Franklin Delano Roosevelt Elementary School

Overall the care and attention provided by staff and teachers matters a lot more then some of the physical appearances of school property. the bathrooms are scary...Excellent online program that was put together last minute when SIP took place.

I was a teacher at FDR twice, once a decade ago and again two school years ago. When returning to FDR, my first warning came when teachers told me there had been some “growing pains” during FDR’s switch from a K-6 to K-8 format. The second warning came before the school year when I met another teacher who had three lower-grade children at FDR that she was considering transferring out before they got to middle school. The reason: FDR middle school students had a reputation for being “disrespectful”.During my second time at FDR, I found that the middle school reputation was well-earned. A negative middle school culture had developed that the new leadership was not equipped to address. Substitute teachers avoided FDR. The sixth-grade students I taught were radically different from a decade ago. Many transferred in and out before and during the school year and several parents had their children on waiting lists elsewhere, including teachers with children at the school. The same school leadership is in place now and the situation is similar to what it was two years ago. Overall staff morale at the school in the latest school year continues to be low and teachers are at odds with the principal. 60% of teachers in 2020-21 will be different from three years ago; some positions have turned over multiple times in the meantime. Eight teachers out of 25 left during or at the end of the 2018-19 school year, 32% turnover. Turnover is never a good sign. Plenty of work is needed to bring FDR back to where it needs to be, but there is not a plan in place to get it there. If you live in the neighborhood, I would not worry too much if you have lower grade children; however, I would recommend having a backup plan when your child approaches middle school.

I would rate my experience at this school as a 4.3. While my entire time in 9 years at this school could have been improved with better control over bullies and better management of mean, rude students, I think my experience was wonderful.