Neysa Callison Elementary School

This is the worst school in RRISD. The students are out of control, the principal needs to go as she has been there long enough. The teachers are extremely inexperienced and the academics are washed down so that all the lowest learners will pass the STAAR. My son was in the Dual Language program which is a joke and he fell a year behind in school. If you are bilingual or having problems with academics, they have about 30 people on campus to help out. Their entire Title One spending is spent on the lower learners, not one dime to the anyone else. If you're unfortunate enough to have bought a house int his area like me, start looking at charter schools. More people need to report this principal; her hiring, budget spending and etc. if they want anything to change.
—Submitted by a parent

Three of my children have attended Callison over the past five years since it opened. I have been extremely disappointed with the lack of academics at this campus. If your child is receiving special education or is low academically they will get all of the attention. My daughter is in 5th grade this year and is bored out of her mind, never has homework and has yet to feel challenged. She sits in class all day and reads. Half of the staff is hired for the low kids and the most of the staff have little or no teaching experience. I can understand the low rating as the priorities at this campus are clearly to help the less fortunate while the others are ignored. Except for the music, art and TAG program I can't understand any positive attribute at this campus. I would look for other alternatives unless your child qualifies for the gifted program or needs an abundance of help.
—Submitted by a parent

This is my son's second year in this school and I love the Staffs and Teachers. They are professionals, caring and on TOP of my list. They are patient, courteous and respectful. I would defenitely recommend this school to anyone.
—Submitted by a parent

Have to agree, this school is an awful place to work. The principal definitely has favorites. The teachers are constantly watching their backs because the RTI favorites or 4th grade favorite will report them. There are pockets for experienced good teachers but they are few and far between. The principal encourages teachers telling on teachers. The turnover is ridiculous. There are almost twenty RTI staff members who think they are the best thing since sliced pie and they have convinced the principal of the same thing and sadly it is far from true. They are the laziest teachers in the school. They don't have morning duty, leave at 3:30 and get praised everytime they do anything that is their job. There is not a team leader with more than ten years of experience and most of them are the only ones who haven't left because their immaturity has made others leave for years. I don't miss that school and have been happy since I left. I am in the same district and couldn't be happier with others that have left Callison too.
—Submitted by a teacher

This school may be ok for students and parents, but it is one horrible place to work. The principal plays favorites and the worst teachers are the grade level leaders. There are pockets of good teachers here and there, but overall there are a bunch of inexperienced people who cannot handle teaching or a classroom. Don't work at this school!

i love this school. the principal and teachers are very nice. My kids attended different elementry schools before coming to calison. to me calison is the best.
—Submitted by a parent

I do not care for this school. My child was in the 5th grade and had about 4 of the most foulest mouth kids in her class. They would constantly talk about sexual things to her and explain what they knew about sex, not basics either the porno stuff. That would just leave me in awe! They also would constantly cuss out other kids at the playground and had even cussed at the teacher. They were constant bullies pushing kids with glasses and making fun of them. And the school would just remove them for a few hours and allow them right back in the classroom to resume the bullying. Her teacher was semi-good, by far we have had way better. What I disliked the most about the teacher is she would play youtube videos in the classroom on the recent music hits. And my child would come home singing some of the songs I dont care for my child to be listening to at her age. I don't mind youtube in the educational ways, but for music that is for older teens and adults give me a break! Her class along with a lot of the other 5th grade classrooms constantly sat in for recesses due to the bad kids would cause them to stay in, almost daily.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is in 1st Grade at Callison and loves it! The education he receives is top notch and the teacher is very involved, nurturing and helpful. He is doing very well academically and is thriving in this environment. The Principal and Vice Principal are very involved with the students and always have time for parents. It is not uncommon to find them in the hallways greeting students and parents in the morning. I do a lot of volunteering in the classroom and at events and am fortunate that I have gotten to know a lot of the staff and find them to be friendly and helpful. Parental involvement is minimal, but this is not the fault of the school, but an issue of parents not wanting to be involved. This is a terrific school with state-of-the-art equipment in a beautiful facility.
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers at this school are fantasic. They do their job well, but they seem to not get along to well. with eachtother?? This can sometimes tumble over into the classrooms....I work in a classroom often and see teachers bad mouthing eachother and trying to out do eachother. That is SO sad. I feel like the atmosphere could use some warmth to it. I mean that by smiling faces. I don't see as many happy teachers as I have at other Round Rock schools. Sometimes I wonder if the staff is not happy there? The good thing is that my kids have wonderful teachers and we have had no issues there. Very pleased with communication, parental involvement, Watchdogs,... I just wish it was more of a welcoming enviornment where it was about THE CHILD and not the TEST SCORE.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has amazing teachers, that fact is the only reason I would give a one star to it. If you child has no issues they will thrive at this school. However if you have special needs run from the school. The refuse to honor the ARD. We have had to hire a lawyer. The Principal cannot be reasoned with. She sees the children as a number in her budget. You cannot drift away from things ordered in an ARD meeting, that are on paper. She refused my daughter a transfer until I got an appeal. She has the right to attend the same school as a sibling with special needs. She told me she "didn't do that". They need training in the law of special needs as well as Autism training, I was told in an ARD that my son covering his ears with normal noise level is NORMAL. So basic training may be in order.
—Submitted by a parent

What a great school! I have loved being a teacher at Callison!
—Submitted by a teacher

Callison is a great place for kids, teacher that care, great experienced specials teachers, an excellent TAG program with a caring teacher, great school-wide activities and excellent discipline and management. We are struggling to get some parent involvement, but with a dad's program underway and more we are hoping that will improve.
—Submitted by a parent

Callison is an excellent school with a great administration and staff. The first year of operation the school received a 'recognized' status from the TEA. We have been very impressed with the quality of instruction at this school. The teachers our children have had were awesome, very engaged with them and interested in their progress. Every time we have been in the school we have seen the principal and vice principal out in the hallways interacting with the students. Also, the security at the school is great. They have a very popular Watchdog program so often you see dads patrolling the school grounds, helping with lunch, and interacting with the students which is fantastic! Parent involvement is kinda low at the school, but hopefully that will improve as the school becomes more established in the community.
—Submitted by a parent