Wesley Chapel Elementary School

WCES is AMAZING! The school has a great staff and administration! I truly love working at WCES!
—Submitted by a teacher

I love this school they are awesome. Thank you guys :) For being a part of my kids life :)
—Submitted by a parent

This is the third school my children have attended and it the first that we are absolutely thrilled with!!! Every teacher has been wonderful, the expectations are high, and the school is well managed by the principal and staff. Every single person I have encountered this school year has been kind and upbeat and my children couldn't wait to get there each day. They have both grown a great deal academically. I wish they had spent their previous elementary years here.
—Submitted by a parent

Not only are they great educators, but great role models as well! I m not an easy parent, and my son can be a challenge, but Mr. Abernathy and his Assistant Principals were just wonderful every time I had contact with them. The special education teachers were phenomenal. They all care about education but also take a great deal of time in mentoring kids on being good citizens and friends. This attitude obviously comes from the top and resonates through every teacher I came in contact with. The kids really like and respect Mr. Abernathy; even when they get in trouble (which my son has). When I had concerns, I felt confident they cared and were going to do everything in their power to do what was best for my son. We moved away last summer and now seeing the way other states handle education makes me miss WCES a lot!
—Submitted by a parent

Great school with wonderful and caring teachers. The school recently earned a National Award from The Alliance for a Healthier Generation for creating a healthier school environment that promotes healthy eating and physical activity for students and staff (2010). The administration is fantastic and always available to discuss your child's progress.

WCES seems to be a good public school. My 2nd grader started here after we moved back from overseas. The school she attended overseas was a little more advanced by teaching foreign languages and computers to the elementary students. I hope at the end of the year she has excelled and has learned up to her potential.
—Submitted by a parent

My entire family thinks this school is GREAT! We moved here 4 years ago from Long Island & the schools here were supposed to be far below the standards 'up north'. We've found exactly the opposite. My son was in the gifted program at this school & he's now in 6th grade at middle school. It's precisely because of his teacher's guidance that he's more than 2 grades ahead in math (he takes high school math online) & 1 1/2 grades ahead in reading. Granted, some teachers may not be as good as others but if you're not getting any feedback then you have to press the teacher for it. Because of our persistence, our daughter in now in the gifted program & recently got a perfect score on the 3rd grade reading FCAT & only 4 wrong in math. They do cover a lot of science & geography as well.
—Submitted by a parent

My oldest son attended k and 1st at this school. Our experience has been wonderfull. the school has what is called continuous progress with multiage class. they allow children to move ahead if needed and pull out small groups for reading , math depending on the level of children. music ticw a week, pe twice a week and art once a week, this schedule rotates every year. The school has a lot of parent volunteers and it welcomes them.
—Submitted by a parent

A terrific school. Had to transfer my child from it because of a move and ws sad to leave it. The teachers are completely involved and care about the kids. It offers music classes, art classes and a terrific PE class, as well as allowing the kids to go on many field trips. A great place to send your child and feel safe in the knowledge they are receiving a quality, caring education!
—Submitted by Jeana Mitchell, a parent

My child attends the Gifted Education Program at this school. We have been very unimpressed and find that she is bored often. They do almost no teaching of Geography or History. Science is taught only once per week. The main focus is on reading and passing the FCAT's. We hardly ever get any info from the teacher and feel left in the dark. This school also applies the principle of looping so we will have the same teacher next year. We are currently looking at other alternatives for our daughter so that she will feel challenged and we will feel included in her learning.
—Submitted by a parent

Consistently an 'a' school!
—Submitted by a parent

I am very happy with my child's school, they have shown me they really care in their students. That aside I dont understand why homework assignments are such a disaster. Cryptic notes from the teachers telling students and parents what needs to be done, is the norm. Generally we can wing it but at least once a month we are left wondering what the assignment. Then we pass notes between parent and teacher and if I'm lucky they will include a note that makes sense, otherwise no reply is provided.
—Submitted by a parent

You expect the classroom teachers to be great with the kids, and they are. But what I love about this school is that everyone is so happy to be there. The music, art & PE teachers are exceptional with the kids. Even the lunch staff are extremely cheerful and patient with the kids. The PLACE program also works very hard at making it a fun place for the kids that need to be there late. Cynthia Harper and her staff are wonderful people who are interested in your family, not just your child. I love this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I just love the school!The continuous progress system works great for us. children get lot of attention because they work in smaller group. The curriculum includes P.E 3 time a week, art once a week and music once a week. The school encourages parent involvement in the classroom and in the school in general.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been more than pleased with WCES. We pulled our son out of another school after 2nd grade because he was bored and hated school. He was placed in the Gifted Program at WCES. Here are the biggest advantages I see at WCES: parent involvement, the Gifted Program integrates children into regular classes yet meets my son's needs, the energy level of the teachers is great and so is their morale, the principal has done a great job in dealing with the challenges that come with our rapidly growing community. WCES has been great for our son. He is in 4th grade now, and we are glad to say that our daughter will be starting kindergarten here next year. I am so happy with the school, and I support it 100%!
—Submitted by a parent

I loved WCES, My son was in Kindergarden and had the best teacher Mrs. Smith (we were sad to see her move) and then when he went to 1st grade he received another great teacher. All thought he talks a lot because he gets bored they handle him with care, they kept us informed in every improvement and step back that he took! We were very said to move out of Wesley Chapel last year but I wanted to give Kudos to All of the school staff including Mrs. Barcelona and Mr. Mitchell. Thank you for all your help and keep up the work.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter attended WCES for the first time this year (5th grade). She came from a private school. I was very surprised to see that there were not the discipline problems that I thought there would be. My daughter thrived. She took the FCAT for the first time this year and did very well. Over all, I am very pleased with the school and how well they prepped her for the FCAT.
—Submitted by a parent

Pasco county schools,including WCHS are poor. I've contacted the school board several times and never had my call returned. Teachers in this district seem not to care if your child has trouble. Their attitude is your child is goofing off or doesn't care. My son's first year in middle school he flunked science and english. He went to summer school and the teacher told the class all they had to do was show up to pass. His first year in H.S. he got Fs on 5 of 6 mid terms and nobody, not his teachers or guidance counselor thought anything of it. My daughter this year flunked Trigonometry. She was on the honor roll 3 of 4 quarters her freshman year, 8 straight quarters soph.&junior years. Now in her senior year they let her flunk after a d/f in the first and second quarters and say nothing about changing to classes/subjects she could pass.
—Submitted by Bart Gundy, a parent