Carpenter Community Charter School

What an amazing school. Highly committed staff and highly active parent community. We are extremely happy here.
—Submitted by a parent

We are so fortunate to have an elementary school like Carpenter in our community. Our children are getting a well rounded education. Academics, art, music, physical education, and a strong and loving staff. Test scores speak for themselves. It all starts from the top. Our principal is truly hands on. Her relationship with both parents and staff are fair and well balanced. She addresses any needs right away. She has created a safe and fun environment, my kids love going to school each and every day!
—Submitted by a parent

It is difficult to run a Los Angeles Unified public school. The demand on teachers and their curriculum is overwhelming. Having said that, Carpenter teachers work extremely hard to provide each and every child with what they need to succeed beyond their elementary years. My childrens' schooling experiences thus far have been outstanding. We have friends all across the valley whose kids are also in good schools (public & private), but it is clear, Carpenter remains at the top. Carpenter has great kids who are smart & nice...perhaps overparented in some cases, but that's better than underparented. What can better in an elementary school? Teachers that work hard and enjoy students, kids you want your children to be around, parents that are dedicated beyond expectation, administration with an open door policy, and a new shiny white picket fence.
—Submitted by a parent

My boys are 20 and 25; they both attended Carpenter, older one in Highly Gifted Program grades 1-6 went on to graduate from UC Berkeley; younger son in regular school grades 1-5; now transferring from SMC to UCLA! All of us loved the experience. 99% terrific teachers and principal (back then anyway). Parent involvement above and beyond. Bused in kids w/non-English speaking parents attended Open Houses - very impressive. Wonderful memories we will all cherish! Younger son moved to a private school (grades 7-8); no comparison! Switched back to NHHS (most Advanced Placement courses of any schools). Best public schools in the Valley!
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school! I attended as a child, my two children attended recently and I was thrilled with the high level of academic excellence expected. The classes were small in the lower grades, but way too high in the upper! The extra classes like P.E., Music, Media Lab and art projects were outstanding. The teachers are so kind, qualified and dedicated. My children excelled at Carpenter and went on to very regarded Magnet programs in middle school. It was a true community experience for us. I think it is how much time and effort you are willing to give to the school community and your children.
—Submitted by a parent

Carpenter is not worthy of it's reputation! The school is bursting with 7 classes per grade level (K-3). After all it is a public school, they all have to follow CA school standards and guidelines so they all teach the same thing. I'd go for a smaller school and hope for a good teacher if I were you.
—Submitted by a parent

Former teacher here: As public schools go, this one is pretty good. I'm personally more inclined to teach at private schools, but they are no panacea unto themselves if the leadership at the top is weak. Being a Principal at Carpenter must be like having two full-time jobs. I do think she's very capable and personable but there's beuracratic ridgedness that is evident. I think it stems from the behometh public school curriculum which is extremely antiquated, imo, for it's bogged down in intellectualism and methodology and not rooted on basic levels of human understanding. This makes for a teaching staff that emphasizes following rules and not much else. Many rules only exist to be followed, many of them are counterintuitive and that's how over time you lose alot of these kids by the time they get to high school. There's more to education than being a facilitating automaton.
—Submitted by a teacher

I student-taught at this school. I have also subbed in a couple districts, and this one stands out. Carpenter is an extremely good school that promotes academic growth. The staff is personable, for the most part (at least the people that I worked with), which is always positive for the students.
—Submitted by a staff

My daughter attended Carpenter school for 3 years (2 grade - 5 grade). She loved this school a lot. Great kids, very active parents who participate in the school's life. On the negative side: school is very big. Too many kids are running around.
—Submitted by a parent

The academics, the classtime enrichment activities (music, phys ed, computer), and the quality of many of the teachers, are exceptional among LAUSD schools. It is still a public school, however, with all of the attendant difficulties of large class-sizes in the upper grades, overemphasis on mandated district testing, and the difficulties of getting the teachers' union to support quality teaching in its membership.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is almost run by the parents. Accordingly, it is good school
—Submitted by a parent

Carpenter is an amazing LAUSD public school. The students thrive in a environment that is safe, enriching and very academic. The parent involvement makes the school what it is. They help in the classrooms, at school functions and with fundraising that provides programs the following; music, PE, art, media lab, extra aides; a pull-out program to help reduce class size in the upper grades. The principal is fairly new and completely engaged in the success of the school. The community is also very involved in being part of the school by donating over $55,000 annually. I have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader and have been completely satisfied with the education they have received thus far.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a strong elementary school, and they know it. The size of the school can be intimidating despite the fact that teachers and staff try to mitigate that fact. Parent involvement is very high and they welcome new blood - just show up. The music program is superb and is structured to compliment the academic corriculum. The physical education is also strong and is not something that you see at other schools. I've had two kids go through Carpenter from K-5 and overall the experience has been good. The school's weakness has been with their principals in the last number of years.
—Submitted by a parent

Academic, music, art and sports programs are very good. Also, parents are extremely involved in all aspects. We have had some problems with a couple of difficult teachers however.
—Submitted by a parent

the school is large .over 800 students.lots of parent involment.the upper grades class size is quite large.find students can lose focus in the large class size.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been very happy with Carpenter Ave. My son has gone through K, 1 and 2 grades. However, looking to 3rd grade I am starting to look elsewhere. In the upper grades (3-5) many of the more seasoned teachers are or have retired. And this year, the 5th grade classes have 38 kids in each classroom. That is just too big. Carpenter used to have a wonderful gifted and highly gifted program. But due to the apartment building construction in the area, the District took away the ability to allow gifted and highly gifted students into the school on permit. As a result, the school is suffering. If you have a highly gifted student, this school may not be for you. I do think the music, pe and computer classes are wonderful. But not enough to offset the class size and lack of gifted curriculum.
—Submitted by a parent

Carpenter is a large but basically well-run Los Angeles Elementary school. It is strongly supported by the local community both financially and otherwise, and thus provides a variety of enrichments unavailable in most Los Angeles public schools. Its gifted programs, however, have been closed down. There is clustering available within regular classrooms.
—Submitted by a parent

Carpenter is a wonderful, active school community that works hard to enrich the LAUSD funding with arts, physical ed, music and drama programs. Our only complaint is that it sometimes feels overcrowded, and overcapacity.
—Submitted by a parent

Carpenter school is an excellent public school. Parent volunteerism is very high and the teachers are very dedicated. They have a rigorous academic program. Homework starts in kindergarten. Their after school care is excellent. THe YMCA program is costly but worth it. It's around$300 a month for after school care.
—Submitted by a parent

quality academic teachers and programs huge parent involvement overall very happy with this school
—Submitted by a parent