Mountain Home AFB Primary School

I have worked at Base Primary for 3 years and as a staff member, it has been an okay experience. As a mother (living in Boise) I would never send my children to this school. Teachers are mean, grumpy and overworked. There is little to no parent involvement, as well as no push for any. Parents need to get involved and make this place a better school.
--Submitted by a teacher

My daughter has gone to Base Primary School for two years. She has been fortunate to have some great teachers. The school has limited resources because of the budget cut and it's a public school. I feel that the teachers do the best that they can with what they have. The PTA (I guess that is what they are called) tries to do things for the school, considering the size of the involvement I think they do a great job. I blame the school funding, I'm surprised that the kids get anything.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has been such a sad experience for us. Classes are overcrowded, funding is substandard, and the curriculum is limited to just math (less than an hour per day) and reading. There is barely a PTA to speak of (the same few moms do everything and seem to burn out by the following year) and teachers are either on the brink of retirement or hoping their spouse will PCS soon to a different state where the pay is better and schools are taken seriously by the state and local government. I don't want to be so negative - I just can't come up with anything else.
--Submitted by a parent

Pros: 1) convenient if you live on base 2) has some good teachers if your child is fortunate to get one Cons: 1) principal leadership is poor 2) Idaho school funding is low Overall my child has had a good experience although I don't feel he has been challenged by the curriculum/pace of instruction.
--Submitted by a parent

I had two kids attend base primary. One for three years and the other for two. I found the kindergarten, first and second grade teachers to be wonderful. My kids loved going to school and their teachers. They had plenty of fun events for the kids all year long and the parents always had a say in what went on. A little parental involvement goes a long way. You can't just rely on the school to get your kids good test scores.
--Submitted by a parent

My child attends the elementary school on-base. I would tend to disagree with the greatschools.com rating. My child completed kindergarten this year and had an excellent experience. Both Kindergarten teachers are amazing! After obserserving several kindergarten teachers in Mountain Home, I concluded that these teachers were the best around! The principal has been very accomodating to parent requests. There are many opportunities for parent involvement also. Bottom line is that Idaho does not put its money into schools. However, there are some golden teachers at the base school, and that makes all the difference!
--Submitted by a parent