Fairview Elementary School

My children are happy, making friends and learning. I’m happy!

This is the school where kids go to watch tv. They have a smart board in every classroom and that’s what they use them for. When I drop off and pick up my daughter, the kids are sitting on the floor watching Peppa Pig. When you walk by the other classrooms or the library, you can see the same thing is happening. I picked her up one day and asked her what she did that day and she said they watched a Curious George movie. One time I arrived early to pick her up and hung outside waiting for her class to be dismissed. The class next door had Peppa Pig on for 30 minutes. School isn’t a place to watch cartoons. Some positives about the school are that the principal is very kind and involved. The interior of the school is nice and new. But you can’t have a Title 1 school where the students desperately need the most learning and face-to-face interaction with their peers and teachers and waste that time putting them in front of cartoons. I asked my friends and family members if their kids watch cartoons in school and they said it doesn’t happen - that the kids might watch an educational video but never Peppa Pig. I have two family members who are teachers and they said it shouldn’t be happening. I am considering private school instead.

Yes, Fairview has a GreatSchools rating of two. That's based on the test scores and proficiency, and sadly with almost 80% of the school population classified as low-income, the parent-child and parent-teacher relationship that makes for a successful student is greatly compromised. Therefore, it's fair to say that the two-star rating does not mean the school set children up for failure, it's mostly circumstantial. Our son has been attending here since 1st grade and so far, we've seen a proactive campus - Mr. Melvin is helpful, involved, quick to resolve issues, and open (and who admittedly has a lot on his plate, with the school's preconceived reputation and trying his darnest to turn things around); the majority of teachers (at least our experiences in 1st-3rd grade) are all for their kids and are super involved; the volunteers (mostly parents/grandparents) are splendid and passionate. The PTA is in its infancy, but is also made up of folks who want to instigate positive change and community involvement.So yes, on the outside the school is nice and new, some of the parents during drop-offs/pick-ups are of questionable character/parental quality who leave a lousy taste in your mouth, but at its core, Fairview ES is run well, has motivated staff, growing but strong PTA, pretty good funding, the deaf program is spot on, AM/PM YEP aftercare is great (and cheap). If this keeps up, it's only a matter of time before the scores pick up, which apparently what most people care about, even though all schools are on Common Core now, which is standardized throughout the nation, i.e. no one learns more or less than the other.

Fairview School does not know much about discipline and how to handle children in the class room. They need more training on child psychology. They need to learn and understand the mentality of a child. They need to challenge to achieve for the better instead of pushing them to the back and leave them for failure. I am disappointed in the way children are being handled in bully situations and the communication between the staff and the principle. It seem like they are more worried about their jobs then the well being of the education of the child.