Sunnyside Elementary School

I have two boys Sunnyside Elementary. One Kindergartner and 2nd grader. We have been VERY happy with the school. We are new to the school this year coming from an International school abroad. We were nervous about switching to a public school in a state that doesn't have a lot of extra money to go to education. We couldn't be more pleased with the teachers and the atmosphere at the school. The principle is very involved in the everyday happenings at the school and it has a very active PTA. My boys are very excited to go to school everyday which to me says a lot!
—Submitted by a parent

I went on a tour of Sunnyside for my soon to be kindergartner. The tour was well organized by informed parents who did a great job answering the questions the audience had. Most importantly, the teaching at Sunnyside seemed strong. In each classroom, the teacher had full command of her class, the children were engaged and were learning. Sunnyside kindergartners were reading, which, compared to other schools I toured, was impressive. Definitely worth touring and putting on your radar.
—Submitted by a parent

The Sunnyside teachers have been awesome and the parent community is friendly, open, down-to-earth, positive, energetic.
—Submitted by a parent

Sunnyside is a great place to be for kids and parents! My child is learning so much academically while also having lots of in-class enrichment programs like art, dance, gardening, music, and PE. There are lots of community events including a Halloween carnival during the school day and a Springfest carnival open to the public, Bike to School Day, Math and Science Night, International Potluck, and lots more. It seems there is a fun event at least every month, which the kids love, and it helps bring the community of families together. The PTA is very active, and there are many dedicated family members volunteering and helping to fundraise for our school. Sunnyside has everything I could want: Strong academics, dedicated and caring faculty and staff, loads of enrichment programs, small school feel, and a warm community. We are very happy here!
—Submitted by a parent

Sunnyside is a wonderful community. The principal is inspiring and deeply invested in teacher coaching and retention. The teachers are engaged, communicative, and enthusiastic. The PTA/parents are very organized and do great work funding an incredible array of enrichment activities. My kindergartener has had "extras" every week (or more!), including special science workshops, KidPower personal safety workshops, and dance/movement class. We love it.
—Submitted by a parent

Both my kids go to Sunnyside and they're both having a great time there. My youngest's transition to kindergarten has been very smooth, and my eldest has had teachers that are working with him on his attention issues and helping him focus and excel. The school has lots of enrichment activities available, and we're all very happy with the school. The parent community is strong and is working to support the school and it's community through direct help such as helping the teachers, through to fundraising for extra programs and staff. The way the whole community team works together is impressive and it's achieving great things. I highly recommend it; and more importantly, my kids love it there. They were sad that they had Columbus day off!! High praise indeed.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm the parent of a first grader at Sunnyside and we've had an amazing experience at Sunnyside. My daughter's kindergarten and first grade teachers have both been excellent educators, as well as engaged and very responsive to parent questions and concerns. The school community is very welcoming and I've been impressed by the range of activities funded by the PTA, including art, gardening, dance, specialized math instruction, technology, etc. One thing that I didn't hear about on my school tour (and something that's really impressed me) are all of the "extras" we've had over the past year, including special in-class presentations and activities (from art to music to science). In the past 12 months, my child has had in-class art, yoga, gardening, improv, music, and dance as well as field trips to Mission Science, the Exploratorium, and to the Legion of Honor for a docent-guided tour. My daughter even got to be part of a dance performance at the DeYoung last year during "Young at Art." It was quite a thrill for her. I agree that the Great Schools rating is not reflective of our overall experience of Sunnyside. We're very happy there.
—Submitted by a parent

We left the Parochial system for SF public and we not sure what we'd get when we did. Having had experience with Sunnyside before hand, we went for it. It was a GREAT decision! The leadership there is full of energy and we've already seen some of the choices made improve the test scores and the academic environment! our Kindergartner is overjoyed to be at school and our 3rd grade is truly blossoming academically, scoring 100% on spelling and math tests! There are several good schools in SF - more so than you might think at first inspection. Sunnyside is certainly one of them. On top of the classroom learning, the PTA is VERY strong there and has done a great job of adding enrichment programs to the school activity set. They really care about community at Sunnyside - the whole community! If you're looking for a solid Elementary school, public and in the Sunnyside/ Glen Park, Noe Valley area, this is a great one to put on your list!
—Submitted by a parent

Sunnyside has a very strong parent/teacher community. As the parent of a kindergartner, I am extremely happy with the learning environment, level of teacher dedication, and community feel. In the past few years, Sunnyside has been making great gains in test scores, parent involvement, and PTA funding. It is only going to go up from here.
—Submitted by a parent

If you re a prospective kindergarten parent, I strongly encourage you to look at the disaggregated data reported for each school you re considering rather than just the overall ranking by Great Schools. Taking Sunnyside as an example -- if you click on its Great Schools ranking (which, at the moment, is ranked overall 5 out of 10 on the main overview page), you ll see the assessment data broken down by demographic categories and by grade levels (standardized testing starts in grade 2). Grade 2 at Sunnyside is ranked by Great Schools as 10 out of 10 , which is one indication of how school performance has steadily improved over the past several years. As a happy new kindergarten parent at Sunnyside, I just wanted to point this out to other prospective parents going through the same due diligence process I remember so clearly from a year ago! Sunnyside is a terrific gem of a school and I don t feel its 5 ranking correctly reflects the wonderful teaching and learning going on inside.
—Submitted by a parent

My twins have attended Sunnyside for three years and love it. We just got STAR tests results. They show significant increases in language and math across all subgroups. Our garden program has grown and we're implementing a new PTA project based math program for all grades. Since the post below, the school has adopted a new discipline policy that integrates restorative practices (which emphasize repairing harm and instilling a sense of justice). All teachers received training in restorative practices over the summer. Sunnyside is holding a trilingual (English, Cantonese, Spanish) community meeting about restorative practices and Sunnyside's new discipline policy on October 1, 2012 at 6:00 pm. The PTA is also working with Kidpower to bring age appropriate people-safety skill workshops to all classrooms during the first two weeks of October. Several faculty members have commented that many of the problems from last year have subsided.
—Submitted by a parent

Yes, the teachers and staff are caring and professional. The PTA is incredible, as well. Sorry you missed the March 19th PTA meeting which was called as an emergency response to discipline not being enforced at a level beyond the teachers' jurisdiction. Ninety percent of the classroom teachers were there because they have been unsupported re: student discipline especially at the upper grades. Two school district officials were there, and the Board of Educ. was informed. Stay involved, read the PTA yahoo group to understand the situation. Come to school to observe students' behavior especially during recess and lunch. The lunch supervisor quit the upper grade lunch because she wasn't supported when she tried to give boundaries to kids who needed direction and guidance. Do you the School Climate Committee is recruiting parents? It's one thing to decide on a Behavior Plan, but come to the office to see how many and how frequently these kids sit there because there is no enforcement of rules and expectations. Nor is there a process for restoring the balance of a healthy community. Please join the School Climate Committee.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful school with caring teachers and staff. The PTA community is kind and welcoming. My daughter loves her teachers and is excited to go to school each day.
—Submitted by a parent

Sunnyside has been a wonderful experience for my daughter to attend. She is in her third year an enjoys going to school every morning. The new principal is actively involve with the parents to propel this school to the next level. He listen to all input an makes his decisions base upon the input he receives. The teachers and parents are involved and dedicated in making this one of the outstanding school in San Francisco both socially and in academic achievement. The PTA has done a wonderful job of getting more resources for the school to use. I highly recommend this elementary school for it excellent education atmosphere and small community feel.
—Submitted by a parent

We are in our 2nd year at Sunnyside and my son is thriving in all areas. The school has a very safe and friendly feel. The new principal is doing a great job in progressing the school to the next level. The community is involved and committed to making this a great school. It's nice to have a school that my child looks forward to attending everyday, and as parents we enjoy going there tooo.
—Submitted by a parent

My son entered Kindergarden at Sunnyside in Fall of 2010. So far, we have had a wonderful experience. His kindergarden teacher is amazing- she is not only great with the kids but technologically very savy too- report cards and class schedules are all emailed to me. In addition, the new principal is very proactive and responsive to parent's needs. Additional benefits are the great diversity of students and small school size which was perfect for my son who came from a small preschool. We feel very lucky to be at Sunnyside and look forward to the next 5 years there. -Mom and Pediatrician
—Submitted by a parent

Great principal, teachers and staff! This school is clean, well diversified and my son loves going to this school.
—Submitted by a parent

The community feel at Sunnyside is truly unique.
—Submitted by a parent

The demographics of our school has changed recently. There are many more parents involved in the PTA in the last 3 years. They have made an incredible effort in recruiting more families who understand the home-school connection. And in doing so, they have made the school more attractive to other parents willing to share the workload, so that no one person feels overwhelmed with responsibilities. Everyone contributes in any way they can, and everyone in our community benefits from each person's knowledge, skills, time, and resources. For example, parents have installed two beautification murals: the 'Sunnyside' one at the entrance and the Peace Wall. We now have classroom gardens, and recently planted greenery surrounding the school. As a public school teacher, I believe that the vast majority of teachers are dedicated to their jobs. So, what makes great schools stand out from the rest? It is the amount of parent participation. Sunnyside is quickly gaining popularity among the other highly-requested elementary schools.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an amazing school! Diverse students, dedicated teachers, a great principal all add up to great learning for kids. A ++++++ !!
—Submitted by a parent