Dilworth School

Dilworth is a great school in wonderful neighborhood, probably the best of Salt Lake Elementary Schools.

My daughter attended kindergarten at Dilworth last year. Half way through the year a group of boys in her class began bullying my daughter - hitting her on the head in class, chasing her and pushing her down on the playground - while teachers were right there watching. This went on for 4 months and the teacher did nothing. My daughter came home crying one day and told her father & I. We went to speak with the teacher the next morning. The teacher's response when my husband & I approached her was "those boys play nicely together, you're daughter needs to learn to deal with it on her own." Of course we involved the principal, who's reaction was not much better. He had the teacher speak with the boys - parents were never contacted. After this I was so afraid for my daughter I would make random visits at recess to see if she was safe/hurt. I couldn't trust her teacher/the principal to keep her safe. In talking to other parents, I know we are not the only family that has had serious issues with bullying at Dilworth that have been blown off by teachers and administrators. After being assigned a 1st grade teacher that was even worse we withdrew her.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm not as impressed with the principal as the previous poster, however he is decent, caring and friendly. His support with our child's mild learning disability was sub-par. We have had some amazing teachers and some not so amazing, which I think one gets with any school. The class size has grown to an uncomfortable level in the last couple of years. I love that this school serves breakfast and has an after school program - great for working parents. Parent involvement is excellent, and the PTA is well organized. The whole school is pretty well organized actually, which is due in no small part to the wonderful secretary. It has a fair amount of income diversity (super rich, and not so rich), which we appreciated, but limited ethnic diversity.
—Submitted by a parent

Dilworth is great. I am posting this comment in 2010, aftter the transition of schools and principals. The current principal is awesome and really cares about the kids and school. I have one child in the special ed. program there and one in regular classes. Both are doing great. For kids with special needs, the school is VERY inclusive, and the special ed staff is excellent. My child in the regular ed classes is doing great and has one of the oldest teachers there, and she is an experienced teacher who really knows what she is doing. Dilworth has gotten one of the best grades in the Salt Lake City District for educating our children. We love Dilworth!
—Submitted by a parent

My child entered Dilworth in 5th grade and had a difficult time fitting in; all of the kids had known each other since first grade and were somewhat clique-ish. There is not a lot of diversity at the school. Also, overall, I don't think the school is as academically challenging as we would have liked. We did love the close-knit, community aspect of the school and the building and facilities are OUTSTANDING. I don't think the class sizes are very big and the school doesn't feel overcrowded at all. Things improved greatly in 6th grade (when several new students moved into the class). The 6th grade teaching team at Dilworth is phenomenal. They are able to motivate the kids academically and socially, and my child had an amazing year. I cannot say enough for how impressed I was with my child's sixth grade experience.
—Submitted by a parent

Dilworth had a transition from a retiring principal, an interim principal & now an inexperienced principal. The teaching staff is varied, but there are a couple of teachers that should have retired years ago, if ever to have entered the profession in the first place. But the main problem with Dilworth is the true lack of protecting your children while they are in attendance. For two years, my child was bullied. He was so afraid of his teacher, he wouldn't ask her questions. Then a fellow student started bullying him and when the teachers or administration caught the offender, they told my son to 'give him another chance'. This excalated to a point where we withdrew our children from this school. Beautiful school, great programs; lousy admin & some lazy teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

I think Dilworth has a great staff! The school is very nice. I want every school to look at theres compared to Dilworth becasue they will see thing they Do need to change and/or work on. One thing I am concerd is They recess. I do belive the kids should aget more Lunch/Recess time. My child comes home hungry because she didn't have time to ea. I mean what Is that? The Discipline could rise though. Dr. ROberts is the Principal and he does a wonderful job. Thank you and you may reach me at anytime if any ? my phone number is 487-6110 thank you for your time and concern
—Submitted by Maddie Hammer, a parent

I loved Dilworth! Until they remodeled and all all these new principals took over. I like the new principal he's really awesome! I just wish they didn't remodel and that they didn't change the mascot or song! My child has reported that she is glad that she graduated a dragon not a dingo! My opinion is if you're gonna change the mascot, change the name too! Dilworth elementary school is not what Mary Jane Dilworth wanted it to turn out like!
—Submitted by a parent

Dilworth is moving into a new school. The administration and teachers have handled the past year's transition and upcoming one well. My concerns are with too large of class sizes in the younger grades. My now third grader had 29 students in her first grade class and may have 30 or more in her 4th grade class next year. Another concern is with the afterschool program. It could become more dynamic,energized and fun. Afterschool staff don't appear to have adequate information on how or why to provide quality afterschool programing. Teachers have been very academically focused, appear knowledgable and professional. Too bad there is no formal art educator. Only program is parent/pta provided.
—Submitted by a parent