Lower Grade Hellgate

Hellgate seemed impressive when we first enrolled our daughter in kindergarten during the 2007-2008 school year. She had a good year, and a great teacher. In the next few years, however, Hellgate's enrollment has grown so dramatically that the school seems ill-equipped to keep pace. By the year 2009-2010, bullying was rampant, and recess was a nightmare, with kids from several grades swarming the playground and little supervision. My daughter came home haggard and exhausted every day. I joined her for lunch several times, and I was appalled at the level of noise in the cafeteria and in the hallways. At that point, the schoolwork coming home also seemed haphazard, and I had a hard time understanding just what she was supposed to be learning. It was a very unfortunate year, and I pulled her to homeschool the following year. I hope that Hellgate stabilizes and improves again, because I appreciated the friendliness and warmth a few years ago. It is hard to see how that initial intimacy can be sustained with the level of growth it is currently experiencing.
--Submitted by a parent

We LOVED Hellgate Elementary. This was our first school experience with our kids, and our daughter broke her femur justa week after school started. I loved the organization the school had in getting information to the arents, especially ones who never had kids in school before. They were helpful at working with my daughters dissabiity at the time and very accomodating. The principle was WONDERFUl, very involved and genuine. we have since been to 2 other elementary schools and neither of them even live up to the organization and involvement Hellgate had. We would move to Montana Just to put our kids in that school if we could. -Jyn Meyer
--Submitted by a parent