Pinewood Elementary School

Kindergarten classes are all at full capacity. Few if any parent volunteers. Overwhelmed teachers. Poor communication (no electronic communications with the school, weekly newsletter lacks detail, no follow-up on events until the day before. Only found out in January, that the school has been selling pencils, erasers, toys, etc in the cafeteria at lunch since the beginning of the year and that the kids are supposed to bring cash to buy this stuff. I found out when my child burst in to tears because he is always left out because he didn't bring money. Maybe if you had a bright 5th grader they could read and understand what was going on themselves, but for a parent of a young student, I feel like I am out of the loop even though I am trying.
--Submitted by a parent

Pinewood is a great school. My daughters are 6 and 8 years old. The teachers they have and had in prior years have been great. My 8 year old has Mrs. Sayers and she is wonderful. She is very open about calling her if you have any questions and she never makes you feel like you are bothering her. She truely cares about the children. Last year my 8 year old had Mr. Declark and he is another teacher that is great. He also truely cares about the kids and has a great program in the class room where each child picks a stick with a child's name on it, and they have to play with that person at recess. This way they get to know more kids and certain kids will never be left out during recess.
--Submitted by a parent

I love Pinewood. This is my kids' first year there and so far I am happy with it and they are also. All staff communicates well and keeps parents well informed, and there are good extracurricular activities.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is in Mrs. Witgen's AM KG. Let me say she's awesome and I've couldn't ask for a better teacher. You're always welcome to help out in the classroom. The school is great and the office ladies are so helpful and nice and they know each kid, and you'll see the principal every morning greeting parents and kids. This is a wonderful school , I only wish Mrs. Witgen could be his his teacher every year.
--Submitted by a parent

My child is in PM Kindergarten. Her teacher, Mrs. Turney is wonderful! My child learned so much in her class. Mrs. Turney has great control over her class room and she is so patient. I so hope that when my younger daughter attends fall of 2008 she will still be teaching and has her as her teacher. Parent involvement is plentiful in her class and the programs Pinewood offers are good. It has only been 1 year my child has been at Pinewood but so far I have no complaints about Pinewood. It helps when you have great teachers like Mrs. Turney!
--Submitted by Shelly J., a parent

My child is in D-k .she seems to enjoy class and is making friends. The school is set up in a open classroom style,which I personally dont like. Her Teacher is okay,so far, She has so far seemed knowledgable. overall the school is decent.
--Submitted by a parent

Pinewood Elementary is a wonderful school. It has a knowledgeable and caring staff. It opens its doors to students and parents. Offers many enriching programs for the students and opportunities for parent involvement. It is constantly improving its facilities inside and out. Be it paint, school supplies, landscaping, playground equipment...between the school, staff, PTC and families our children are being given a great education and an awesome learning and growing environment.
--Submitted by Teresa Burnett, a parent

This school is run like a boot camp. Children have no input as to what goes on. The teachers ignore children who misbehave and reward thee children who bully others.
--Submitted by a parent