Vose Elementary School

While they do tend to show preference to spanish speaking families, this is likely the result of the fact that the majority of the school comes from the hispanic community. That said, my child has been in the immersion program since first grade and, while I haven't like all the teachers, the program itself is wonderful and my son now can read, speak and write in spanish very well. They also have some fun activities, such as their unicycle club (which rode in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade this past year). There is a lot of parental involvement, there would probably be even more but they tend to schedule family activities at rather early times. My big peeve is that if you send a child to school with a coat, there's a decent chance that child will leave without a coat. Coats lost on the playground do not ever make it to lost and found.
--Submitted by a parent

Great teachers & staff, wonderful immersion program and a community asset.
--Submitted by a parent

I completely disagree with the second comment. Who is responsible for teaching your child? You are the teacher at home. There is only so much a teacher can teach every single child, to pull out your child from a school that strives to help every single student seems a little hypocritical to me. This school gives parents the option for Spanish Immersion and if you choose not to go with it, your child will have plenty of attention from a regular/normal English speaking school setting. I am a parent of both the immersion and non-immersion classes and both are equally great! All children deserve the opportunity to learn English or Spanish and is up to parents to continue this teaching/learning experience at home.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a wonderful school which has truly blossomed under Principal Flores' leadership. The teachers and staff truly care about the kids and it shows in their teaching. My son has been in the Spanish immersion program since Kindergarten and while it has not always been easy for him it has been a wonderful opportunity. There is not a lot of parent participation - but if you have the time you are sure to be welcomed and appreciated for it. I have seen that letting a child help other children in class is a wonderful skill builder - it solidifies known skills, is an example to other children and builds self esteem.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has been attending this school since Kindergarten. He is non-Spanish speaking and excels in most all areas of academics. Most of the teachers'' time is spent with non-English speaking children trying to get the state scores higher. Where does this leave my child? He helps teacher the other children but who is teaching him? We will be changing schools next year. If your child needs help with English, this is the school for you. If not, you may want to transfer as well.
--Submitted by a parent

Our daughter started 5th Grade at Vose with very limited English ability a year ago. She has had an absolutely excellent ESL program and the most caring, understanding and professional teacher one can imagine. The school has a very well run after school program with HS volunteers who truly enjoy spending time with the kids. Most parents we've met work full-time, so their involvement is limited for obvious reasons. Yet there are numerous activites at school when parents are invited. A relatively large number of students is Spanish speaking and the school's overall character reflects that. We have never had a single problem with safety, discipline, or any other routine school activities or otherwise. Our daugther couldn't wait to go back to school every single day.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter was in an Spanish-English immersion program in Kindergarten, and I feel like it is a valuable skill to learn multiple languages at an early age. Now she speaks more fluent Spanish than me and I have studied the language for years as an adult. I would assume that there are also Spanish speaking children that are benifiting from this program also. She just started second grade and I liked the fact that she had the same teacher for Kindergarten and First grade. She did complain of some inappropriate behavior by some of the students on the playground. I feel that improvements in supervision may be benificial to students.
--Submitted by a parent