Atwater Elementary School

We love Atwater school because of its excellent principal (former and current) and very good teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

We love Atwater School! Atwater has great teachers, principal, PTO, specials, cultural diversity, parents, and community environment.
--Submitted by a parent

Great teachers, strong and caring leadership, challenging curriculum, lots of enrichment opportunities, warm and friendly school atmosphere with great receptivity to parent involvement!
--Submitted by a parent

This is the best school my kids have attended. I would not change it. They have helped all my kids, without discrimination. This is an admirable school. I feel safe leaving my kids there because there is good oversight and the teachers are the best. Shorewood Village is very nice and I am very happy with the school.
--Submitted by a parent

Reading previous reviews,note that this year Atwater will have a new principal and new guidance counselor as well as a new OT, all of which are involved in discipline/learning differences. It's hard to predict what it will be like in 2009/2010 as those are major players. Currently: Top notch music and art programs. Imaginative gym classes. New character education program. Chicago Math (fuzzy math) through 5th grade. Class size 22-25.
--Submitted by a parent

teacher and school quality is above average.
--Submitted by a parent

My child attended this school for three years. We moved from out of state so we had a great school to compare it to. My child was bullied by children on the playground from day one and the staff and principal did nothing to help. There is no gifted program, the teachers are skittish because of an arrogant, principal and the playground is like Lord of the Flies. Parents (depending on who you are in the community) are generally treated like trouble making problems.
--Submitted by a parent

One of the many reason our family enjoys Atwater school is because they do not have a gifted and talented program. We have lived in several school districts across the country and feel the unnecessary tracking a gifted and talented program entails is an inefficient educational process on many levels. Atwater takes every child to a level that is above and beyond what the child ever thought possible. The classroom teachers creatively teach the necessary curriculum. An absolute plus is that with through music, art, orchestra, band, PE, Spanish, computer lab, science lab, etc., any and every child is given the opportunity to excel and grow academically, socially and physically. If all schools would follow the Atwater model, no child would ever be left behind.
--Submitted by a parent

I just want to clarify that this school does NOT have gifted program. It has a 'challenge' program, which essentially comes down to more work. Having a gifted program is something which is very specific and was actually what I was looking for and why I am now looking elsewhere. They definitely operate from a strong mold which works best for your child if they can fit into that. It can be, and is, a very difficult road at Atwater for many. They are what they are: a traditional 'back to the basics' school, and they run very efficiently on that model. There's only so much you can do to change 'the system', and I certainly understand that. If you are looking for a setting which attempts to achieve the curriculum goals and govt. standards from a perspective of the strengths of each individual student, try the multi-age here.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended this school for the past four years (K5-3rd grade, 2002 - 2006). Her initial experience was excellent but the overall quality of the school has declined under the new principal. The regular classroom and special subject teachers have been great - the PE teacher is especially good with getting even 'average' kids excited about gym. On the negative side, the class sizes are very large - my daughter's class has 25 students, 1 teacher, no aide. The principal has been there about two years and is very unpopular with many parents and teachers. She make parents feel very unwelcome, actively creates obstacles to direct parent-teacher communication, and has created a climiate where teachers who disagree with her policies and procedures are clearly marginalized and 'steamrolled'. I would recommend this school to others only with reservations.
--Submitted by a parent