Louise S. McInnis Elementary School

The Principal @ this school is NOT parent friendley. This principal hides behind her office door and it's like pulling teeth to get her to return a parents phone call. After many phone calls to the school, and then the district office in Deland. I as a parent had to go into McInnis school's office demand a meeting with the principal told them I wasn't leaving till I met with her did I get a meeting. The way this school in ran is VERY Unsatisfactory and is doing a disservice to our community. I am ashamed of this school and will be seaking a school that not only has Challenging academic programs for my daughter, better teachers, Strong principal/school leadership and is a parent friendly place.
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers here are awesome. My kids love the Principle and the Assistant Principle. However, There is absoluty no parent participation. This is due to the amount of Mexican families who are scared to get involved. Don't judge by there scores, because it is hard to keep the scores up since so many parents pull their kids out of school for wees at a time and then reregister there kids when they get back. They return right before FCAT testing without any preperation. For thosekids that do stay they get an excellent education. I have 3 kids in the school and they love it and exceed. We need to change legistration saying that after missing so many days of school they are not allowed to take the FCAT test. This is how it was at one time. This should not apply to kids with medical reasons if they are tutored at home and keep up with their work.
—Submitted by a parent

McInnis is wonderful, the teachers are there to help at all times and everyone is very friendly. My daughter already learned so much in the first couple of weeks of school, it is amazing.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has done great at this school. The principals and teachers really care about the students. My daughter really excelled and even got A honor roll! I wish this school had more funding for things like computers but everything else is excellent!
—Submitted by a parent

My experience at McInnis has been very positive. The teachers that I have encountered the past two years have been very caring and work hard to make sure that children are learning. There are added people on staff to work with children who need extra help on a daily basis. The teachers that my chldren have had have always kept me informed if they were struggling and helped me with suggestions to do at home. The administration is visible and knows many families by name. They make sure the school is safe. They attend all SAC and PTA meetings. Parents are very involved and the school recently received the DOE Five Star School Award. The school also has maintained an 'A' grade even with the challenges of having a large population of children from low income homes. Many famiies speak Spanish and the school provides people to help them at meetings.
—Submitted by a parent

As a concerned grandmother of a student who has attended McInnis for the last three years, it is unfortunate that I must report my displeasure with the quality of his education. As a matter of fact, if you remove the FCAT-related activities from the equation, there are no extracurricular activities to speak of.
—Submitted by a parent

No improvement noted in the past year and a half--even the family friendly atmosphere is now missing. Office staff predominantly Hispanic, with little knowledge of English, so phone communications with school staff are virtually impossible. Even in person, one must get through to the office staff to find someone proficient in English; this can be frustrating. I've been very unhappy this year with the teacher's seeming disinterest in the students, and with her apparent inability to communicate with parents in a timely manner. In my opinion, a concerned, involved parent would do better to look elsewhere for a good public elementary school--this isn't it! And, as an aside, 25% of the third grade at McInnis failed the 2006 FCAT, and 22% failed the math portion. This school ranks lowest of 49 elementary schools in Volusia County for 3rd grade FCAT performance.
—Submitted by a parent

We attended this school in 2003-2004 year. Highly disappointed. We now know how a school should be since we varienced to Volusia Pines in Lake Helen. What a difference. McInnis ignores the needs and lacks love and responsiblity for their students. I was told my kids were on task and grade level. I found out different once we got to Volusia Pines. My son finally loves school again! It was a daily struggle to get him to McInnis, Sunday nights were spent with melt downs. Teachers and staff pretend to care when you are present. I see by the other responses that things have not changed. They coach for Fcat,activities I dont see at our A grade school.
—Submitted by a parent

Mcinnis is a family-friendly environment with little else to suggest it. Parents must take a strong, pro-active role in securing 'extra' help or attention for a child in need of such; otherwise, the problem is pretty much ignored. Parents must also request frequent updates on such things as standardized test scores, school resources, and even general classroom behavior--this information is usually not volunteered unless there is a problem which can no longer be ignored. Despite bully-proofing programs, mcinnis appears to have more than its share of safety issues, and little appears to be done to get to the root of discipline problems. The school offers a few rare extracurricular activities, but they are not publicized, so if you don't ask, you very likely won't know.
—Submitted by a parent