West Side Elementary School

This schoolis great depending on grade level, Kindergarden teachers are great, 1st Grade teachers are great, 2nd Grade teachers are terrible, 3rd Grade are Great, 4th Grade is terrible and 5th is Great. Also there is too much parental involvement at the school. Its like the principal doesn't even run the school. The PTA overpowers this school. also the teacher and staff will begin to single students out who make one mistake.
—Submitted by a parent

My child started in 1st and is finishing 5th this year...The teachers are pretty good here...I see one problem here and it's the teachers kids...most are treated different...they always get picked for everything.. one example is in gym if my child wears the wrong shoes she has something said to her but a teachers child standing next to mine has the wrong shoes on she has nothing said to her....HELLO TEACHERS THE CHILDREN SEE THIS AND THINK THEY ARE TREATED DIFFERENT....The cleaning ladies are mean to the kids also....things have been said but they never do anything about it.... Out of the 5 years one time I say something about another child talking mean to mine..they act like it's my child not the child they have had problems with..Out of the 5 years my child has never been in trouble I have never had to say anything about a Teacher I have never had to go to a parent teacher meeting.....I'm just glad this is my daughters last year...we will see how those teachers children do at TAD...mommy's not at that school...If anyone wants to know why I think these things....well i'm a sub for the city schools and I have seen this first hand...check the star and yearbook...always the same kids
—Submitted by a parent

Is an average school in a small town where everybody knows each other. The academics are ok. The teachers seem to do what they can but sometimes lack communication with the parents.
—Submitted by a parent

Great teachers...great administrators...great parents...and great students!West Side is the place to be!
—Submitted by a teacher

I have two children that currently attend West Side. I have only had one bad experience with a teacher. My children seem to really enjoy the school. And yes, the principal has changed once since my children have attended.
—Submitted by a parent

My son was at this school 6 years and had 6 principals. His experience went down hill after kindergarten. The teachers need to be educated in how to communicate with children. My son is an honor roll student, but he was plagued by insulting remarks from teachers that lowered his self-esteem to rock bottom. It will take a long time to undo the damage he suffered there. I offered to send him to a different school but he didn't want to leave his friends. Even the office staff needs improvement in dealing with kids. My child's attitude and opinion of himself has improved since he left West Side. He was never given a chance to explain when things happened. He was just given punishment, which is fine if he needed it, but many times, if someone had taken the time to listen, he didn't. Someone needs to educate the educators.
—Submitted by a parent

I am pleased with academic programs. The challenge for my children seems to be accurate and suited for their grade level. The music and art is a wonderful part of the curriculum. I am always overjoyed to see how much emphasis is put into these two categories. However, I am discouraged that there are not any sports available. My son wants to play football, basketball, and baseball but that is not possible through the school. For parental involvement...Plenty of opportunities to be involved. I do not believe that the work/homework is geared around parents. The work does not explain itself so parents that have been out of school for awhile usually find themselves finding their own tutor to just simply help their own kids in homework. YUCK!
—Submitted by a parent

I think that this school is also great in a social standard .. And not being able to keep a principle year to year does make me worried whats going on .. And the more money you have the better results you get... My daughter is in the 2nd grade now and she has alot of friends and this is why I will not take her out .. Although the quality in the teachers are lacking after kindergarden..
—Submitted by a parent

I had 3 children enrolled in this school for a time period of 5 years. Though they all excelled differently in their years, I've experienced the best and the worst. It seems that in a school that is labeled to be 'the best' my children would have received a better education. Though in fact, I was very dissappointed with what they did get. On a whole (with the exception of 2) their teachers were not concerned, were not eager or willing to help, had very poor communication. As a parent that is interested in helping all that I can, I found that to be very frustrating. On a social level, this was an excellent school. Too bad our children need more then social skills to survive adulthood.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is academically a great school.The only problem is we can't keep a principal.In 5 yrs we have had 5 principals.This I think creates a problem. omeone needs to figure out why. The other problem is that it is a very political school and the more money you have the better your chances getting what you ask for.
—Submitted by a parent