Westchester Primary School

Just finished our second year here, and I have nothing but high praise for WPS and its teaching staff. My daughter had a great year, and as a first grader has learned some impressive skills. The Author's Tea is a fantastic program, and I could only wish there were more instances for parents to come and witness their kids achievements. Otherwise, seeing how my daughter loves to learn, and "teach" us at home, I can't help but say "thank you" to WPS and all the dedicated teachers there.
--Submitted by a parent

Due to the changes in our finances we have had to take our children out of Catholic school & put them in WPS. I will say there is positive & negative at both. There is way more family involvement at the Catholic school. You are not welcome at WPS if you need to bring a younger sibling with you. WPS doesn't provide nearly as much computer time. We have had to use the speech services & can not rave about it. One 15 session a week is not enough to deal with speech issues. At the end of Oct. our son has only had about 5 sessions since the begining of the year. The distrist is required to provide speech service, but it truly is very minimum. We will have to pay privately for what WPS is not providing. We feel our older children got a better education at Catholic school.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is in the kindergarten here. He has received special attention by the teachers, who have figured out what teaching styles he responds best to. I have noticed that kindergarten ain't what it used to be! Now, everything is tested. A bit too much emphasis is put on worksheet-based learning. With all the testing requirements, kindergarten is the new first grade. However, the whole WPS staff (principal Akemi Sessler, the teachers, the special education department including Mary Momolella) are all VERY caring and committed, definitely going above and beyond to help each child.
--Submitted by a parent

We have had a great experience with WPS. As with all schools, each child's experience will differ. We feel the teacher quality is excellent and school-wide programs are on target for these age groups. The new principal is engaged and committed to continuted improvement. We are very happy with this school.
--Submitted by a parent

I look the attention the school puts on the children. I am very happy.
--Submitted by a parent

I reviewed this school in 2005. At that time I was very happy with the attention they gave my son, who happens to be a very good student. Since then, I have had many, many negative experiences with this school and the staff when it comes to my son who isn't as good a student as his brother. I have struggled with his education at WPS since the very beginning. I am currently reviewing private schools for him to transfer to ASAP. The administration has not taken any of my advise. I am extremely dissatisfied with the old and new administration and teachers.
--Submitted by Alma Loera, a parent

I strongly disagree with the current posts in regards to this school. The curriculum and instructional strategies are outdated and consists of too many worksheets. The teachers and administration seldomly return phone calls. Students are tested without parents consent. Very disappointed in this school.
--Submitted by a parent

I strongly disagree with several of the reviews. My experience, as a parent, with WPS was the best. I am so thankful that my son's first years of school were at WPS. The principal shows such devotion to all of the children. She knows each child by thier first name. The parent involvement is fantastic. WPS also has a wonderfull music and art program for the children and the gym teacher makes gym class fun. The children really love him. Thank you to the principal, teachers and staff for all the hard work you do and for caring for our children.
--Submitted by L. Cundari, a parent

That's totally ridiculous that people are saying that WPS is not a good school I went there and I can honestly say that they care. If you don't understand something they pull you aside and take out special time with you. Furthermore its a lie to say that they don't respond to calls and don't encourage parent involvement if you went there there are many times where they asked for parent participation its some parents who don't take the chance. They usually call you bak to its a insult saying WPS isn't a great school!
--Submitted by Karriel B., a former student

I am very dissapointed with the lack of communication from teacher/principal to parent. I also am also dissapointed in the outdated curriculum. The reading and math programs are worksheet orientated with a lot of 'busy' work. This does not appear to be child centered. This is obvious in the schools state report card. The professionalism of the staff and school administration is extremly disheartning. We asked for social work time for our child and it was never acknowledged by staff/administration. We asked for certain papers/documents and have never received them, even after numerous phone calls were made to principal/teacher.
--Submitted by a parent