Alward Elementary School

Having 2 daughters that went though Alward, I feel that overall the teachers are VERY good. The staff on the other hand leaves a lot to be desired. From the principal on down they are aloof and arrogant. Dealing with a bullying incident, the principal said there was no bullying at his school. OOPs the girl in question, now in high school, came to our house with her parents to apologize for the bullying when they attended Alward. Guess the principal was WRONG. There are also different standards, your child cannot pick a teacher, or change classes unless of course you know someone on staff, then its fine, you can do what you like. Once again, the teachers on the whole are very very good, and most are caring, it's the administration that you cannot deal with, they are above you.
--Submitted by a parent

My son attended Alward just a few yrs ago and recently graduated from Hudsonville HS. The stand out students from his large graduating class were almost all from Alward! From music, to academics, to sports some of the best talent, eagerness to learn and leadership abilities I have seen come from this school. Keep up the good work!
--Submitted by a parent

my son is in the third grade. this is his first year at alward and he loves this school. i agree, this is by far the best school that my son has attended.
--Submitted by a parent

The staff I have dealt with has been truely caring and involved with the students. As of yet, I have not heard of any tenured faculty that should be fired or bad teachers
--Submitted by a parent

Overall, Alward Elementary has been an excellent school for my children. The quality of academic programs has been very good over the past 4 years that my children have been there. Availability of music, art, computer labs, extracurricular activities and opportunities for parental involvement are very important to Alward staff. The only area that I am not completely satisfied with is the fact that they don't have a gifted program for students who excel in academics. This has been somewhat frustrating but I understand it is due to budget cuts. As a parent helper, I have been attempting to coordinate a parent volunteer network to aid in a gifted children's program. The great news is that Alward's staff is behind this effort and continues to support parents who are wanting to help where they can! Alward gets an A from me, as a definate 'school of choice' for Ottawa County.
--Submitted by a parent