Schaefer Elementary School

My two daughters have attended Schaefer for three years. One is in second the other in fifth. The district has had to cut some programs due to major budget cuts but parents have worked hard to raise money to have an excellent music program. There is a GATE/accelerated program that my oldest daughter goes to 4 days a week for 30 min. Per day. She loves it! They are studying architecture.
--Submitted by a parent

Schaefer Elementary is a fantastic school. My daughter is in kindergarten and she is loving every second of it. The principal is amazing!! I would like to see more parent participation in the school events - it's currently quite low, but the ones that are involved are superb. Overall, this school is great and I'm truly happy to be a part of it!
--Submitted by a parent

My child is in her 5th year at Schaefer and we have been through a lot of changes, mostly with principals. We love our current principal and hope to keep her around for awhile! Though we have always had wonderful teachers, there isn't as much involvement post-school hours as I would like to see. Parent involvement is dismal considering that there are 400+ students! I would like to see our school community (parents,teachers,district) all working together to make our school as successful as the schools in higher income districts.There seems to be a Great Divide amongst us.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has gone to this school since kindergarten. I found it to be somewhat above average. There seems to be a wide variance in teachers. I felt his 3rd grade year was below average and that his entire class has had to catch up in 4th grade. Basically, there are good teachers and not-so-good teachers and it depends on the teacher you get. Parent involvement seems to have gotten better in the last 2 years but it is still the same handful of people involved. The kids seem to respect each other at this school. Really like the new principal this year, has been a new principal every year we have been there. Programs have been cut, no computer any more. They have PE, music, library pretty basic. Like the field trips in 4th grade, Coloma and Mission day, very educational.
--Submitted by a parent

Schaefer has a great staff who really care about the kids that attend. Being a traditional public school, the teachers have the standard limitations suchas certian curriculum they can choose from so kids with different learning styles really need their parents to get involved. Schaefer encouirages parents to be on campus as volenteers and this makes for a comfortable community feeling. Many parents are unable to be at the school daily but are generous with other resources in an effort to make our school a great experience for students. My kids have had a wonderful childhood here!
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children at this school and while it's had it's difficulties in the past (mostly as a result of state budget cutbacks) Schaefer has made a huge turnaround of late. The teaching staff is superb, with many years of expertise & commitment and the new principal is fantastic. The Schaefer Families organization is top notch with lots of new people and great energy. Curriculum continues to expand & overall I would rate this school in the very good to excellent range. Remember, parents...it's what you put into the school that counts as much as what the school puts into your child!
--Submitted by a parent

Great School! My Daughter went here for 1 year and I was very impressed with the activities & Enrichment programs available. Such as the M.O.M (move over motzart) What I found lacking was the lack of diversity.
--Submitted by a parent

My child is in 1st grade and I love this school. I am very unhappy about the lack of a full time prinicple and the probability that there won't be on next year sa well. There is a great deal of parent participation though it seems to be the same parents coninually. The school needs to do a better job of getting its needs met, whether that be supplies or volunteer help. They rely heavily on special committees ie, Shaeffer parents and less on the general population. I ahve yet to see any requests for supplies or help in such areas as computer class volunteers. The teachers are the ones left to solicit and some feel very uncomfortable doing so, or also rely on the familiar parents. The school is generally in good shape but I have seen that the upkeep is getting worse. Bathrooms are disgusting and the grounds are dirty, the MP room is terrible! I do think that each class should be assigned a trash day and spend one day a week, possibly 15 min walking the grounds and picking up litter. The children should be made to understand that this is their school and to take pride in it. I am most upset about the leadership of our school board in this district. They seem to have forgotten that the children come first and that is why we are all doing what we do! I'm hoping for more positive changes next fall.
--Submitted by a parent