Rod Kelley Elementary School

We all want our children to get the best education possible and I’m very fortunate to have been able to send my child to Rod Kelley. My child had reading issues in 1st grade but with a meeting with the school staff on how to assist my child and my child being in Mrs. Newick class, he now reads on his own with confidence.

As with any school or institution, how involved you are really paints the kind of experience you are going to have. I have a daughter in the dual immersion program and am very active/participate. The teachers are excellent, they have high expectations and follow through. I have always had attentive teachers willing to listen to my inquiries. I would have given five stars if it weren't for the secretaries at the front office. They are nice and try to attend everyone to the best of their ability, but sometimes I feel like they cannot handle the work load and maybe need more staff. There is a disconnect between them and the main offices at GUSD (the secretaries will say one thing on their end and GUSD will say another on theirs so obviously there is miscommunication), I wish there were more clarity. As far as the principal is concerned, the general consensus is that he has a huge chip on his shoulder, but I have yet to experience that with him. I think he has pride in his school but schools also operate on limited budgets, even so the new library is excellent and the new fence is also a comfort for every parent. There is also renovations inside the cafeteria and it looks great!

My child has attended Rod Kelley for 4 years now. All of her teachers have been amazing. I'm very pleased that the new gates have been installed. My only complaint is the Principal. He walks around never speaking to a single parent or child. He is full of himself and shows no sign of school spirit. 20 years ago Gene Sakahara was the Principal and new every parent and new every students name. He came in to sub for a week and it was the most comforting week my daughter has had in the 4 years. I wish he were still the Principal.

This is my daughter's first year at an elementary school and is in Kindergarten. She loves going to school and hates to miss any days. Her teacher is very dedicated and you can tell that she really pays special attention to each child in her class - and there have been many new students assigned to her class since the start of the year. I left out two starts because of the principal. I had my first ever encounter with him earlier today and he spoke to me as if I was a child that got sent to his office after getting in trouble. Instead of simply and politely, especially because I'm NOT a student and a PARENT, stating what it is he had to say and get to the point he starts off by questioning me in a very harrowing manner and stood there as if I needed to explain myself in the freezing cold. He definitely exudes "fear to gain respect" as his way of leading but he ends up just coming off as a bully and a jerk - very sad and displeasing especially if he is the main representative/example of the school. It's a good thing this school has excellent teachers to make up for his lacking.