Mintz Elementary School

These reviewers must be non-working, stay at home parents. Mintz holds assemblies and events which are important to my child that I am unable to attend due to normal employment. An awards assembly at 8:30 am on a Tuesday, with the only notice coming with her report card only 1 day prior? Unacceptable. Christmas concert at 5:30pm on a weekday? Who could get there if they work in Tampa? Not me! Extremely narrow and unflexible timeframes for parent/teacher conferences, then feeling rushed if you do make it on time? How inconvenient and pointless! This school doesn't care about parent involvement.
—Submitted by a parent

have to disagree with a few comments made below. My child has been going to school at Mintz for 3 years and I have never had a problem with the assistant principal or principal. I have been in the office when parents go "crazy" and administration has handled the situation, but as far as upsetting, wouldn't you get upset if someone is yelling in your face or where others can witness the incident. I can't relate to "special needs" situation, but from what I see the teachers and staff work very hard for each student. The only complaint I have is the school needs some cosmetic work, but that is not the administration or staffs fault...hello budget cuts! I am grateful to ALL the hard working people at Mintz for what they do for our future generation. I don't think many people could do what teachers and staff do to run an elementary school or any school for that matter. Unfortunately, teachers today are getting "pounded" on by society and the lack of respect for what they do is ridiculous if you ask me, yet they still do it every day and I am sure its not for a paycheck!! WE LOVE MINTZ! Thanks for a great year, looking forward to the next one!
—Submitted by a parent

Terrible school for kids with special needs! When my daughter first started at Mintz last year, she had an amazing teacher who knew exactly how to handle her emotional and behavioral disabilities. She communicated matters well also. This year, I see the full extent to which matters get handled for children who have special needs -- they basically don't get handled. We have asked and practically begged for help from the school and they are only willing to do the absolute minimum necessary. If we ask for something to be adjusted in accomodations, we've noticed that they have been adjusted in the opposite direction in which we have requested, thus causing further problems with our daughter. I also agree with another poster that the assistant principal is rude and can't handle any matters that "might upset her". The principal too seems cold and uncaring. The bottom line is that MIntz is a decent school IF and ONLY IF your child is perfectly "normal" and has NO social, behavioral or emotional problems whatsoever. If your child does, keep looking for another school as this school will cause greater emotional and behavioral problems within your child.
—Submitted by a parent

This is our first year and we are very impressed. It's nice to have a lunchroom, gym, classroom with windows and wonderful teachers! They ongoing testing is great for kids to grow and develop.
—Submitted by a parent

When we started at Mintz 3 years ago it was a very remarkable school, however fast forwarding to today it is a distant memory. The teachers are basically just like picking the lottery. The first year we had some great teachers. The second year we had to request to have our kids switched and when we did that it felt like we had been black listed. The assistant principal is extremely rude. She will interrupt in the middle of a parent/teacher conference and act like it is nothing. When we bring concerns to the principal she knows nothing and takes no responsibility for anything happening at the school. This has carried on to this year as well. If you want a school where no one is held accountable and where flying under the radar is norm then Mintz is great! I rather be a hands on parent!
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been at Mintz 5.5 yrs. Being a single mother Mintz and its staff was always eager to help me and take the extra step to help my son thrieve in to the wonderful young man he has become. I am truly blessed to have had almost 6 FANTASTIC years in such an amazing school. We will miss you Mintz and all the staff.
—Submitted by a parent

Child centered philosophy and individualized learning make this an excellent school. Friendly staff and administration are there to help. You can be as involved as you like.
—Submitted by a parent

My 6yr old kid feels comfortable to go to school bcoz of the personal touch of the teacher.I like that.
—Submitted by a parent

my kid goes to that school and it has great teachers
—Submitted by a parent

My oldest son just completed the 5th grade at Mintz and my youngest is starting the 5th grade there. I am completely depressed that this is my last year at Mintz. We have been there since My oldest was in 1st grade and love all the teachers and staff. I believe that Mrs. Shields is the best principal in Hillsborough county, she listens to parents and corrects the problems that are brought to her attention right away. Mr Wallace was a god send helping my children during my divore, there is no better educators than the ones at Mintz.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter had Ms. Sorci for her kindergarten teacher, she was always helpful and nice when i had questions. She was always sweet and kind with my daughter...my daughter even talked about her all summer because she missed her so much! she is a great teacher, i cannot say enough good things about her! The Vice principal is very nice and very helpful, she helped me out alot when it came to my 3 year old with getting her into the speech classes they have there...she followed through with all of my requests, she is a very nice lady! and the ladies at the front desk are just wonderful people! very friendly!
—Submitted by a parent

My son had Mrs. Medina last year for 1st grade and I don't think he could've had a better teacher! She is absolutely wonderful in every way. I knew I could send my son to school to get a great education from her, but also knew how much he loved being in her class. Mrs. Medina is so loving and caring to EACH and EVERY student in her classroom. She always invited parents to come in and stop by anytime we wanted. That was always nice. Mrs. Medina has surpassed my expectations by far, and any student who is lucky enough to get her this coming year will be in for a wonderful school year! I really hope my younger two sons will get her too when they reach 1st grade! We love our Mrs. Medina!!!
—Submitted by a parent

I moved here from Polk county and looked hard to find a great school. I thought that this school would be great by the parents ratings, however, maybe it was just my daughter's homeroom teacher, but i did not feel that her teacher was focused on learning. She dealt with more discipline, which i can honestly say my daughter is not a problem child, but minor things such as her twilrling her hair on her finger was disruptive and called for a mark. I think that her teacher should have been more focused on my daughters fluency in reading in stead on minor things as such. The communication was poor with her teacher and many things were last minute notices.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful, caring teachers and staff make this a great school. Mintz has many opportunities to be involed for both parents and kids alike.
—Submitted by a parent

The leadership at Mintz Elementary and teachers my children have learned from throughout the last 4 years has been wonderful. The staff is caring and helpful and as a parent I feel proud my children belong to this school. My children are excited to go to school here.
—Submitted by a parent

My husband and I are so pleased with Mintz Elementary School. Our son is doing very well in 1st grade. Mrs. Medina is excellent! She is very compromised in teaching well. We know that she runs the extra mile for the students. As a parent we valorated that very much.
—Submitted by a parent

Great School...... Outstanding teachers'.. My daughter has been at Mintz for 2years now and Ms.Kraus and Ms.LeBlanc have been extremely helpful and caring. Mintz is a great school with wonderful teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

Last year was our first year with school and Mintz Elementary made it a wonderful experience for us! Miss Desimone was awesome and we hope she'll be our younger son's teacher when they reach kindergarten. This school has my #1 rating as the best for both children and parents. Excellent education and friendly environment for our children to grow in!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is a second grader and I absolutely love her teacher, her Kindergarten teacher was great also, in the first grade we struggled a bit with the parent teacher interaction, I thought that her first grade teachers were negative and did not care about the well being of the children and it showed, I hope the trend of good teachers will continue in the 3rd grade and foreword. I have always had the good experiences with the office staff and find them to be very helpful.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a 1st grader & a 5th grader @ Mintz. I have nothing but great things to say about the teachers as well as the administrative staff. Mintz welcomes volunteers to help w/tutoring, lunch room, and the media center. I truly believe it is all in how you approach every issue when it comes to your child's school experience. we as parents can make it wonderful or we can make it unbearable. I have been involved w/ Mintz for 6yrs to date and have 5 more yrs to go:-)
—Submitted by Judi, a parent