Shaver Elementary School

Shaver has a great, caring staff who somehow manage to make it work with classrooms of close to 40 students and a good many non-English speakers.

Both of my children attended Shaver K-5 and overall I was very happy. So many of the teachers are wonderful, but Shaver gets a bad rap because it's low-income and multi-cultural. Despite the class sizes, ELL, special needs, and highly mobile students, children can and do excel at Shaver. Even when we had the opportunity to transfer to another elementary school in the district, we chose to stay. The staff and teachers there made that an easy decision to make. Every school can use improvement, and if more parents would get involved at Shaver it would definitely benefit the kids and teachers alike.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has been going to Shaver for five years now. For the most part, I've been pleased with this school, the Principal, and all of the teachers and staff. I've found Ms. Bartman to be highly qualified, professional, fair, and very patient. All of the teachers my child had have been very good, if not a little harried due to their class size. For many years I believed that a charter school would offer a better education. When the opportunity came up, I transferred my child to one. It was not a good fit. I realized that Shaver was just as good a school, if not better, despite the large class sizes. After 3 months at the charter school, I transferred my child back to Shaver. Shaver is a good school, even with large class sizes and budget cuts. They are doing the best they can.
--Submitted by a parent

Caring staff with good teachers - however, the school and district are negligent in their responsibilities to special needs children: closed minded; interpret laws and their responsibilites in the narrowest of terms; and unwilling to spend money to provide a safety net for seriously at risk children. If my daughter has a successful education it will be in spite of, not because of this school/district and its smug attitudes.
--Submitted by Claude Hawks, a parent

I have been a Shaver parent for almost four years and have experienced changes. I have not always been happy with what I have observed in the school or heard through word-of-mouth. However, my son loves Shaver and it is our job as parents to make school an environment to be proud of. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Change is never easy for anyone, but we as parents need to model for our children flexibility and show we are people who effect change positively. We have wonderful resources at Shaver, from our staff to SPFA to the Schools United Neighborhoods program (SUN). I have not agreed with all aspects of administrative decisions, but pulling our children out of Shaver and effectively 'brain-draining' our community is not the answer - getting involved is the answer. I challenge more parents to participate in SPFA.
--Submitted by Nicole Wilson, a parent

I was dissapointed with my last year at shaver. The lack of dissapline was big. There were some students who were good and some were trying but for the kids who were trying there was no chance. The princapal assumed they were always going to be the bad apples because of things in the past. So even if they did the right thing, they were the ones who were in trouble in the end. Not that they did anything to get in to trouble, but they were missed juged.
--Submitted by alyssa weston, a former student

My children started at Shaver 5 years ago. Up until last year we had a great experience. Do to a new Principle and some newly placed teachers, we struggled last year with violence and lack of respect to the students and they're parents. As a result, I removed my children from Shaver and placed them at Sacramento. Had I known now what I didn't no then, along with the concerns I witnessed and reported, I would have removed my children sooner. Something has to be done! Since the School and District wont take a stand and make changes nessasary to improve the safety and welfare of our young children, this school will only continue to go in a downward spiral. Zero tollerance to violence and profanity must be inforced. Teachers must have standards placed on them and followed up and reinforced by the district. Parents must be informed at all times.
--Submitted by Jennifer Weston, a parent