Oak Harbor Elementary School

This school has a strong early childhood program. I like the school uniforms and some of the great extras that come with a school of choice. I would recommend this school to other parents.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended half day kindergarter at Oak Harbor Elementary. We loved his teacher (Wrightson) and the family activities (math night, art night, etc). The building, although older, is always clean and well maintained. Our son, being half day, did not use the playground. The drop off/pick up system is well coordinated for the safety of the children (much better than the other elementary schools in town). The Eagle Award system gives kids a chance to stand out for good behavior/performance. Parents are encouraged to volunteer and you always see a few around the building. My only complaint is that the PTA could vary meeting times, minot complaint indeed! Class sizes are large, but that is Oak Harbor (and Washington state) in general.
—Submitted by a parent

I absolutely love this school. I decided to send my children here after my son spent a year at OVE, which is embarrassingly sub-par. I was very pleased with the teacher's encouragement of parental involvement. The art/music programs are wonderful. The school is clean and very well maintained. The teachers and staff are very friendly. I wasn't thrilled about the uniform policy, but it's a small concession to make for the great learning environment.
—Submitted by a parent

The OHE teachers and NWMS teachers have difficulty dealing with their students because of the Navy influences. I think the attitude of NWMS teachers is that the kids will rotate out like their parents do to a different town. So why bother to offer the kids something positive.
—Submitted by a parent

I am appalled at the reviews written here. This school is awesome. I have found nothing but helpful teachers and great curriculum. Being a teacher myself in MS, I find that all the kids coming from this school are well prepared and ready for 6th grade. I believe the parents who wrote these reviews are probably parents who have difficult students behaviorally or are those parents that I deal with who need to be reassured daily that their child is special.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has been a big let down for our family! If you are looking for high academic success for you child this is not the school to attend. Every year the school is scatter brained trying to choose a subject to focus on and every year their WASL scores get lower and lower. Safety at this school is also horrible. The one blessing at this school is the Art, Music, and PE teachers they are top notch and definately are the highlight of the school.
—Submitted by a parent

My child attended this school for part of Kindergarten. Because it was only half days, I feel he didn't learn much. He didn't have much work to do. When I asked what he learned, he never could tell me anything. We moved to GA, and he was extremely behind the children at his new school. It took almost the rest of the year to get caught up to them. I did like the uniform policy, the playgrounds and the appearance of the building.
—Submitted by a parent

OHE could be a better school if the principal and teachers were not so intent on minimizing their faults and maximizing the faults of parents and children. Since children are spending six hours in class do pick up the behaviors and moods of the teachers. I think the teachers of OHE should [review] their own attitudes. Thank you.
—Submitted by debra kulz, a parent

Music, art, and PE are great activities that are available for the children at this school. This is a school of choice where the children wear uniforms and parental involvement is a requirement.
—Submitted by a parent

I did not like this school at all. The staff made me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, not to mention my children's teachers were unbearably rude to myself and my children. My children learned nothing that they didn't already know from the previous grade and from what I taught at home.T he teachers would not give my children homework or extra work that I can do at home with them. One of my children's teachers would single her out in front of her class everytime something went wrong and would not address the issue with me but would blow me off every time I asked what happened. I have picked up my children's friends right from the school playground and the staff never checked if I had permission to take them. This school is not safe in my eyes and I didn't realize it until then. I would never send my children there again or refer anyone there.
—Submitted by a parent