Hawthorne Elementary School

My son is a student at Hawthorne Elementary school. He is in an emotional/behavioral delay special education class. He is at the kindergarten level, and his classroom is K-2. My experience working with the teacher, principal, vice-principal and staff on writing and implementing his Individual Education Plan (IEP) has been outstanding! I appreciate the love, expertise, and perspective the staff at the school give my son. I dropped by the school today to add some money to his school lunch account, and even the "lunch lady" has wonderful words of appreciation and encouragement about him. Our experience at Hawthorne has exceeded my greatest hopes!
—Submitted by a parent

We feel so fortunate to be part of the wonderful community of students, families, and teachers at Hawthrone. My daughter is thriving in a nurturing environment that not only focuses on standard test related curriculum, but on individual and social awareness and responsibility. The sense of pride amongst the Hawthorne community is a true reflection of the wonderful school that it is.
—Submitted by a parent

Hawthorne has improved incredibly in the last two years! I see HUGE positive changes in the academics, parent/community involvement and the school's physical appearance. The children are very involved and care about their school.

As grandmother to one of Hawthorne's kindergartners, I am delighted to report that he attends a school where individuality and diversity are valued, where learning is fostered and enrichment is more than a buzzword. As an artist who volunteers to work on art projects with the children twice weekly, I can say from first hand experience that the children are happy, thriving and learning. This school is on the move. There may have been problems in the past, but great strides have been made. Teachers here are excellent, go the extra mile, and benefit from professional coaching. The administrators are strong, capable, caring and committed. Test scores are on the rise, and parent volunteers have organized . But best of all is the day-by-day success this school produces right now.

We love Hawthorne! Our son is in Kindergarten this year and has had such a wonderful experience. He has an amazing teacher. She does a wonderful job of balancing the required reading and math curriculum with movement, music, and art. The school has a great art teacher, a beautiful library with a full time librarian (!), one of the best PE teachers I've ever met, and an all around wonderful staff. The principal and vice principal are two of the most inspiring, dedicated, and warm people I have ever met in the public school system. And have I mentioned the diversity at this school? There is such an ethnic, racial, social-economic mix at this school. A true melting pot. What a great place for a child to learn.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son is in kindergarten this year at Hawthorne and we have been very pleased with our experiences so far. He loves school and is thriving. My husband and I are both teachers and I have a range of experience observing other teachers. Our son's teacher is one of the strongest teachers I have watched in action. She is amazing at differentiating to meet the needs of all of the children in the classroom. The school has strong leadership that values a rich learning experience for children. They our courageous in being committed to a solid education in the full sense even in a climate that focuses purely on math and reading. It is wonderful to see a school where they know how to effectively address the needs in these two academic areas without neglecting the rest of learning.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is a first-grader at Hawthorne and is thriving. The combination of committed teachers, supportive administration, and great kids makes this an amazing school where every child's success is equally important.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of a kindergartener at Hawthorne. It has truly been a remarkable year. There is a buzz amongst the faculty and parents that great things are happening and I believe it! Simply put, my son loves his teachers and classmates. What more could we ask for? His happiness is ours. Keep it up!
—Submitted by a parent

Hawthorne is an amazing school on the rise. The teachers, staff, parents and the wider community are truly embracing this neighborhood school and it shows. The teachers and staff are dedicated to these kids, backed by the district, are getting the kind of professional development that makes a difference. The school offers full time Arts, Technology, and Literacy programs in addition to onsite partnerships with organizations like CDSA and Powerful Schools. All this support and energy devoted to the Hawthorne students makes a difference. Recent test scores have risen significantly and future program development in the school curriculum will only strengthen their learning. For example, my son is in the Spectrum program but needs a little extra boost in his reading skills. The Powerful Readers program gives him that support. But for me personally it's not all about the scores but the facts that my child learns in between the lessons. The knowledge you get from rubbing shoulders with so many diverse cultures can't really be measured but has a value all to it's own. It's those lessons combined with that of the teachers that make Hawthorne so special to me.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is a kindergartener this year at Hawthorne. He loves his teacher and all the new friends he has made. Our family is very involved at the school. Thanks to strong leadership, excellent teachers and involved parents, students are thriving. There is a Performing Arts Program, Technology Program (with computer lab and laptop carts), team-building P.E. and Library Arts. There is even a special Visual Arts program for Kindergarteners where the kids do art projects related to science. Our multi-cultural school events are really fun and bring our diverse families together for good food, dancing, singing, learning. We are very happy with Hawthorne. And most importantly, our son is happy!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is in kindergarten at Hawthorne, and our experience has been amazing! So far the staff and the administration have been very accessible and open. My daughter has flourished, and we owe a lot of that to her amazing teacher.
—Submitted by a parent

From what I know, the parents of the young children are organizing with each other and meet with staff, new principal, teachers and community. They partnered with local rotary and won largest volunteer turnout for the 2010 April Bridge To Beach Clean-Up. I think this is a great foundation for driving improvements in all facets of the education and community!

My 2 children are doing very well while attending Hawthorne Elementary, I've seen a huge improve in my daughter's reading and in her math. She attended her kindergarten year there and is now in 1st grade. My son who is in kindergarten there now went from 'i dont know?' to being able to recognize sights words, and numbers and letters. He showed a huge improvement within just a couple months from the beginning of the school year. They love going to school there, and is sad they will not be attending Hawthorne next fall, due to the 'new student assignment plan'. I sure hope their future school will continue to teach my children as well as Hawthorne Elementary has.
—Submitted by a parent

Our granddaughter is now in the 3rd grade here. Towards the middle of last school year we encountered many problems with someteachers not being able to treat parents/grandparents with 'respect'! It seems it has carried over into this year. If we cannot turn to the school staff for support then who the heck can my grandchild turn too. Getting very disappointed in how things are getting handled at this school. A Very Concerned Grandparent
—Submitted by Debra Haraldson, a parent

Leadership change at this school 3 years ago has left the school wanting for more change. The 'Hawthorne Way' of past years has disappeared in favor of a more authoritarian atmosphere that serves to teach to the lowest common denominator. Teachers struggle to maintain order in the classrooms, and academic standards have not improved, proving that you must teach to the whole child.
—Submitted by Mark Smedley, a parent