Woodland Intermediate School

I have been in the district for 3 years, and have 1 at this school. Awesome experience! My 6th grader is academically gifted and his experience has been enjoyable and stimulating. He has had Mr. Peterson, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Marshall, who were all very capable & fun teachers. He has also had the opportunity to participate in the Highly Capable program which is taught by the amazing Ms. Karnis. This program is designed to challenge those children who are gifted so that they continue to be interested in school, and it is effective. The band program is also very good. A couple of things that stand out in Woodland - Good parent involvement, a sense of community, safe and clean schools and neighborhood, very caring & competent teachers, a small school atmosphere compared to Portland/Vancouver . Much of the district staff live in the community and it makes a difference.
--Submitted by a parent

I love the Woodland school district but since the WASL program has began, I find that the teachers spend too much time with what's going to be on the WASL instead of teaching anything else. The Teachers are great at Woodland Intermediate school and I understand that this is required from them and they have alot to deal with.
--Submitted by a parent

I have entered my two children into the Woodland Intermediate School and have been appalled at the problems with bullies and gang activities. The principal lacs the abilities to deal with the problems at hand or chooses to ignore the issues. My children have been repeatedly attacked by children that have gang like mentality and when my children try to protect themselves they are disiplined but the attackers are not. Something must be done about these problems and I have brought these issues up to the principle just for her to ignore the problems at hand. At this point my children are sincerley afraid that the next attack may include a weapon and I can't alleviate these fears because I have these fears myself. This is not a safe school, it is not the Woodland schools that we grew up with. There needs to be changes in the administration.
--Submitted by Marlowe McConnell, a parent

As a parent, I will never send my kids to this district. I have never seen disfunction on such a large scale. The teachers are wonderful, hard working and dedicated to the students. However, discipline is non-existent, principal leadership is appalling, and the teachers do not feel supported by the administration or community. Students are not reprimanded for bullying, defiance or insubordination. The school board needs to step up and see what is happening within these walls.
--Submitted by a parent

I do not know all of the teachers in the intermediate school but have only great things to say about a few I have had a child attend their class. Mrs. Sutton is very good and the kids love her but I feel there was too much homework. Mr. Flanagan, and Wiseman do a tremendous job! I've also heard good things about Mr. Bellings and Mrs. Wells. The school board needs to evaluate the efficientness of the principal and in doing so take the opinions of the students and parents into consideration because she definately lacks the support of most parents in her ability to principal a school. I've also known her to show extreme favortism towards some students.
--Submitted by a parent

The 4th grade is a complete waste of time at this school. Rather than prepare the students for the 5th grade, the teachers are expected to teach the kids what is on the WASL test and make sure the school passes. This test is to gauge how well our teachers and schools are doing overall, not just how well they teach in the 4th grade. The principal is not helpful to parents or their children in situations dealing with bullies or problems with staff, and comes across as rude. The bus service isn't any better. Problems on the bus and at the bus stop are usually ignored until something serious happens.
--Submitted by a parent

Face it, the school stats are horrible! 40% of our 4th graders are at reading level! I think it is time for a charter school or I am moving out of town.

I have had the pleasure of having 2 children at this school one a normal child who has spent last 3 years there and my son who is disabled spent 1 and a half yrs there and both had very good expierences and have had wonderful teachers one of the best teachers has been Mr. Bellings...both my children were students of his and both enjoyed going to school every day...that in my humble opinion makes a great teacher one who can make even the worst student want to go to school.
--Submitted by a parent

I do not believe that the current principal is doing the best that she can. I recently had a child go from 4th grade receiving mostly B's to 5th grade getting D's and F's. And doing about 3 hours homework every night. I do not feel that it was all my childs fault that she was failing. Something needed to be done.
--Submitted by a parent

Both of my girls attended Woodland Int. I think the teachers, as a whole, are good teachers, doing their best with what they have. Although the school district claimed to have a no bullying policy, I feel it was all talk and no action on the part of the school staff. Some classes have 60 students and 2 teachers. That is NOT productive to learning for the children, too much noise and activity for anyone to concentrate.
--Submitted by a parent