Llewellyn Elementary School

Over the last several years, Llewellyn has become an overcrowded school; the number of kids is about 550. (This website stated it was 374.)This has creating problems in many areas, such as large class sizes, short lunches (which can leave kids underfed), and too little space for the growing enrollment. Llewellyn even has temporary classrooms outside of the building to accommodate 3 or 4 classes of children. Most of the teachers are wonderful, but there are a couple of teachers with temperment problems who continue to stay. The parent involvement is absolutely wonderful. The biggest obstacle this school has will continue to be overcrowding in 2012/2013 and the years to come. Mr Powell has been a great principal, but is retiring at the end of this year.
—Submitted by a parent

We have gone to this school for five years and have been pleased overall. There is great parent involvement and we've had pretty great teachers. I feel like my kids got to be great readers from this school. There are a couple of staff members who should probably retire as you can tell they are "burnt out." When you are pretty much grumpy all the time, it might be time to hang up the "teaching cleats." The principal is very nice and a good listener. Overcrowding is an issue now but they are working on it.
—Submitted by a parent

This is the school that my grandchildren go to and they love it and have leared a lot there
—Submitted by a parent

As other reviewers have mentioned, the parents are fantastic. Many of the teachers are great. My kids love the school. It has a real great community feel and a great location. Close enough to Oaks Bottom to do field trips there. Tall trees bordering the playground where an occasional eagle will land. The only downside is the principal who seems to avoid conflict at all costs with the hope that it will just go away. If you want anything done, just don't expect results from him. Find another way.
—Submitted by a parent

The staff seems friendly and most educated. The children should feel safe, and parent should knowing the education level they are getting. The program to teach reading has been working quite well as far as I can tell. My only problem is the gym classes. Children are not playing sports much anymore, instead they are taking hikes and reading a textbook! The students should be getting more exercise then that, to prepare them for highschool.

We enjoy our activities with the school. I am not very involved outside of the classroom and homework, so I cannot speak to the level I am involved in. Parents are generally friendly and busy. Our expereince with the current 3rd grade teacher is excellent. She is doing an Info Tech based curriculum that is very similar to my college coursework~pretty exciting. The staff do ask children to be respectful-thank you! There are plenty of opportunities and positive things at the school if you want to be involved in them. We really like the Cafeteria program to get students involved, and the Prinicipal is approachable and cordial, we like Llewellyn a lot.
—Submitted by a parent

We love this school! My daughters have not had large class sizes . So happy to have a professional music teacher at the school now, along with PE twice a week, a real librarian, computer class, art class, etc. We're so lucky to have so many things other portland schools no longer have! The teachers have been just excellent. And the families are a very comitted, erudite bunch.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is extraordinary! My daughter (3rd grade) and my son (kindergarten) have been challenged, nurtured, inspired, and encouraged. The teachers are fantastic - a nice mix of experienced teachers who have been at the school for years and freshly minted, energetic young teachers. The parent involvement is truly amazing - every year in my daughter's class there has been a parent volunteer almost every day. Scores of moms and dads run many enrichment classes after school, and help in the classroom every day. This is a public school that truly has it all: music, art, P.E., a librarian, computer classes. We've been delighted with this wonderful school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am so happy that my kids will be attending this school. I love the new schoolwide reading curriculum which includes spelling and writing assessments. The parents are dedicated and seem to put so much time in. I love the teachers. My third grader will be one of only 22! Fantastic! I really think this is one of the better PPS elementary schools. Low stress, high expectations and wonderful kids!
—Submitted by a parent

Classes are too large..especially in the lower grades. Recess time is too limited. Boys, especially, need a physical outlet beyond 25 minutes and one day of PE. As a parent, I'd rather my child lose some academic time and gain some creative and physical time. Yes..as parents we all want our kids to succeed, but do we want them drained and sick of learning before they even reach middle school? We will be looking for an alternative school next year.
—Submitted by a parent

We are so happy with this school! Great teachers, a ton of parent involvement, a warm, caring environment, strong academics, and even a very good parent-led art and music program. My daughter is in first grade this year (2005-6)and has two wonderful, stimulating teachers, and only 22 students in her class! I'm impressed with the school-wide literacy block (75 minutes of small reading groups 4 days a week), and the new grant-financed greenhouse. A very strong school.
—Submitted by a parent

If you are considering this school for second grade 2005-6, be careful! The current 1st grade classes are HUGE...and will likely remain so into 2nd grade. The best thing about Llewllyn are the parents. Without the strong, dedicated parents there would be no art or music program whatsoever. The class size in 1st grade was huge (low 30s in each class) with no teaching assistant. Our daughter was pretty stressed out the first several months since she had come from a small kindergarten. If the class sizes were a bit smaller, we'd be a lot happier. There are plenty of parent volunteers, but there is no consistency with teaching reading or other subjects since most parents are not trained to do so. Strong, dedicated teachers...but typical portland public school: Large classes with too little art or music...even with the assistance of parents as mentioned above. Otherwise, very good school.
—Submitted by Ailynn, a parent