Lithia Springs Elementary School

There are some awesome teachers in this school, but this year my 3rd grader and 5th graders have teachers are very rude. Some teachers call crybaby to the students who does not do well or would yell at them if they don't get it at first time. Also no attention is giving to the kids who don't do well. Teacher and parent communications is very poor.
--Submitted by a parent

LSES is a very serious school. Test scores, tests and disciple are held in the highest regard. Play and fun are scheduled activities. If you are looking for an academically rigorous school you will be very happy. The staff often seems stressed and unfriendly which is very concerning for an elementary school. The teachers use technology at a minimum. Only a few teachers have a web page and there is no use (in our case) of email to communicate school activities, homework or important dates reminders. I have also found LSES to be insensitive or uneducated on the unique lifestyles of military families and military children. They seem to have limited knowledge on how to manage and cope with these issues. The facilities at the school appear to be in good shape and well maintained. It also seems they have enough resources for all the children and there are no shortages of materials. The PTA is very active and engaged. They do an excellent job of getting information out to the families.
--Submitted by a parent

Major bullying issues which school seems to ignore or deny and this includes zero feed back on the zero-tolerance policy from hillsboro county school board. very disappointing..My child was crying sent back to class and told he handled being bullied wrong.Classes overload with adhd children which are very disruptive in class.My children helped get them the A ratings but it seems the children with more problems are the ones who receive the most benefit . school seems more concerned about receiving state funds &try to get ur child labeled so they can receive more money. past 2 years. I have had nothing but negative feedback and we are just holding are breath to get through this year..Teachers are great though can only teach so much when there are so many disruptive kids.They bus them in and have had issues with gang related kids/families
--Submitted by a parent

If you have a child who goes along right with the group and does exactly what is expected at all times, then it is a good school. Lithia is very rule oriented to a point of rigidity. Their ESE classes were moved to Valrico and this bothered me. They are not friendly about working with you if you have children with special needs, even minor ones.
--Submitted by a parent

Lithia Springs is an outstanding Elementary School. The staff are great, leadership is great, teachers are outstanding and they really care about the kids. The facilities are fairly new and well maintained, with an outside covered gym area. All four of my children have gone to LSES. FCAT testing is something all public schools in Florida are geared for now thanks to No Child Left Behind, which is unfortunate. The only way to get away from teachers teaching to a test anywhere in the U.S.A. now is to Home School. For a public school LSES is top notch.
--Submitted by a parent

I do afree they score high on state test levels because FCAT is etched in their brains from the first week of school. The office staff is OK, there are some really good teachers there, some of who have told me over the years they hate the FCAT test themselves. My 4th grader has already taken 8-10 FCAT practice tests, to teach them to fill in the cirles properly. Personally I'd rather have them learning phonics and times tables.... I've been here 8 years and its always the same parents doing everything then complaining the other parents don't help enough. As afr as the Drama program, thats for 5th grders only which costs 350.00 to perticipate. But first you have to try out for then play, last year 4 kids were left out (didn't make the cut) this year about 8. Excuse me, its a 'fifth' grade play,
--Submitted by a parent

Becuase they have really good teachers, who actually devote their time to helping kids, and not just doing it so they can get money.
--Submitted by a parent

We moved here from the D.C. suburbs in 2005. I was afraid of the pyublic schools here in Florida (based on my research). My child has now been at this school for 4 yrs and we couldn't be more pleased! The quality of her education has superb. There is a ton of parental involvement and the faculty is top notch.
--Submitted by a parent

Both of my children attended Lithia Springs from kindergarten through fifth grade. The staff has very high expectations and the school is academically focused, which is what parents in this community value. In addition to excellence in academics, the school offers music lessons, a drama program, and other opportunities for enrichment.
--Submitted by a parent

We have been at this school for 6 years total (two children, 3rd and 5th). I would not recommend this school to anyone. The school focases on FCAT and AR(Reading Program) starting day 1 of school each year. They do very well each year on FCATS...but the basic fundementals of subjects are not taught . The AR program rewards the students who reach their goal and the students who do not are kept in their rooms and not allowed to participate in the special Activities and Carnival. This is a state FCAT Focused school....I am extremely disappointed in the teaching at this school but we are within walking distance and that is the only reason I stay. The kids are forced to focus on FCAT,FCAT, FCAT......I hate FCATS at this age....
--Submitted by a parent