A. C. Whelan Elementary School

Our son has been in this school for 2 years now, and our experience has been great. All his teachers took the time to understand his skills, and challenged him at his level. The school has a great community and a ver active and involved PTA.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter just started at the A.C. Whelan School and I have nothing but good things to say.. The principal has been more than helpful and my daughter's teacher is wonderful.. She e-mail's me reminders, weekly newsletters, questions, etc. all the time.. I am so happy she is going to this school.
—Submitted by a parent

My kids are the most important aspect of me. It takes a village to raise a child. Community, commitment and caring! Thank you John Macero, and Staff can't forget Officer Burke TY Yours truly, Scott
—Submitted by a parent

The A.C. Whelan School has always been a great school. I attended over 20 years ago and the staff was awesome. Now they just improved the school even more by building a new one with top of the line equipt. My daughter has been there for four years now and wouldn't want to attend any other school.
—Submitted by a parent

My children have gone to Whelan since preschool and, while I would admit I was disappointed with the preschool, we have nothing but praise for it now. I have multiples so I have had the benefit of knowing more than one teacher in each elementary grade level -- and we've never had a complaint. The teachers are supportive and responsive to my questions and help us, as parents, to reinforce what we're trying to teach at home. The teachers have encouraged the creativity and individuality of my children (and simultaneous understanding their connectiveness), and encourage them to each learn at their own pace. I love the extended day! The principle is wonderful and the specialists (OT/PT/speech/etc.) have been fabulous to work with. The only things I dislike about Whelan are the constant PTA solicitations and early release on Mondays -- very hard for working parents.
—Submitted by a parent

I like it that is dedicated to the performing arts. I also like the fact that there is physical education everday. Overall they have improved on there curriculum since they started the extended day program.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is excellent, my daugther is on kindergarten and her teacher Mrs. Puppo is great. My little one loves and enjoy every single day. The extended day is great, they have more time to learn. I have been talking to another parents from different schools and they do not have the resources that our school has.
—Submitted by a parent

I,too, had a son that attended kindergarten this year and was having trouble adjusting to such a large classroom size. I met with the teacher many time to try to work something out to help with the transition. She was very unhelpful. I took a week off work to observe what was happening in class and I found that the teacher was boring and had no creativity. My husband and I tried to see if our son could switch teachers and received no response from the asst. principal nor the principal. Also, I agree that they were too strict to allow for any individualism. We have since pulled our son from the school and he is thriving at his new school. So although the curriculum is great, I would not recommend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of a second grader and I love the Whelan School and everthing about it.
—Submitted by a parent

My son started attending kindergarten this year but is having trouble adjusting to an average class size of 29, which is well over the state recommended level (22) and even over the legal limit (25) although that is based on the entire school district. (Lack of funds is to blame for this.) His personal teacher lacks the necessary energy and enthusiasm for this age student, although both she and the management team are being very helpful in trying to make his transition easier. They have moved to a full day, extended kindergarten, although my son has mentioned on various occassions that he has not had time to finish his lunch, with only 30 minutes of time provided between the morning and afternoon sessions. There are no extracurricular activities for kindergartners that I am aware of.
—Submitted by a parent

I moved from another school district just to have my daughter be able to attend such a great school, with an amazing staff, and top of the line equipment and supplies. I truly feel that my child has the most valuable education resource this area has to offer.
—Submitted by a parent

Hello the A.C. Whelan School is an excellent school for kids from K-6. I had the best 7 years of my life going to that school and miss it deeply. There is a wonderful staff of teachers that are eager to benifit your child. If you are thinking of sending to your child to this school you want regret sending your kid to the Whelan at all. It is now K-5 due to construction on making it into a middle school as well. Going to the Whelan has made me the educated person I am today. - Shaye 7th grader ar Garfield
—Submitted by Shaye, a former student

I think that this school is the best school in the world.I had the best 6 years of my life at the a.c whelan school.-carolina zanetta
—Submitted by Carolina Zanetta, a former student

The A.C. Whelan School has a caring, professional, high-quality staff and administration. There are several extra curricular activities for students, including Art Club, Drama Club, and Intramural Basketball. MCAS scores are among the highest in the city, and there is an academic support program for students who require extra assistance. PTA is very active and parent involvement in the life of the school is good.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has no recess. They have a beautiful playground that kids cannot play on. They stay in class room for free time. No clubs, or groups. We left after 6 months. Teachers too strict to promote creative learning.
—Submitted by a parent