Bliss Elementary School

My daughter attends first grade at this school and for me has been of great benefit to her. If it has its flaws like any school but as education is very good. There is always unhappy parents who think their children are the only ones that exist and claim that teachers are just for them and that's impossible. I just read that treat children as military lunchtime and that is false. Children have enough time to eat and cafeteria compared to other schools in the EPISD here are very flexible.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughters attended this school and all I can say is that it was not what I expected. Everyday I had my daughters teacher tell me she had ADD. My daughters got very very poor grades and not enough teacher-student one on one. Also, they have you wait outside a gate to pick up your children and then coral you in when they are let out. Also no after school programs. I wish I could have rated this school lower then one star. My kids are now straight A students at their new school!
—Submitted by a parent

This is by far the worst school my children have ever attended! The principal does not care about the children or the education that our children receive. She never turned in the funding paperwork for our kids to have a computer lab so they have gone the first half of the year without computer. There is no art or music class and they only get to go to the library once a month. They treat the children like soldiers rushing them to eat and forcing them to go outside after luch even when the temps are as low as 40degrees! The parents werent allowed to use the printers in the school until they were almost a month into the school year because the principal said they couldnt afford it. Sshe shows favoritism among the children as far as their uniforms go too. My daughter was in a navy dress and was sent home because it had sparkles on it. She is in 1st grade. But the army liason's daughter only has to wear uniforms when she feels like it. They dont do things to try and get the parents involved either. In previous schools I was allowed to volunteer and we had plenty of activities to raise money for school. not here. If we get stationed here again they will be home schooled
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter just completed Pre-K here, and while I think her teacher was awesome, the school itself in terms of safety for the children is horribly lacking. I stoped taking my daughter to school before class started because many times there would be no one on the playground in charge of watching all the kids. Over half the time when I would come and pick my daughter up from lunch there would be no one watching the children other then the cafeteria workers and the preschoolers would be acting wild and even out in the hall outside the cafeteria playing. Once a preschooler even manged to leave the building unnoticed during lunch, cross a four lane road, and walk a block from the school before her teacher was able to catch up with her. The lady at the front desk is always to busy on her phone or gabbing with people to be able to properly watch the one and only door that leads out of the school to public ground to be able to make sure no children do leave unauthorized. Ive talked to the prenicapal on several occasions about this and all I ever got from her was, "NEXT YEAR we have more people to help fill in". So glad we are leaving because I highly doubt next year will be any better.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to agree with most of these posts. I do not like the school as a whole. The administration doesn't care about the parents at all. I cant get into that school without them harassing me. I have health issues that make it hard for me to stand out in the heat to wait for my kids. When I have to get them to go to the doctor, and call the school ahead of time to have them waiting for me I am told yeah they will be waiting for you then I end up waiting for up to 20 to thirty minutes waiting for them to get them out of class. Even when they have been told that I can not wait I have to get to my appointment. I have never dealt with a school that doesnt allow parents to come in at any time, sign in as a visitor and either go help in the classroom or just go peek in on the children. You are not allowed access to your child/ren at all. It is almost like your kid becomes a prisoner when they walk in the door. My kids have dealt with bullying, but my husband and I have taught our kids to defend themselves. if someone is mean to my kids they will get the same in return. I understand making it safe for the kids but come on really?
—Submitted by a parent

ZERO is what I would rate Fort Bliss Elementary!! My Son has been getting bullied. School called me today and my son was in the nurse office,hehas a scrapes on the back of his head and back from some boy pushing him down on the pavement . No one had no Idea what happened. I will be pulling my kids from this school. This school is full of bullies and a lacks a whole lot of other things . I'm sick of my child getting hurt this is the 3rd time . Parents also need to teach there kids why it's not cool to be a bully or put up with it . Also watch out for the parents that road rage after getting there kids from school .Kids and Parents being bullied here .. And My husband called the school and so did I on 3 days in a row they had the Taxas flag upside down . You think at first when you move here that it's going to be a military style school ,, NOOO IT'S NOT . houses around the school looks like the projects .trashy trashy .
—Submitted by a parent

Biss elementary is a big dissapointment. We thought it would be disaplined. From the principal down lacks education and know how in dealing with bullying, EFMP children ect. God help us when the 25 thousand more soldiers come here. Principal at Bliss does not want to hear anything negative about her school and make excuses on why these children are lacking dicsipline. The uniforms are a mask of what this school really is. It is a failure to the community which should demand more from a school on a military post. Teacher texting when they should be paying attention to students who are harrassing special needs children. I would run the other way if you could to get away from this school.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is nearing completion of First Grade at Bliss. She enjoys school. I am mostly pleased. I have an 'easy' child who never gets into trouble and has been selected for Gifted/Talented. I cannot give the school 5 stars, however, because there is no Art or Music program available for her grade level. It's nice that she goes to P.E. everyday, but my active child could easily miss a couple P.E. periods for the sake of music and art if it were available. In summary; a good academic and fitness education, sorely lacking in music and art for the little ones.
—Submitted by a parent

Bliss teachers and staff you're doing a great job. My child has been attending this school for the past 3 years. I moved my child from another school and am glad I did this. I beleive any parent who has something derogatory to say or write about the school should sign their name. The teachers are caring people who treat us with respect. 'If you want to be treated with respect then you should give respect.'
—Submitted by a parent

I hate it, my son is getting bullied, he used to love school and now we are dealing with nervouse breakdowns of him.the teachers and principle wouldnt do nothing and I am taking my son out of this school now. also thinking about going into public about this. Almost every parent I know has issues with this school some way or another!
—Submitted by a parent

This school is lacking a lot of security, especially for being on FT. Bliss. There are a few good teachers, however some seem to not have any patience. The PTA is unorganized period. The schoolyard is never clean. The pick up arrangement that they have created is a catastrophe. They need organization.
—Submitted by a parent

Bliss elementary has got to be the worst school that my daughter has ever attended. There is no interest in parent concerns from the principal. I requested to speak to the principal but he never got back with me after several messages. I have disenrolled my daughter for this.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to agree with a few parents on Bliss Elementary School for the fact that I have had quite a few incidents regarding teachers and security for that matter.From registration day until now it's been pretty bad. I have to say that pretty much everything is unorganized and there are plenty of rude teachers including the ones that help to check ID's. We need to explain detail for detail why we need a pass to anywhere in the school! I am not happy at all and will not have my daughter going to this school after this yr is up for sure!They need to get their priority strait and learn to welcome parents in respectfully! Where are the sports?
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter went to Bliss last year and her transfer got approved for this year. I was extremely happy with what she learned and has retained from last year. My only issue is that the outside supervision before school could be improved. I'd drop my daughter off and 3-4 of the supervisors would be in a circle talking not paying attention to the children. My daughters teacher seemed to miss a lot of days but that didn't affect her learning. I was also wondering why the PTA didn't promote collection of the box tops. In all I am happy with Bliss but if I could afford a private school I would go for it.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended Bliss. The lack of continuity in his classroom was a major issue. The principal seems to have a fair grip on academics however tends to get over the top on security issues and loses focus of the students and learning. There is not a lot of parental involvement and the PTA was small and somewhat ineffective. I would not recommend this school. It would be preferable to homeschool.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter went to a civilian school for her Pre-K year and it was HORRIBLE! So I had her tranfered to Bliss for her Kinder year and I LOVE IT! The security was a major issue with the other school and with Bliss, I was confident that she was safe. The teacher she had was great, my daughter retained almost everything she learned. I was always informed of situations and her progress other than during P/T conferences. The principle and staff were very helpful when approached. All in all, I LOVE this school and will have my other daughter go there as well.
—Submitted by a parent

I am not impressed by the way this school has performed. The teacher let my second grader (with others) watch a movie that had a little boy fully naked, and with anotomy showing.(I watched the movie before writing a report on it). Another example is when I went up there to complain, 2 English speaking teachers suddenly started talking spanish to each other during the meeting. This has been done frequently around my daughter as well, making her feel out of place and not welcome at this school. Then there's the lunch issue: My grandmother passed and I helped pitch in with the funeral...making a financial hardship on us. I was behind on her account $2.40...and they would only give her stale bread with cheese and water. She asked if she could have mayo for it and was yelled at. Next year I'll definatley pay for private school.
—Submitted by a parent

My children are former students of Bliss Elementary School. The school is good for some people, but my children are better off in public school. Some teachers are great while others aren't. One child excelled and the other regressed. I feel that the school has some young teachers that lack the experience needed to teach more 'active' children. I have had to retain one of my children when Bliss Elementary School promoted her. She simply did not learn her basic skills to go to the next grade. When I recognized the failure, I put her back a grade to keep her from failing when Bliss Elementary School felt she needed to 'just try harder'. I have learned from my mistake at changing schools for my kids!!'
—Submitted by a parent

Only having experience with this school since Jan 06, I've been disappointed. Communication with Teacher/Professional Staff has been poor. Teacher is not willing to work with child....strange since this is primarily a military school and mobility is what the Army is about. Beware if your child is not up to TX standards and moves in the middle of a year you will need to hire a private tutor as the teacher will probably not consider it her job to help the child ('I don't have time to give outside help').
—Submitted by a parent

My review of this school is not very good. The staff shows no effort to help parents and sometimes seem to give an attitude when asked questions or asked to do something. I see no effort from the employees there to do anything. The teachers seem ok.
—Submitted by a parent