Sarah Adams Elementary School

Things have certainly changed at Sarah Adams since the new principal has taken over, it's taken a few years for the results to be evident but here they are. Declining ratings, declining parent involvement, all because the principal has a poor attitude and doesn't care to find out how parents feel about what is happening with their children.
--Submitted by a parent

I agree that there should be a zero rating for this school! Aside from a small handful of "good" teachers, the remaining staff have poor, disrespectful attitudes towards both students and parents. They advocate parent involvement, but ignore questions or concerns. Academics are simply unacceptable - they "teach to the test" (literally) for both ISAT/state/standardized tests as well as classroom tests. Many teachers provide the questions AND the answers to tests prior to administering them (trying to ensure good scores). This school is particularly bad, but the entire district (CUSD 95) has the same problems. There is a HUGE problem with special education - unqualified teachers who don't know enough, and don't care enough to know. The district special ed. director has this same attitude, provides very poor leadership, and is disrespectful to parents.
--Submitted by a parent

I wish they had a zero stars for this school. The teacher my child had this past year had 0 interest in his learning and didn't even notify me with concerns that he was failing. It took me almost all year to get it corrected and the principal really could care less when approached with concerns. I'm very disappointed in the school and the principal and really wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The reason there is no parent involvement is they keep asking for more money and people don't have jobs to barely send the kids to school let alone donate money. For Market Day pick up is always during the day and for some working parents, they aren't going to take off work to pick up food. .
--Submitted by a parent

Bad attitudes! A lot of complaing by parents and very low involvement by the parents. No School Spirit. My concern is children with boarder line learning disabilities. What happened to NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. It doesn't seem fair that your child has to be total dumb or some special handicap to get help.
--Submitted by a parent

Sadly, most of the positives about this school are no longer true. What was once a school with a lot of parent involvement and 'school spirit', is now a place where parents are not respected, not listened to, and subsequently no longer wish to be involved. The PTO is basically non-existent and parent moral is so low that is is very difficult to get anyone to 'chair' any of the events or fundraisers. This is a dramatic difference from how things used to be! In addition, this school is not the place to send a child with any kind of learning disability - the staff are totally clueless in terms of IDEA, NCLB or how to formulate a basic IEP. The district - CUSD 95 - is a big part of this problem, including major issues with the director of special education!.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school, I agree that the principal issue is a serious concern. The teachers are amazing and truly care about their students. The turnover isn't as frequent as the previous poster suggests but the current principal seems to have control issues and doesn't seem to care how parents feel about situations, just her need to be in control. Overall it is an amazing school.
--Submitted by Lynn, a parent

Great school, highly recommended. Our son is motivated to learn, respects his teachers and enjoys going to school everyday. That says it all!
--Submitted by a parent

The academic program seems very good. There is music, art, and PE, with recess every day. Parents are very involved in the school. Teachers are caring. I think it's a good school.
--Submitted by a parent