West Newton Elementary School

I am a parent at West Newton Elementary School and have been for the last 5 years. West Newton is a good school, the teachers focus on education and encourage and welcome parent involvement.
--Submitted by a parent

I had my daughter in Kindergarten with Ms Tullos and Ms Wright. They were excellent and I really enjoyed being involved. The communication between parent/teacher was excellent. My daughter has shown tremendous growth over the past year and I thank you. Keep up the good work.
--Submitted by a parent

West Newton is the best elementary school in the county! My daughter has been in private school since pre school and this was her first public school(5th grader). Hats off to Ms. Anderson(principal) and Ms Marett(asst. principal) for being great leaders! Every time I have ever encountered either of them it's always a pleasureable experience. Ms Wrenn is an excellent teachger-very involved and caring! Keep up the good work Wilcats!!! Mrs. Parker
--Submitted by a parent

My child is a student at West Newton and is doing quite well. I do get a lot of support from the teachers and feel they are doing a good job at preparing my child for the state test. The atmosphere of the school is very inviting and child focus which makes the children want to learn. This year my child has done a lot of projects and other types of learning style. I do see the change in learning which I know is due to the focus of making sure children pass the CRCT testing. This is the one thing I do not like but this is something that is required by the state, so I think west newton is doing a great job of getting the children ready for the next grade level.
--Submitted by a parent

My child attends West Newton and I am pleased with the school overall. I like the idea that there is learning going on through out the day and that there are set times for parents to come to class which reduces the amount of time taken away from learning. The principal has put into place times for parents to come to the rooms, and you can come eat with your child during lunch at any given day of the week as you make like. Unfortunately with the changing of times and how schools are rated I like the added structure. I know my child is safe and there is learning going on in the classrooms.
--Submitted by a parent

This school started out great for us, but fast went downhill. I've had two children at WNES. The oldest was lucky to start school (pre-k) when education was allowed to be fun. After 6 years of having my kids at WNES, I have had to make the decision to home school next year. My younger child has been the subject to constant bullying, and I'm getting very little help bringing it to an end. Parents are no longer welcome in the classrooms, unless a series of prior arrangements have been put into place. There is very little left about this school that makes me feel secure having my children there.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter graduated from W Newton 4 yrs ago and we had a great experience. However, now my son has been going there since grade K and there has been a definite change for the worse. The majority of the wonderful teachers they had are leaving, and this year I have given up trying to get a response from his teacher after a number of letters and phone calls. She seems to always be in 'meetings'. There is definitely a lack of discipline and communication that has only gotten worse over the last couple of years. I am a firm believer in parent-teacher communication, but it is difficult when only one side is willing to communicate.
--Submitted by a parent

We have dislike this school since we went to register my son at there when we moved into this district. We were at Livingston for K5-3 and loved it but, this school is horrible. The communications between teacher and parent with the exception of one teacher is non-existant. Not to mention the lack of control in the class rooms,and the theft. And Lord forbid you ask for a teacher or the principal to call you. It's just not going to happen. We are seriously considering home schooling or biting the bullet and paying for private school.
--Submitted by a parent

During the past five years I've seen this school experience tremendous growth. Many of the behaviorial problems are symptoms of overcrowded classrooms. There were 33 children in my child's classroom this year. Overcrowded classrooms are unsafe, breed behavior problems, and is a large distraction against classroom peak performance. How can we expect our children to learn, behave well, and thrive if we as decision makers have set them up for failure by not providing a safe environment conducive for learning? It's not fair for the children to be criticized or their teachers when they are doing the best they can with the circumstances they've been provided. Thank God they show up everyday to do what most of us cannot or refuse to do. We'll make a difference by insisting that our elected officials hire more teachers or enhance our infrastructure by building more schools that fosters a higher standard of learning.
--Submitted by Mary Williams, a parent

I have been involved at WNES as a parent since the school opened 9 years ago! It has done nothing but go DOWNHILL each year! They have slowly lost one great teacher after another each year, this year inclded, due to horrible student behavior issues as well the rising number of uninvolved parents. The biggest number left or are leaving because of the current principal! This principal, was brought back this year even though everyone rejoiced in seeing her leave the first time she was at WNES! She is more like a drill sergant than an elementary principal! The overall learning environment has been detrimentally crippled due to these factors! Check the test scores!
--Submitted by a parent