Howard Burnham Elementary School

We are starting our third year at this school and we have had a very good experience. All three of my children read above level. My son was diagnosed with adhd last year and without the support and dedication of his teacher it would have been a very difficult year for him. This school does not allow parents to "hover" all day as they do in the public schools. However, that doesn't mean you can't communicate and form a relationship with your teachers if you make an effort. But the you do have to make an effort and really as a parent you should be doing that anyway right? Remember that the negative reviews are the result of very specific experiences and is not to say you will have the same experience. If you want a smaller school with a big emphasis on academics and more controlled environment then you might like this school. the school does have an excellent speech therapist, beyond that I don't think they can accommodate. To sum up, the teachers at this school are caring and highly qualified. They work hard for your kids and most are approachable. Based on my experiences, I would recommend this school. And most importantly, my kids love it.
—Submitted by a parent

This is my children's first year at this school. My son is in 3rd grade and my daughter in 1st. So far we have had a great experience and are very satisfied with the school. Yes the teachers are a little hard on the students as far as academics, which is great because they challenge them to do their best and not be lazy like other school districts do. This school has a private school atmosphere. I don't know why people complain of not being able to communicate with teachers because I have been able to schedule meetings with them and can approach them after school with no problem at all. My children love this school. If you like for your children to be challenged academically, learn discipline and like private school atmosphere, then this is the school for you!!!!....By the way I've heard so many lies and negative things about these charter schools which mostly come from people that have never even had their children in these type of schools....please don't listen to people that like to open their mouth without even knowing what they are talking about...I suggest you check out the schools in person and do some research before making a decision or going by what other people say!
—Submitted by a parent

Coming into this school was great! Our first year was when my daughter was in kindergarten and she had the most outstanding teacher. However, it has progressively gotten worse as time goes by. Now my daughter is in second grade and I can not get the teacher to communicate with me beyond the bare minimum. My daughter has great grades, her lowest is an 84%, but, they recommend summer school. And when it is recommended, then they mean it is required to move on up to the next grade. Yes, there is academic discrimination going on at this school. It seams that parents are minimally involved, however, major involvement past what the school invites the parents to is highly discouraged! I think that the teachers could be better if they were not so harshly controlled by the superintendent; thus, this is also the issue with keeping principals.
—Submitted by a parent

This school was such a dissappointment. I'm at my wits end waiting for the school year to end. This school really ruined not only my 1st experience with my child in school, but my child's experience as well. My child went from being excited to go to school, neat coloring, dedicated, to being discouraged by the teacher, literally having nightmares at night because teacher tells him he's not doing good. I DO NOT recommend this school. I've tried meeting with the teacher & have the principal present, but it would not happen. Prinicipal could never respond to my request. The school makes it very difficult for parents who work to be able to see their child's performances because they hold them during early school hours, Ex: 9:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. I can't wait to put my child in a regular public school. I could go on and on about this school, but I only listed the worst. Discouraging teachers, difficulty for parents to be involved, last minute notices, and worst of all, teachers keeping child for tutoring without your permission or without the child needing it. This school has great marketing to lure you in. Don't do it, you'll be very dissappointed.
—Submitted by a parent

I had great expectations for this school after hearing so many good things about it. I was very disappointed with the experience. My daughter's teacher was fairly good, but my daughter was above the reading level and she didn't do anything to help her continue growing. Is that acceptable from an exemplary school? I had to suggest the teacher to place my daughter in a higher level reading group so she could be challenged because my daughter started to get bored in school. They give the same material to all kinds no matter what level they have...I would expect that from any other school but not from an exemplary. The front desk people are rude and unfriendly, they need motivation to go to work, maybe a higher salary! Communication between parents and administration is non-existent and discouraged! You can't see your kids during school hours! and so on......
—Submitted by a parent

Board membership at Howard Burnham would appear to be highly groomed by the superintendent who as of recently has been unable to retain principals for the two schools in the charter district. For those of us who like to be involved in our children's education it and get regular feedback on their progress, this is not a desirable situation.
—Submitted by a parent

We are a military family that just recently moved to the area. So far, we absolutly love this school. Honestly, it feels as if my son is at a million dollar private school. I would recc. this school to any incomming Army Families!
—Submitted by a parent

HB Elementary is a small but growing charter school. The curriculum is highly focused on passing the standard exam required by the State of Texas. Daily PE replaces recess so informal student interaction outside the classroom is very limited. The administration takes great pride in providing access to the arts. Promotional material mention an added emphasis on STEM (Science and Engineering elements) but there is limited evidence that this is taking place in all grade levels. Communication with parents is highly dependent on a website. The school needs to build computer and science laboratories. Public school in the area may be superior to what HB offers.
—Submitted by a parent

I have kids in kindergarten at this school. I am very happy with the academics. The school is strict with their students, but fair. I email frequently with my kids' teachers and they are responsive. Both of my children are advanced so the teachers are giving them advanced work that is designed specifically for them to challenge them. My main complaint about the school is the short notice given to do things (like get a certain outfit for a concert in less then a week when my husband and I both work full-time or there is an in-class play last minute ). I also have a minor complaint with the automated system they use to communicate. There are just too many phone calls with information for this or that. I wish they had a system where I could opt out of the phone calls and receive notification by
—Submitted by a parent

We removed our children from this school after 6 weeks. The teachers were good and we were happy with the academics (I particularly liked the sections for reading and math so kids could move ahead when they were ready, not when the whole class was ready). However, the new principal was awful!!! One of my children has ADHD and mild symptoms of Asperger's- he has a few relatively minor issues, but overall a good smart kid. However, it became obvious to me on the first day of school that they did not want to deal with any issues or kids with 504 plans. So, basically if you have perfectly 'normal' kids you might like this school- if you have any (even minor) issues, then stay away from Burnham, they don't want to deal with you and will make life hard on you and your kids until you leave.
—Submitted by a parent

I am happy with this elementary school. They do not just teach the TAKS test as many top rated EPISD schools do. There is a multidisciplinary approach I would compare to the two DOD schools I have taught in. I have had no difficulty with communication with teachers or staff. I appreciate how the district keeps classroom disruptions to a minimum. We have a happy 2nd grader who is constantly challenged in a safe learning environment.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is as good as ANY private school in EL Paso and better than any public one. The Burnham's were well-known educators in NY (where I was raised and attended 13 years of private school). The beauty of the school is that it's success is not dependent on any teacher, but rather it is the learning SYSTEM that all teachers must teach according to that makes the school effective, as evidenced by the fact that the standard test scores remain high even though there is no admisison test to get into the school (unlike Silva for example, which only accepts 'smart' kids who score high enough on their admission test). Also, as a charter school it receives only limited public finds, so staff disorginzation is a small price for getting a private-quality education for free. Otherwise, pay to send your kid to a private school and stop complaining.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had my children in the school district for four years. I have never had a problem speaking with teachers, principle, or anyone else. Progress reports, newsletters, and report card go out on a regular basis. Teachers keep parents well informed for child's progress. Wonderful school!!!
—Submitted by a parent

i dont know why some people have a problem with this institution. i've found the staff and teachers of good quality. i will update from time to time as i have a 1st grader attending.
—Submitted by a parent

I would not recommend this school to anyone. The Principal, Office Staff and Teachers are very disorganized. Repeated efforts have been made on our part to communicate with teachers and administration regarding our son, but we have received no response to our concerns. Academics are also a great concern. I would expect a recognized campus to stress higher academic standards than those without the same title, but this has not been our experience with Burnhamwood. We will not be returning next year.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has small class sizes (my son's class only has 17 students) relative to other schools. The teachers seem generally good. At the very least they are on par with the teachers at the public schools. The main problem with this school is it's horrible about communicating with parents. Often, I receive less than a week's notice about events or functions. It seems very inconsiderate, especially for woking parents. I do not know if this is because the administrators/teachers are disorganized or if they are actively trying to discourage parent participation.
—Submitted by a parent

There is no communication chanel between parents and school. You could leave lots of messages to the office or principle, but you always couldn't get any response from them. Even teacher didn't know some school policy when you asked the teacher. The teacher only told you to make an appointment to the principle. It seems they work with the school in a black box. Nobody knows what's going except the principle. I want to withdraw my kid from this school and I don't recommend this school to you. I just want to ask the principle how can you lead the school, teachers and teach the students in the correct ways if you always ignore other persons. The students in this school won't learn any respect to other persons from you.
—Submitted by a parent

Parents, please, don't be fooled by TAKS scores alone. After a 3-mo nightmare, I went running back to my local public school. TAKS scores are good because that is primarily the entire basis of the 'curriculum.' Mock TAKS. Practice TAKS. Other than TAKS prep, there is minimal supervision of teachers or accountability when it comes to academic performance. Yet there is this disturbing environment of strict prohibition and control over parental communications. Parental involvement is not only unwelcome, it is prohibited. Any parent-teacher communication occurs only under a controlled setting. There is also no playground and children kept inside for hours except for PE. My child went through 3 teacher, and, in the interim, no lesson plans were prepared or reviewed, childrens' homewok accumulated without being graded, and no progress reports ever issued. Messages left for the principal and administration were ignored until I withdrew my children.
—Submitted by a parent

Lets stay focus and rate the school not the parenting style of the parents. Remember this are elementary age children not middle school and up. Kids do not complete homework in daycare do to noise and distractions. School has been improving its communication with parents and has a new and more fuctional web site. Hopefully they will have it 100% completed soon. Safety has also increased and new building almost completed. I like the improvements.
—Submitted by a parent

Very good school, especially the kindergarten teachers. Mrs. Rhonda Barker is very caring and an excellent teacher.
—Submitted by a parent