Sycamore Elementary School

We are so happy and lucky to have found Sycamore. The entire school is focused on the well being of the students and they focus on the whole child, not just test scores. They engage the children in hands-on, project-based learning that invigorates their imaginations and nurtures their curiosity and love of learning. I couldn't be happier.

the staff and the principal are very caring.

this school puts different age groups in one class which is a good initiative unless the teachers are properly trained. Best way ofcourse would be with a Montessori credential. This is not the case at Sycamore there for it lacks the benefit this multiple age mix could create.

We enrolled our son at Sycamore for one year with high hopes and expectations but ended up moving to Chaparral after a couple of disappointments. Bullying is a problem, as one previous poster mentioned. Of course, kids bully each other in every school from time to time - that can't be avoided. What matters, I think, is how the school handles it, where by 'school' I mean every member of the faculty from the principal on down AND parents. In our case, the problem is that my son was bullied by the child of a couple of parents who were completely unwilling to recognize or let alone deal with the situation and that the administration failed to meaningfully intervene. My son's situation just wasn't a high priority. At the same time, we weren't very impressed with Sycamore's academic quality. I really like the concepts of mixed-age classrooms and all that in principle. Maybe the problem was in the implementation. One way or another, our son just wasn't learning at a speed that I thought he could be learning, and that problem was very quickly eliminated at Chaparral. I don't completely dislike Sycamore, but I don't think it's living up to its potential. Sycamore students deserve more.