Woodland Hills Elementary School

To the last poster: Do not let a few people with sour grapes, prevent you from allowing your children to experience a school that is one of the top elementary schools in the STATE! You can not please everyone and that is what you are seeing in these postings. As a long term employee (over 10 years); rest assured, most parents and students are happy and proud to be members of the WHES family. We have a staff that is second to none and our parents community is wonderful. Administration and support staff (office, custodial and cafeteria) are behind the teachers 110%! Our curriculum is academically rigorous while serving each individual child's need specifically. We have a fabulous PE coach and our PATT (Parents and Teachers Together) group are quite supportive; they have provided our school with most of our aide time (if it were up to the district; we would have very, very little aide time), they also provide our students with an afterschool enrichment program filled with classes that span the interests of our school population (drawing, chess, creative writing, hip hop,cooking...) Please find out for yourself whether this is the school for you and don't let a few naysayers sway you.
--Submitted by a teacher

I was considering this school for my children, but after reading all of the reviews it sounds like there is a lot of hostile energy at this school. I'm not sure if I want to subject my kids to that type of environment.
--Submitted by a parent

I would like to respond to #12 and the lady above her. At one time WHES shinned above all else. I have been at the school for the past 6 years as an aide and it is deteriorated greatly, party due to the funding situation in the state, party due to over-obsessing PTA in fundraising, and party due to changing kids. You say that WHES is a california distinguished school but it is NO LONGER the case. WHES is not renewing their status/application as a distinguished school this year, yet our neighbor at Calabash is busy writing their application right now. It needs to be answered why we chose not to do this. My peers at Calabash are excited about it, but not at WHES... do the teachers even know we are not renewing? The hard work of Mrs. Feig has all but been erased as we start 2012.
--Submitted by a teacher

12. GENUINELY welcome all parents with open door policy excellent academics. 13. As parents we go over and beyond to educate our child and serve our child school. 14. I was an adjunct associate professor for fifteen years at UCLA. 15. We all as parents are professional educators with a strong academic base to analyze a school performance. 16. WHES does not cut the mustard not for all their student population. 17. We are outstanding community advocates and love serving our community and child school. 18. My husband and I have numerous awards from the community and my child s previous schools. 19. Our family comes from a high academic upscale neighborhood within a LAUSD district. .
--Submitted by a parent

In reply to the post on Oct 1. YOU should really questions the integrity & character of a post that sounds more like a complaint of lack of special treatment or what I want from the teacher and principal! I don't mean to be blunt or disregard your concerns but after reading your post I thought you were talking about Serrania elementary. Their current principal is a "true jem" or as you put it, do question the integrity and character. The principal over there will call you to her office for a verbal chew-out if in her opinion you mock or talk about something she does not want to talk about. By the way if you want a forum to sit and talk with her you have to email your topic and if you don't you can't speak or if she does not like it, you can't speak. She is well know for outburst at school events towards parents like open house or coffee talks. Her best work is when she told a parent to take Serrania and shove it! You should try Serrania to really get an experience of not getting along with a principal who will tell the teacher NOT to talk to you and how she can ban you from school grounds if you want to press this issue. BE GREATFUL, WHES is #1 for a GOOD reason too.
--Submitted by a parent

Slowly the long-lasting work of Principal Feig is fading away. The 2006 kindergarten class graduates this coming year, and as this group of 5th graders plan to culminate, so will the end the aggressive student selection that Principal Feig initiated for many years that helped to propel WHES test grades so high. In 2007, she chose a more random selection process and then was succeeded by Principal Bluestein who modified students on permits and student selection in his 3 years at our school. Couple the student selection process with shortened school days two years in a row, and the naturally test scores will go down. If you look carefully 4th grade over all went up and that is the class that entered WHES in 2006. More importantly is the disillusion of the teachers chronically being threatened with layoffs and reductions in benefits and pay. We had angry, sad and depressed teachers last year. Not to mention that one or more teachers suffered with personal illness, especially in second grade.
--Submitted by a parent

The last poster is correct. The elite selection of kindergardeners did much to makes us a top school and we are not tops anymore... not so elite... not so special... but still good.
--Submitted by a parent

We love the new principal and teachers; we don't love a drop in test scores. What is going on? Lets fund more T.A.s and less office personnel. We can't keep going down hill.
--Submitted by a parent

I love WHES and love our new principal! I think everyone at the school couldn't be happier with her. She's friendly, warm, but also cares about the kids and the school. As far as the comment on cleanliness? I've never seen a problem. I've been a room mom for the three years I've been there, so not sure what that parent is talking about. Must have been a one-time thing. And yes, I did hear that Ricardo, the custodian has lost an assistant and is doing the work of many. But even still, I haven't noticed any problems. My son loves the school and is getting a better elementary education than I ever could have hoped for.
--Submitted by a parent

We are really wondering how much of the work at the school is being done on so little budget. I love working there, but full transparency in all the budgets is due really.
--Submitted by a teacher