Shorewood Hills Elementary School

Posted September 11, 2009

Many people consider Shorewood the best elementary school in MMSD. The reason is not because of MMSD or Shorewood - it's because of the incredible students and parents. Shorewood draws kids from a cohesive, well-educated neighborhood and from University housing for motivated international graduate students and visiting faculty. Classes are filled with well-behaved, ready-to-learn kids from more than fifty nations. Parents volunteer extensively, plan superb events, make sure kids are well-prepared, and augment MMSD's curriculum with outside tutoring. Classes rarely go above 26 kids. Shorewood's ESL and special ed support is strong. The art teacher is exceptional. Some teachers are outstanding, most very capable, some below par. The principal is pleasant but an ineffectual leader. The school has all the shortcomings of MMSD as a whole: lack of challenge in standards, curriculum and textbooks; lousy constructivist math curriculum; virtually no support for gifted students; aging facilities; ancient technology.
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Posted March 15, 2009

I completely agree with the previous post. My daughter was attending kindergarten in this school in 2007. When we came to meet her teacher, the teacher paid a little attention to us, and we did not feel welcome to her class. The class environment was not warm and inviting --- our daughter did not like going to this school at all. After a few months we switched the school --- an amazing change --- our daughter asks us when is going to be Monday so she could go to her new school and meet her new teacher and classmates.
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Posted February 9, 2009

This school rests on its reputation and its international population. The community has a very high level of education and the kids receive a tremendous amount of support outside of the school. The principal lacks initiative, organizational and communication skills and leadership capacity.
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Posted August 20, 2008

After 5 years at this school, we still think it is great. The teachers and staff are wonderful and very caring. The principal knows every single kid by name, even the kindergardners. The specials teachers (music, gym, etc.) are dedicated and constantly challenging the students to learn new things and do their best. Parents are a vital part of the school and always welcome, with many ways to volunteer a little or a lot of time. Fabulous school. We love it here.
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