I had a very negative experience with this school. The teachers were mediocre and the principal seemed like he lacked substance and leadership.My child never had a bad experience with school until WIS and that's when I realized something was wrong here. I tried to express my very legitimate concerns but administration didn't care, the teacher was untruthful and borderline abusive. Academically, the entire district is inferior and grossly behind. I am a seasoned parent with experiences in many schools over the years and I have to say, there is no excuse for such low expectations, average academics and poor relations between teachers, students, administration and parents. You learn a lot about people when you see how they handle things that don't run the way they want. If they can't handle facing their problems, they will never improve.
—Submitted by a parent

I was a little surprised when I saw such poor ratings from others for WIS. I have had 3 kids go through this school, one just this year, and we have had a wonderful experience each time. The school is very welcoming and invites parental participation. It is the perfect bridge between elementary school and middle school. The principal is excellent and passionate about making WIS an inviting place to challenge each student academically while helping them to grow socially. I currently have kids at all levels in Westfield schools and honestly WIS is one of the best.
—Submitted by a parent

Wow, these reviews have been pretty harsh. We had an excellent experience at Westfield Intermediate. My son had excellents teachers, a strong prinicipal and he was definitely challenged. I have heard unfavorable comments made about a few teachers, but it appears they may have left the scene now? Not sure. As a substitute teacher, my view of these teachers was positive. I have personally witnessed them be kind and nuturing. I have seen kids, who are smart, placed with certain teachers that either they didn't like or their parents didn't like, and guess what, they are now in advanced classes. So maybe there is a reason for their placement. I know the counselors and principals spend hours trying to figure out where to place the children. Parents are encouraged to write letters at the end of 4th/5th grade expressing their opinion of the ideal learning environment for their child.
—Submitted by a parent

I was extremely unimpressed with the teachers and administration. The education was very uninspiring. I felt like the teachers were just collecting a paycheck and nothing more.
—Submitted by a parent

I did not feel administration was responsive to the students' needs when issues were brought up. It feels very cliquey since there seems to be preferential treatment for some kids and not others. I did not feel educators at WIS were sincere in their desire to serve the best interests of all students. My child did not have many good experiences with teachers. There is little interest in parental involvement from the teachers and administration.
—Submitted by a parent

I did not think WIS was progressive or attentive to the needs of the student. The facility is nice. The principal greets students in the morning. The academic experience seems superficial because the passion is missing in the classroom, IMO. The math program was ineffective at teaching concepts and there was very little writing and no oral reports. There were an inordinate number of movies played in the classroom. This time should have been used to write, engage in interactive learning or make oral presentations. My experience with teachers was not positive and I felt the insincerity since my feedback was ignored. I could not detect any mulitsensory teaching. I did not find the district administration was very receptive to parental input all the way down to the teacher level. This was my experience and it should be published.
—Submitted by a parent