Graebner Elementary School

My daughter just started the preschool program this year at Graebner and she loves it. Her teacher is Ms. Sandy Jewell she is a awesome teacher we like her alot. She is a caring , thoughtful and patient teacher and my daughter has a lot of fun and has learned alot as well. I look forward for many years to come at Graebner .
—Submitted by a parent

We have been a part of Graebner since 2001 and its been absolutely wonderful! The teachers are all awesome! We have not had a bad teacher yet and my son is in 6th grade. He's been on the honor roll since the fourth grade. And trust me the teachers are very patient and kind and caring. They really do want the best for your kids. The parent support is great. It's a wonderful school and we also thought about buying a bigger house but we will not move from Graebner. The kids are great, the teachers are great, the academics are great. There are no sport teams but it is an ELEMENTARY. What Elementary has sport teams yet. Also the school is clean maybe parents should teach their kids to wash their hands more often. Also there are walls up now have been for a couple of years.
—Submitted by a parent

My first grade son started attending Graebner this year. We are very pleased with the Utica School System and specifically with Graebner. His first grade teacher, Mrs. Paladino, has done a great job with the kids and she is very accomodating in working with any struggles that he might have. He has excelled throughout the year and really enjoys going to school. Parent involvement seems adequate. The school is kept clean and the pricipal is very involved.
—Submitted by Jenny, a parent

Graebner is overall a really good school but they always have the same old fundraisers year after year. They do have lots of activities to be involved in such as The Blue Ribbon Press (School newspaper)Mornin gAnnouncements, Service squad, Student government, strings, band and many more. They have lots of parents involved in the school that help out at parties and things like that. They don't have any sport teams though. Graebner is a really great school and my children love it.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is in ist grade. I am extremely happy with his teacher, classroom, the office staff. We have had a wonderful experience at Graebner. I have been able to volunteer, as much as I would like, inside the classroom.
—Submitted by a parent

it's not that i don't like graebner but the teachers seem to need to learn some patience. they are high strung and expect our children to be perfect little students and that is just not possible when you're dealing with 20+ children per classroom. i also do not like the 'open classrooms' my daughter has difficulty concentrating sometimes and this doesn't help
—Submitted by a parent

My child currently is enrolled at Graebner. I am shocked to think that anybody would have anything to say about this school. The only complaint that I have is that any event you wish to attend in the evening is very difficult to find a good parking place because of the parent involvement. Blue Ribbon accreditation is not an easy task. I have a sister-in-law who is a kindergarten teacher in Grosse Pointe and she cannot believe how wonderful the curriculum is and uses some of it in her own classroom. My husband and I have thought about moving into a bigger house, but I have to tell you one very big reason that we don't want to move is because we want our son to continue at Graebner. By the way, knock on wood, but my son rarely gets sick.
—Submitted by Lori, a parent

My child currently attends Graebner. I can attest to the fact that when I pick up my child from latchkey every evening that the school is in the process of being cleaned. The only issue we have ever had with a sanitary condition has been the boys bathroom floor within the classroom. When you have 13 boys in a classroom it's hard to keep the floor around the toilet clean, even at home. Any time I have had a concern, it has always been corrected. Every school in the Utica School District has carpet to buffer the noise. We moved from a christian school to Graebner because they couldn't keep good teachers because of the low pay, they didn't have the manpower to keep the school clean, or a nurse to monitor my son's medical needs and my son was continuously being injured on the playground because of lack of supervision.
—Submitted by a parent

Graebner was a great school. I volunteered much of my time at the school and beg to differ about the schools sanitary issues. The school was great. Some of the classrooms do not have walls but with the bond passing that will change. It certainly made no difference to the kids. The classes were all well behaved. My son was never sick while he attended Graebner. The teaching staff was amazing and the extra activities for the children were great. The principal was very friendly and helpful. She made all the kids feel special. Unfortunately due to a move we cannot go to Graebner anymore and are really going to miss it!!
—Submitted by a parent

We live in the Graebner area. Two years ago we switched our children to a private school because Graebner is a dirty, unclean school and the classrooms do not have walls, it's all open, very noisy and hard for kids to concentrate. The school is carpeted all over, which is nasty and unsanitary. My children have hardly been sick since they left Graebner, my neighbor also pulled her children out and she has noticed the same thing, even though her children are in another public school. We are not the only ones who feel this school is not clean. Tina
—Submitted by a parent