Florine J Abel Elementary School

Very problematic school. My daughter, a very bright girl, experienced a lack of attention due to greater attention paid to high need students. The experience slowed her educational attainment in this school and in my opinion, the leadership in the school should attend to this issue. I transferred my daughter out of this school and into a private institution.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is Autistic and has been at many different schools. The staff at Johnson changed his life. He grew more in the years at Johnoson than all of the others put together. Despite the trouble and trips to the principal's office, they never gave up and constantly looked for ways to help him. Now that he is in middle school, I realize how lucky we were. Best school any of my 3 kids have ever gone to.
—Submitted by a parent

I am disappointed in this school. Parents are encouraged to participate with their children, but in reality are sent very different signals of 'not welcome'. This comes from the administration. The priority communicated to me is the desire for Title I which seems to come at the expense of children through lessening curriculum to least common denominator. The school board RIF of AP's in schools of less than 575 is encouraging, especially here. Also wonder about spending priorities. The huge There's a huge and gleaming admin building is truly expensive and impressive, yet kids are strongly lacking basic resources necessary for their education. I've personally spent more than $200 in classroom supplies yet received no acknowledgment or thanks. The message I got was that 'parents aren't welcome'.
—Submitted by a parent

I am glad to see other parents' reviews. They give me courage. I have a fourth grader at Abel. I feel this school tries to be inclusive of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. I think there's a great deal more for the administration to do, like accept there are equivalent views in Christianity, Judaism, Hindu and Islamic faiths. The school shows some progress in that students are taught about Christmas and Kwanzaa, but not Ramadan or the teachings of Shiva. This may be a District issue, but one would think with the number of Islamic and Hindu Doctors and Lawyers and Latino/a professionals in the area they would try to create an inclusive and culturally understanding school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a child who attended Abel this year. I have never seen a school with quality this school claims.Teachers practice with hope, resilience, and optimism while the staff provides emotional support and encouragement. Parents & teachers show dedication: They apply their personal and office supply budgets to classroom materials. Although many parents here are unable to support their children they are able to buy t-shirts and pizza at the new release movie and dungaree formal events. Leadership exerts control to inculcate a culture of quality while showing attachment to mean performance. No standard deviation is left behind. To the area's benefit, exec reaches out to social and economic groups, seeking Title I economic resources that enhance NCLB. I encourage any parent to spend a half or whole day with their child at this school. You ll see amazing teaching and witness the quality that is Abel Elementary.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter started first grade in 2008. The teachers are compassionate; also very young & inexperienced. They resort to threats of yellow and red cards, which removes some privileges. Curriculum is very strict, moves lockstep with No Child Left Behind. Lots of testing with pressure on students to do well. The teachers make it clear their jobs are endangered if kids don't meet NCLB. Evidently leadership reinforces that. Teachers are young and easily intimidated. The complexity and length of reading assignments, and congruence with the weekly lesson plan doesn't fit. Linguistically words and readings could be chosen for developmental purposes. Instead, they diverge. Class size is 22. Very little coordination on playground. I saw time with no supervision at all. The crossing guards are nice. Wouldn't recommend, and I'm an educator too!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended Abel since Kindergarten and this school is one on the best schoolsin Manantee Co. The teachers are caring and the princpal and vp are very involved with the students.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started at Abel in second grade. This school is great. The teachers and the principal & VP all work extremely well together. My son starts 5th grade this fall and my daughter is starting Kindergarten. I'm so excited that I'll have 5 more years with the school.
—Submitted by a parent

I Love my Able!!! Both of my sons go there and they have the best of care. My older son has teacher Mrs Buch and my other son has Mrs King -both teachers give the highest quality of education and love to them. I also have never had anyone keep in touch with me about all issues -Thank you SOOO much
—Submitted by a parent

My older son went to Able K-5 and it is a great school. My younger is now in 2nd and is doing well.I highly reccomend this school. The teachers are very caring and enjoy what they do. Mrs. Bayer & Mr. Richardson are great!
—Submitted by a parent

My son has attended Abel since Kindergarten and is now in 5th grade. Overall academically wise it has been a good school and I like their Project Child program where the same group of students stay with the same 3 teachers for a few years.Whenever I have had an issue, I know I can address it to anyone but it seems to take a while before anything is done about it. The serious issues I have regarding my son deals with his handicap and unfortunately the playground is not acessible enough and there is a shortage of aides to assist him on it and he is not often included in the group during recess and P.E. Some of the teachers should communicate more with the parents but they all do seem to care about my child. The school has had top grades for a while though which is impressive.
—Submitted by a parent

Abel is a great school. The teachers truly care for the students and strive to give them the best education possible. They spend many after hours preparing for the student's lessons. It ranks among the best in Manatee County!
—Submitted by a teacher

I consider the school one of the best schools overall. My kids are learning and my oldest one finished her 5th grade with honors.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter went to this school for 2 years. I can't praise this school enough.Each teacher she had went above and beyond what was expected.The teachers worked very closely with me to track my daughters progress.I knew each step she was at.My youngest one has a learning disability and they have an excellent program to help the child.It didn't take to long for her to get to where she should be.I was very sad when we had to move because this school is one of the best.
—Submitted by a parent