Block House Creek Elementary School

Although I love this school, I can see how the reviews are slanted. Happy people do not often write reviews! I love the office staff, and the secretary on the other side in the principal's office is very nice and will help you if the receptionist is gone. The receptionist always remembers our names and has stickers for the little kids. Some teachers are better than others, but there is a lot of school spirit this year, which is great. I feel like it is a safe school. It would be hard to work in a school after the recent events in Sandyhook Elementary, so I have great respect for the teachers and staff at BHC.
—Submitted by a parent

I find this school to be hit or miss. I rarely hear for my sons teacher...my daughters teacher seems completely checked out. I love Mrs. Derington who is working with my daughter in math. She gives me a ray of hope in a school that feels very cold. She is a dedicated teacher and my daughter is inspired by her. My best advice, whatever Mrs. Derington is doing...rinse and repeat!!!
—Submitted by a parent

I can't believe these bad reviews! We moved here from Austin ISD before my son started kinder and he is now in fifth grade. While there were a couple of teachers that we had along the way that had a little burn out, we have had a great experience with the staff and majority of the teachers. Our kinder teacher was good, Mrs. Carson... Our first grade teacher Mrs. Jones was TERRIFIC, our third grade teacher Mrs. Green was GREAT, and our fifth grade teacher Mrs. Crossman is the BEST. Dr. Cady and Christina (receptionist) and Eloise (registar) always answer my emails promptly and are professional and polite to me. The older receptionist when we were in kinder and first was a little scary but she has been gone for along time now. The mascot is a bear and I knew that from when we were in kinder. The PTA puts out lots of stuff that go home in the children's folders, so I can't imagine how any parent cannot know what the mascot is and that they have several days during the year that are wear your school spirit shirt. The older PTA board was a little distant for me in the earlier years, but they have all been replaced and this new PTA board is great.
—Submitted by a parent

Something missing here...there is a negative vibe at this school. I would agree that the front office staff are very un-friendly. I do like my daughters teacher. Third grade seems organized in terms of activities and I like the real time grade alert...that is great.
—Submitted by a parent

The biggest issues I see are parent communication, office administration & lack of any school spirit. I am much happier with the teachers this year than last as I have inserted myself into the process more. At our previous school, I would get weekly sometimes daily emails about what was happening in the class or even specifically with my child. Not here, I email the teachers constantly asking about homework, grades, etc. The teachers do respond but it is definitely a one way push. The office staff here is very, very rude. I would agree with many posters here on this. The receptionist and Eloise are just flat out mean and caddy women. They have been rude to me and I have watched them be very rude to other parents and students. This is not a good representation for the school to have the front office staff mean to parents and students. Lastly, I know school spirit is an odd thing to post but there seems to be no pride in the school. The kids just don t seem to care. I don t even know what the mascot is nor do my kids. At our previous school there was a tremendous amount of pride in the school from the teachers, staff and all the kids. Gave it a special feeling.
—Submitted by a parent

I took my daughter out of this school in 4th grade. Mrs. Gerlinger was awesome in 1st grade (one of the best teachers I've ever known) but after that we had one bad experience after another. 4th grade was the deciding factor. One of her teachers came to school every day looking like she just rolled out of bed with wrinkled tshirts and messy hair. This school simply was not a positive influence in my child's life and we had to go. I tried another one of my kids in kinder there but withdrew halfway through at my child's request. My advice is to explore your options when it comes to your child's education. There are online options, some great charter schools to choose from, and there is always homeschooling. Don't settle for less than your child deserves.
—Submitted by a parent

Love this school! As a parent who has had multiple children attend this school and a current student here, I can honestly say that this school is top of the line. The teachers and staff go out of their way to make succesful students and a great learning environment. The front office staff is very professional. The receptionist greets us by name and always has stickers for the younger kids who come to visit. The principal is at the crosswalk every morning,greeting us as we walk into school. We love being part of the BHC family.
—Submitted by a parent

third year in leander schools, first year at bhc, this is the worst school my children have ever been to. The teachers do not address issues that we have had at school, the receptionist is very rude and unprofessional,several times she has not given my children items that I have dropped off , even their lunches ! The children and parents are very rude and gossip. Never in my life have I felt bad enough to write a negative review. The attitude at this school does not match the neighborhood, it is very strange. Bad vibes all around and we can not wait to get away from here !
—Submitted by a parent

I decided to see if anyone else had an opinion of Blockhouse Creek. It seems that the feeling is over all mutual. This is our first year attending this school but have been in this district a long time. When we met our daughters teacher for the first time it was not a good impression. She seemed to have a cantankerous tone about her. We never mentioned it to our daughter and for several weeks there after our daughter complained about how "mean" she thought she was. We've had to talk with several falculty members over the course of the year and have not received the responses that a concerned parent might expect. My husband and I have both talked about the strange vibe at this school. We are extremely unhappy being here and are thinking about relocating just so we don't have to subject our daughter to the kinds of things that we have experienced thus far. We know that if we as parents are being treated this way with such little response and respect we can only imagine how our daughter must feel everyday.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a 4th grader, and it's our first year at this school. The school itself seems to have neat functions and good involvement, but unfortunately we have a teacher on the verge of retirement that is pretty much checked out. Our child has always been straight A's until now & although it's only slipped a bit, when I try to send notes, emails or ask for a meeting to figure it out - I NEVER get a reply! EVER. It's the strangest thing. It's the only time we've had complaints of not liking class too. The reason I gave a 3 star rating is that part of the day he gets to go into a different teachers class and she is wonderful! I think we just got unlucky and I'm hoping next year will be different.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a teacher and parent at BHC and I love this school and district. The parent organzization and staff work together to make school a memorable experience. The fine arts programs are amazing developing their minds and hearts beyond the core subjects. Way to go BHC!
—Submitted by a parent

We love this school and the staff! They are caring and go the extra mile to help the children succeed. We are getting ready for our 5th year at BHC school, and we're looking forward to another great year in helping our children to strive for their best! We've had the most wonderful teachers, we couldn't have picked better ourselves! Parent involvement is key, and is very successful.
—Submitted by a parent

Good school, attentive faculty. The playground has a lot of oak trees and shade, good for Texas heat. There was a lot of reading homework, which is good. The parents are very involved. There weren't enough extracurricular activities in my opinion.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a grand-daughter that is presently enrolled in 4th Grade at this school. She is new to the area and was very excited about attending a new school. Things were great at first and then she began to lose interest in school. My daughter is involved with her child's learning and was shocked to learn that her daughter was not doing as well as she has in the past. My grand-daughter was very academic and when her grades started failing this should have been a red flag for the teacher to get to the root of the problem. My grand-daughter has expressed to me that when she does't understand and ask for help, the teacher tells her to try harder. The principal's response to this was that they teach independence also.Independence is great but when there is a cry for help, independence should come second. I am very disappointed.
—Submitted by a parent