter loves attending Sherman. The school shines with outstanding academic and parental leadership. The principal is a ROCK STAR!! She is sincere cares and is incredibly motivating and encourages parents to get involved at every opportunity. If you care about education and want to help public school's shine then this is the place to be.
—Submitted by a parent

The kids are being pulled out for various 'enrichment' activities leaving little time for teachers to provide 'quality' instruction. Assignments are rarely returned so it is hard to gauge how well my child is doing. The present administrator is a tyro with little classroom experience.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter loves Sherman and we love the school and parent community.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman's focus on academic excellance combined with the outstanding parent involvement which, by extension, funds an incredible range of enrichment classes, makes this an incredible choice of a k-5 school. Sherman was our first choice alongside a number of private options. It came down to the final days of summer when our son got in on the wait list. We ended up passing on the private backup and went with Sherman, thankfully. He loves his school. The gifted teachers, staff and parents seem completely devoted to making this public school work really well. The school is large (3 kinder classes) but it's a joy and a blessing to be there and the peformance reflects the effort. There are only a handful of other publics we would have considered for our son--we're thrilled to have waited for and got Sherman.
—Submitted by a parent

We are so happy we got into Sherman! My daughter is in Kindergarten so we've only been there a short time but already, we have met a welcoming parent committee, and could be happier with the curriculum. We were going the private route but when I toured Sherman, reality set in and, frankly, found a better value going to Sherman. they have an art studio with a full time art teacher, chorus, gymnastics tought by a professional gymnastics teacher, computer, library with a full time librarian, PE, gardening with a full time garden teacher and a full time nutritionist which carefully screens the meals served at school. Overall we are over joyed to have found such a school.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman has the best teachers, families and a wonderful garden!
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school that offers a strong core academic program and an excellent array of enrichment programs. As a longtime parent with two kids at Sherman school, I can attest to the wonderful progress this school has made under the leadership of the principal Phyllis Matsuno who sets high standards for staff, students, and yes, even parents to reach! She has brought in enrichment programs and increased test scores every year she has been at Sherman. Kudoes to her for her commitment to our kids. The teaching staff, with a few notable exceptions, is committed and excellent. The school building and grounds are spacious, clean, and well-kept. This is a top-notch school!
—Submitted by a parent

After all the stress of the enrollment process, whew what a relief to find Sherman! As a kindergarten family, we keep finding out more to love about this school. Ms. Matsuno is amazingly creative with bringing additional resources to the school -- be they volunteer nurses students or high school kids tutoring reading. She's also led the way for public and private schools with technology in the classroom with 'smart white boards' (connected to the Internet) and the 'Mind Institute program.' Our green schoolyear is a breath of fresh air in our urban environment with fruit trees, vegetables, and a fish pond that delight the kids. We love our kindergarten teacher. The parent community is engaged and active in making our school even better. We're very happy with our choice.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman is an excellent school with an exceptional Principal. As incoming kindergarten parents this year after visiting many schools, we chose Sherman for several reasons, but primarily because of Principal Matsuno. During her tenure Sherman has become one of the highest performing schools in the district. In addition to a strong emphasis on academics, Sherman offers its students gardening, painting/drawing, dance, choral music, gymnastics, computer lab and physical education, among others. The principal considers these to be necessary core curriculum for the children, and not just frosting on the cake. Over the course of several visits to the school, we were struck with her dedication to contiually evolving Sherman in the best interest of its students. Her drive and focus are admirable. We continue to be impressed with her, and feel that she is not only approachable, but is consistently willing to extend herself in an effort to address the needs and concerns of parents. She is a frank person, which is a refreshing and often lacking quality in persons who occupy leadership positions. For us this has inspired both respect for her honesty, and trust in her follow-through.
—Submitted by a parent

Sherman is a great school with a great principal. Mrs Mastuno has helped me out on a number of occasins and very easy to talk to. She is very direct and also very caring. She works very hard and has set the tone for a great school. Most of the teachers are terrific and gifted with a few slackers who are the exception. Check out this school
—Submitted by a parent