Hardin Park Elementary School

i have no complians about this school so far. my kids love it and are doing very well in thier grades, the teachers don't compare, they are just great! keep on rocking!!
--Submitted by a parent

This school rocks. Don't diss our school gidance councelor. She does an excelent job of enforsing our anit bullying policy. And personally, as a student I see no bullying at all in our class. This is my last year here and our teachers are great.

I wrote the glowing review of June 29, 2009. True, for that year. Since then, many experiences prompt a revised review. The school has an anti-bullying policy which they review with students but look the other way when students taunt, mock and tease one another. We are now homeschooling and if I could re-do the last year and a half to give my child back confidence, a joy of learning and a sense of self, I would NOT have enrolled my child at this school. Too big and "punitive" to Special Needs population instead of functional and supportive.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is awful. We were not pleased and the teacher our son had no patience. We would not recommend this school to anyone. If you want your child to go to a bad school where it is to large to meet the demands of the children then by all means go there. Bad bad bad school.
--Submitted by a parent

We have been with Hardin Park for years and are so happy with it. The amount, and quality, of help available to the students is amazing. If you are a parent of a child who is academically 'outside the box' either way, Hardin Park staff can help your child, meet them where they are. It has been a great choice for our kids and our family.
--Submitted by a parent

Excellent school with outstanding administrators. Great teachers. The two areas that could use improvement are communication and technology. Efforts have been made to improve those areas with the installation of new automated schedule notification systems. A voice mail system to improve message delivery would be nice. A better way of informing parents of upcoming events, like posting a calendar, permission forms, etc. to a designated school web space by grade would enhance communication.
--Submitted by a parent

I love this school!! I am in 8th grade and this school rocks!
--Submitted by a student

I have taught at Hardin Park and been a parent of a student at the school. with an added bonus of having a parent teach at the school, and I can tell you that Hardin Park is an incredible school with a wonderful caring staff. I especially love the idea of having PE everyday, as I am now in Fl, and that is not the case down here. I do have to disagree with the last parent though.....Hardin Park is by no means the first school in the county to have PE everyday. That has been county policy for years; as a student at Parkway way back, we went out each day to play and has a blast. I think it's healthy, and I commend the county for that decision.

We are highly pleased with Hardin Park as first year Kindergarten parents. Our child's experience has included a curriculum rich in academics, music, physical activity, foreign language and social development. As a former middle school teacher, I am pleased to be a part of a school where the principals, special area teachers, and even teachers in other grade levels know my child by name. This atmosphere makes each child feel special as a part of a community. I do not feel that the Kindergarten has any unnecessary parties or serves junk food on a regular basis. I am proud of teachers and schools who recognize the merits of making school a fun place to be in addition to a learning place. My only complaints are really more of a county wide problem...not enough computer time in Kindergarten and no art class in K-2 classes. Spanish, music and PE have been great.
--Submitted by a parent

Hardin Park has some of the most fabulous teachers I've seen anywhere, and wonderful, caring principals who set high expectations for the kids. The bus drivers are wonderful too - all are mature adults who really love the kids. HP has daily PE (the first school in the county to do this); terrific early-intervention reading program (the only school in the county); weekly computer lab, music, art, and foreign language for every class. Some negatives: it's big (800 kids), tho the layout has PreK-3, 4-5, and 6-8 grades each in their own wings so it never feels that way. Some rooms have lousy air quality - no AC, leaky roof, plus poor air circulation (walls were added after it opened as an 'open classroom' school when it was built in th 70s). Lots of teachers show TV during lunch, & some K teachers do lotsa parties plus ignore principal's rule against feeding junk.
--Submitted by a parent