Gables Elementary School

We love Gables. Our family has lived in different states and our son has attended various public and private schools. He landed at Gables in the middle of the year, after attending a Columbus private school where academics were not impressive and children were not welcoming to him. At Gables, the Principal and the school secretary have been nothing but nice and helpful. From the moment we observed, Gables students warmed up to our son and were also polite to us parents! The teacher kept students engaged throughout dynamic geometry and vehicle design activities. Our son has made many friends from many cultural backgrounds; you can't tell he's the new kid. He says that the teachers are nice, that they teach serious topics in a "fun" way. Some of the highlights have been the art show, multicultural night and the school play. Of course, you can find positive and negatives everywhere. For example, perhaps the school can try communicating with parents by email on a regular basis. Fundraising may be necessary to improve recreational facilities. The positives so far outweigh the negatives, and so we absolutely recommend Gables for a modern education with a global flare.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been attending Gables for over 3 years. His teachers are fantastic and are genuine to the children. I've sat in on class before and their learning methods were very creative and interactive. Although I can agree that the principal is not very personable, but she's been effective in raising the school's stats. The PTA is very involved and the school offers unique activities that the kids enjoy. Of course schools have to teach to the test, how else will you measure the skills and knowledge achievement by our children? Our kids will have many more tests that they will face in the future and it is important they develop these skills early on. Try complaining to the university who will reject kids because their SAT and ACT was not good enough. That is just how this world works. Gables Elementary is one of the best schools in the Columbus District and I would definitely recommend them.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been at Gables for nearly 8 years now, and the quality of classroom education provided by their excellent teachers is the best in the district. Unfortunately, the change in principal about 3 and a half years ago has caused the overall rating of our school to deteriorate, You may notice that other comments here before about 2008 are very positive, then more recent ones take a dramatic turn downward, mostly about administration. Under the current principal, parental involvement and extra-classroom activities have plummeted, as they do no fit in with her overall philosophy of trying to push for higher test scores. Also, Gables used to be the place where, "Everybody knows your name" but now, the community feel of the school has all but disappeared. This is a shame since there are over 19 nationalities represented here, and there is a potential for this school to be a model of internaltional cooperation and diversity. In addition, bullying and in-school suspensions are tolerated and even left undocumented - see a wcmh news story from may of last year from their website as evidence. Full marks for teachers and students; no confidence in the principal.
—Submitted by a parent

YOu can never a worse principal and secretary...These two people are extremly rude and very unprofessional. To be honest with you, I dont know how they got that position. I was having lunch with my son one day at school and I heard the principal yelling at children asking them to take only one fork becuase the school is not going to pay for them to use more than one fork..I Thought that was very cheap and disgusting. I had lots of problems with them and they never appologize or act in a nice way. I would NEVER recommend this school. I am trying to move from where I live right now just to get a better school.
—Submitted by a parent

I was supposed to send my daughter here this fall 2011 for kindergarten. I registered her 3 months prior to school beginning and everything was fine. Then a week before school started I called the office b/c I did not receive anything in the mail and they decided to tell me then that she cannot go there. I spoke with the secretary and principal and they were both extremely rude telling me that I needed to call the Dublin school where she was supposed to go. I argued over the phone with them b/c where my house sits it is Columbus schools and we went over this when I 1st registered her. So I called Dublin and they said that she was supposed to go to Gables as well. So the superintendent of Dublin had to call and they argued with him and then they finally figured out that she was supposed to be there all along. I had to call them back after all of that and spoke with the principal and she barely offered an apology and then started running off dates as to when my daughter was to be there. After how rude they were I decided to NOT send her there and she goes somewhere else now in which I am extremely happy. I would NEVER recommend Gables to anyone!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This has been one of my worse experiances ever. I have teenage kids and never have I had any staff member so RUDE as the secretary,principal,and the lunch lady are here at Gables. They need to have some sort of training on how to treat and respect parents or people in general! Better education for the office staff much needed! The teacher is awesome so kind and friendly you can tell she really loves kids and her job
—Submitted by a parent

This is a wonderful school!! Everyone is great and my children are learning alot!!
—Submitted by a parent

Our daughter is in this school. She is our one and only and we were really nervous about sending her to school. The staff here is awesome though. The kindergarten teachers came to our house the summer before school started to get to know our daughter a little. The school has alot of programs and fun things to do. Our daughter is doing great and she loves school too. Which is the most important thing.
—Submitted by a parent

Our daugher is in kinderg., first child in this school. We will be sending our four year old when he starts kinderg, even though for us, it is a lottery school. We love the diversity, the teacher and student awarness of each other, the parent involvement etc. Our daughter is a bit advanced in reading, and we found her teachers on top of her ability, and ready with suggestions and alternatives to keep her interested, moving forward and motivated. We love the principal, her attitude with the children and parents.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been at Gables for two years. He had some difficulty adjusting during a brief period of time and I found the teacher's and principal's approach very reasonable. I believe the staff is very open to suggestions and new ideas. A new club was started last year to encourage more fitness activies for the children. It is a fun and positive place to send children for school.
—Submitted by a parent

great school, and great teachers
—Submitted by a parent

This is the best school in town if your child is 'normal.' My son is gifted, and has ADHD, and had a terrible experience with his teacher. The teacher was inexperienced with children who learn differently. There are too many strict rules, that are unnecessary. The principle gave no help for resolving the situation. We eventually had to change schools.
—Submitted by a parent

As far as I'm concerned, Gables is the best elementary school the district has to offer. The involvement of the parents and community make this small school highly desirable. The diversity of the students and the way that the staff incorporates the many different customs of these children make this school a great start for our next generation that will become a more diverse workforce in the future. The principal, michelle Harkins, is not as great as Steve Holland was before he was transferred from the school. The school offers many after school activities such as scouts, tutoring, and latchkey. The music teacher, Mr. Dover is awesome, as he donates his time to the children after school with such activities as show choir and acoustic guitar lessons.
—Submitted by a parent

When I took my son to this school. He love at very first sight, the school is great for ESOL students. They provide freed Brakefast and reduced price Lunch. Also they are good in showing intrest to students reading,writing,math skills. They will send a weekly note what the done for the week and how to improve your kid at Home.
—Submitted by a parent