A L Lotts Elementary School

I have three children currently at A.L. Lotts. This is a wonderful school with dedicated teachers, administrators and parents. The standardized test scores that the state used to evaluate the school systems are always much higher at this school than most others in the county. I am very fortunate to live between Bluegrass Elementary and A.L. Lotts. Either school is excellent and it just happened that my kids are zoned for A.L. Lotts. The quality of the schools in this area was the driving force when we bought a home in this area.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is great! The teachers are great. The PTA is great. Even the homework is great. I love this school. I recommend this school.

This is an excellent school. The teachers and staff really care about the kids and the PTA is awsome.
—Submitted by a parent

Our school has the best most caring teachers and parents. We truly exemplify the best in a community school.
—Submitted by a parent

Lotts operates like a family. The teachers, staff, and parents are such a cohesive unit, that you know your kids are well taken care of. The kids love learning and getting up for school, and that says more than any words!
—Submitted by a parent

Most are great teachers who really care!
—Submitted by a parent

My child just started kindergarden here this year. From what I've seen so far, I am definitely NOT impressed. I don't know about the other K teachers there, but my child's is not very attentive. She does not relate to the children very well at all. She seems more all about rules. VERY VERY strict, and that is NOT what our 5 year olds need at this time in their lives. I could understand for older children, but this is KINDERGARDEN for goodness sakes!!! My message for my childs teacher...lighten up!!! Make my child and everyone else's feel more at ease and more at home here, so they can have a positive first year of learning experience! You are not treating these kids very nicely. You are NOT explaining things to them very well. I am EXTREMELY disappointed with this teacher.
—Submitted by a parent

We moved to Knoxville 3 1/2 years ago from a small town. Our previous school had 120 kids from pre-k to 12th grade and moving to A.L. Lotts with 1100+ kids was scary for us. My children started Kind. and 1st gr. here and we could not be more happy. I thought they might get lost in the shuffle of such a big school, but quite the opposite has happened and they have both thrived here. My child had some behavior issues in 1st grade and when I began to worry about 2nd grade, I requested a meeting with Mrs. Lenn, the principal. She sat down with me for 45 minutes that day and truly listened to my concerns and I began to understand how very seriously she considers placement of children within the school. We love this school and staff and will be very sad to move on.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had a great time at Lotts. Last year my son had Mr. Whiley and he was amazing. He went above and beyond. My son had come from a private school in town and was behind. He worked with him once a week for half of the school year to get him caught up. He is a wonderful man and the best teacher we have ever had. We are having another great year. There are so many ways to get involved at the school. If you feel like you do not know what is going on with your child. Do somthing about it - Volunteer!
—Submitted by a parent

I moved recently to Knoxville and am very happy to say that my daughter, a first grade student, is having a very positive experience. Her class teacher, Mrs. Arning, is a wonderful, caring and enthusiastic teacher. She is very approachable and gives very practical suggestions for helping your child. Overall..., it has been a great experience for all of us. Thank you Lotts.
—Submitted by a parent

I have just relocated here and new to the school system. So far I love Mrs. Beckner and she not only cares but will show attention to me and my child's needs. My other daughter is in the 3rd grade and I have no opinion yet. I have asked for a meeting and the teacher who responded quite quickly. I wish the schools here had the resources that they have in NY. However, that is just a lack of funding not the lack of care. So far I am OK with the school. I will revisit the 'rate & review' when I have had more experience with AL Lotts.
—Submitted by a parent

Give me a break. This school has a great reputation based on it's former principle. We have been at Lotts now for 3 years and this is our last unless things have changed drastically! There are such huge gaps in my son's education it's sad. Not to mention the focus on scores, ratings, etc. Last year, SO much attention was focused on getting applications for a STAR rating, that the children were unable to get near the attention and supplemental programs they should have.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the last review. My son has been at AL Lotts for 4 years now and we have yet to have one decent teacher. There is no communication whatsoever no matter how hard you try as a parent. I have sent several notes to his teacher and have had zero response. It is very frustrating to a parent that tries to stay involved in their child's education. I believe because of the area that the school is zoned in that if you are not up to their financial standards then you are ignored. I am sure Ms. Lenn does not cancel meetings with the parents who invest alot in the school. I cannot wait for my son to be finished with this school. We are just holding out for West Valley.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had 3 children at this school for the past 5 years. In that time, I would say that only 1 of my children has experienced a decent teacher. It is a trickle down effect and direct reflection of the leadership (or lack thereof) of the administration at this school. Mrs. Lenn does nothing to promote cohesion between parents, teachers and the kids and she is nonexistant as far as visiblity is concerned. She is completely unapproachable for parents and actually does not even show up to meetings that have been scheduled with her; she sends an assistant instead. There is a consistant effort to 'hide' the unsatisfactory teachers by moving them from grade to grade. We consistantly have experienced teachers that don't communicate with parents and in fact, seem to view them as a problem. It's really pathetic; we feel as if we are on a sinking ship.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter graduated from Lotts very well prepared for middle school. Her 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Alexander, and 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Jordan, were really tough and had very high expectations for their students. Because of this, my child has been a confident leader in middle school. I also commend Mrs. Lenn for her outstanding leadership at Lotts!
—Submitted by a parent

My son went to AL Lotts. AL Lotts is the reason my son can read now. He has dyslexia and AL Lotts spent the time to work with him. Now he is in the 7th grade. He is a stright A student and is in the Duke University TIP program. He will be taking the ACT this winter. To end this....... Thanks AL Lotts !
—Submitted by a parent

It's the night before school starts and my kids are asleep. My 3rd grader is so excited, he went to bed at 7:30 pm hoping the morning would come faster. My 5th grader is excited about her new teacher, but got misty eyed over missing her previous teacher. My kids wanted to stay the entire 3 hours at open house this evening to visit with all of their past teachers as well as the new ones. I believe my kids actions sum it up nicely on how they feel about A L Lotts. It has been a delightful experience so far. All involved are very involved! I believe that the child's best interest is in every mind of A L Lotts Staff members. Thanks for that!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter attended A.L. Lotts from Kindergarten through 5th grade, and I now have a son there. Everything went well until her last year when the new principal, Ms. Lenn, came into the picture. She treats the older kids like they are in kindergarten.
—Submitted by bruce davis, a parent

My son just finished his first year at A.L. Lotts. Mrs. Ginn is a fantastic and gifted Kindergarten teacher. She enabled our son to learn to fit in socially, he also would cry when it was time to read, but now he is an above average reader after only one year. It truly is amazing what they learn in a year. Parents need to also remember that a part of the child's learning comes from home as well, not only the schools, but we had a teacher who really gave me great advice on how to work with our son at home regarding his reading. Without her professional knowledge our son would have been left in the dust. So far, so good, lets see how 1st grade goes! Our son loves school and is sad that it ended, that is a compliment to Mrs. Ginn and Lotts for making this
—Submitted by a parent

Before our daughter went to A.L. Lotts, she had confidence issues and reading difficulties. Since being in R. Tipton's 2nd grade class, she has made a 360 degree turn around. I owe that to Mrs. Tipton and the other staff at A.L. Lotts. They have all just been great. I cannot say enough good things. I know it will just get better. We are truly blessed to have such great teachers who love our children as their own.
—Submitted by Kellie, a parent