Laurel Elementary School

Best I’ve seen. First time in US and first time in public school. Very positively surprised

We love Laurel! We are still in the thick of our journey here, but since day one, I have found an amazing, supportive community, including all of the other families here. As a single father I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find nurturing, caring, fun teachers and staff, all with their own individual styles. They were both attentive to my children's needs and their aspirations. My children have thrived socially and academically and have found a place they can call home. I am already feeling sad that our experience at Laurel will be over in just a few years.

I have 2 children that go to Laurel, and I've been a Laurel parent for 3 years. It's a wonderful school, and I feel grateful my kids get to go there. The principal and all the staff are extremely involved and caring, and they are consistently looking to innovate and improve the educational experience. I really appreciate the focus on project-based learning, and also the emphasis on learning good community values, morals and citizenship. I also love the variety of activities the children have access to - tons of field trips, music, art, language, sciences, plus really interesting after school programs. Laurel really feels like more than a school - it's a community of wonderful parents, teachers and kids. It's one of the biggest benefits of living in Menlo Park.

We had a sub-par experience. If your child fits right in the middle of what's considered mainstream, they'll likely do fine. Otherwise, you're on your own.The school rests very heavily on the perceived reputation of the district as a whole. Brand new schools and an abundance of devices and use of technology appeals to the Bay Area crowd, and inflates the perception that this is a top district.A small number of teachers are excellent, but the majority are just average. Which is fine, but it has lulled the staff into a false sense of "we're really a top school in a top district" when really, as I've said, it's just average.The administration should get very low marks on dealing with bullying. Instances of both in-person and cyber bullying occurred regularly, and the administration takes a "punish the victim" approach vs effectively dealing with the offenders and holding them and their parents accountable.The administration (and this is probably directed to them at the district level) does not take a supportive role when it comes to helping children who are high functioning but have any of the very common learning disabilities. We often felt that we had to try and convince the administration to help our child and were at odds with them, versus jointly working together to do what's best for our child, not what some administrator has set as targets for the district.