Vinland Elementary School

I choose this school due to it's high rating, and high test scores, the first year my children had an awesome teacher, and did well, even coming up in math, this year, not so much. I'm watching my daughter loose ground and was told I need to work with her more. (Which we do) But it seems to be over worked teachers, they can only do so much, and I understand that, but watching your kid loose ground is horrific. There has been a large influx of students between last year and this year. The class started out with 34 students, (which I personally believe is way to large for elementary) and they opened another class, but only brought down the class size by 2 or 3 students, as they created a mixed class encompassing 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Which did reduce the class size some, but seems like a strange program to me. I'm not aware of any studies that this is a successful program. Moms definitely roll in a clique, I feel bad for you if you don't make the cut. I'm not a big fan of the uniforms, I think children this age should be encouraged to be individuals, I'd like to see the uniforms in the middle and highschools, where your branding is every thing, and fitting in critical.
—Submitted by a parent

Teachers & Parents really care about the success of all the students.
—Submitted by a parent

We decide to move to Poulsbo due to the school system as a whole and we haven't been disappointed. Every person we have come in contact with, assocciated with Vinland, has been exceptional. We are particulary pleased with Ms. Doria ( first grade teacher ). My wife and I have a son who is in Martha & Mary which will be in Kindergarden next year and he has grown leaps and bounds since enrolling him there. Hopefully he gets Ms. Doria when he gets to first grade!!! Good Luck
—Submitted by a parent

the teachers and staff are always friendly to the parnets and students. If there is conflict or concerns they are considerate of all angles that it might need aproched by. The children love to come and learn. I appreciate the dress code and teaching the children how to be well behaved and kind to others.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school and the staff and teachers there are also exceptional! Very happy there!
—Submitted by a parent

From what I hear, there is immense pressure on these teachers to constantly do WASL related work. I think that the teachers do care. I think they are overwhelmed and pushed hard. I have had great experiences with hard working and caring staff members. If they did not care, how could the students be doing so well? Parents and teachers really need to work together on any 'issues' and listen to eachother. Care comes in all forms and it isn't always the 'enthusiastic' craft-making kind. Teaching and education have come a long way and it looks different.
—Submitted by a parent

My two children attended Vinland this past school year. We loved all the arts programs and other extracurriculars. Few staffmembers attended any performances. Uniforms are wonderful, although not enforced across the board (if your child really doesn't want to wear them, they don't have to). Lots of parents are present during school hours interacting with children with little supervision or training in regards to what they are doing with the children. I actually checked my children out of school at the start of the school year without being asked to show ID. Little incentive for children to achieve anything above standard- from the grading scale to awards (almost nonexistent). Vinland staff overall seems driven by duty, not love for the children they work with. It does seem, however, that Vinland is one of Washington's better schools. What does that say about the state of education in Washington? It is certainly disheartening.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school for children with special needs
—Submitted by a parent

Vinland Elementary is an offers and challenging education and unique learning environment. Children are encouraged to work to their potential and offered many extra curricular activities. The uniform requirements are an excellent addition to the public school system. Parent involvement is at its peak.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended Vinland from 2/2003-10/2005. I was sad when we had to leave(military transfer). I would highly recommend this school to anyone moving to North Kitsap (Poulsbo). The principal, Mr. McCabe is very involved and greets every child by name. The school is a very safe environment. The school has a uniform policy, even though it is a public school. It consists of khaki or navy pants and a navy blue, khaki, white or forest green polo shirt. I think it promotes a healthy learning environment. They have a roll up program. For example, the teacher they have for first grade is also their second grade teacher. I liked it because on the first day of second grade his teacher could jump right on into teaching. Parent involvement is very high. They also have alot of volunteers within the school. This is a great school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am very impressed with the level of education that my child receives. There is a good availablity of music, art and many other things for my child to do. There is not a lot of sports, but I believe that is due to the school being an elementary school. There is plenty of oportunities for parents to be involved.
—Submitted by Bill, a parent

We had our children at Vinland for two years after having them in a Lutheran School. At best we found it almost equal, at worst it was lacking in teaching fundamenal skills. We decided to try Vinland on the basis of the AR Reading program and the Accelerated Math program. This is a good tool, however the Vinland teachers often used the computers as a substitute for real teaching. This was a big disappointment. Despite having significantly more funds than the Lutheran School, the extra-curricular activities were almost non-existent. The only exception was a great program called WAVES that was a hi-light of the girls going to Vinland. One teacher was fantastic- Miss Smith, the 1st and 2nd grade teacher. She was passionate, inventive and truly cared about the kids. If you have a child in those grades, she is one to go out of your way to get!
—Submitted by a parent

My children had a mostly positive experience at Vinland. The music program was outstanding. I liked that there is an art docent program so that even with dwindling fuunds for the arts, they have an opportunity to be creative in many mediums. The atmosphere is a safe and secure one. There seems to be a decent level of parents to help,... it does seem to be the same ppl every event,.... as in any school. The PTA is pretty active. There was a fairly wide assortment of extra cirricular opportunities. The uniform policy made school shopping less stressful on most levels,.... having to buy replacement clothes after the begginning of the year proved somewhat difficult as uniform items are gone and even the basic colors weren't always available,.... so buy early!
—Submitted by a parent

Vinland is a uniform school. What made that attractive is that parents have donated uniforms that their children are not using to a closet where new students can shop for free. This said to me, immediately, that these are parents that care about kids. My [child's] teacher is excellent. She is very current on teaching practices and methodology and does a very good job of applying it in the classroom. She is also very open to parent involvement. On the negative side, this teacher did not, in my opinion, display nurturing qualities if you are looking for that. I have also not been satisfied with the leadership of the school. Very impersonal, in my opinion. I sent an e-mail to the Principal about a concern and never got a response in the entire school year. Maybe he didn't get it.
—Submitted by Marjorie Farquhar, a parent

This school gives a good first impression, but be careful if your child has special needs or any past history of disciplinary problems. They may have a hard time shaking that reputation. They also might have a hard time 'fitting in' as teachers/staff influence the child's peers as well. In 1st grade, desk was placed in back corner of class facing the wall for the last 6 wks of school without any explanation other than my son telling me he asked to move away from the kids picking on him. Principal would not correct this. In 2nd grade had 2 hrs homework every night and high-school level science project standards. Also put in library for half of school year during recess times without notification to parents. Also, very biased school uniform policy enforced unequally.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a child in kindergarten and 2nd grade in Vinland and can't say enough wonderful things about the school. The teachers all seem to be fantastic. The support of the administration staff, the environment and the wonderful parent involvement explains why this school has so many kids trying to transfer in. We moved into this area from California and still are find things about this school that we never would have dreamed of from the public schools in California.
—Submitted by a parent