Crafton Elementary School

HIGH. RECOMMEND. Crafton has a reputation as one of the best schools around. It is highly community-based. Highly diverse. Supports low-income. A strong principal. Fun activities. Great campus. For negatives I would say they start very early, August 9th. And also they have some staff who do not speak proper English, meaning grammar, to students. Lots of "aint's" and "I ain't gonna," which is entirely fixable and should be fixed. The YMCA leader after school yells at the children and speaks bad English - which means she is neither teaching compassion, nor how to speak properly. This is a shame in a warm, supportive environment like Crafton. Strong use of the pillars makes this school effective at teaching more than just academics. Great choir. Fun after-school programs like Chess for those interested in paying for them. A fun fall carnival. Great PTA volunteers while we were there. Great couple who does the running club. Very active campus. Many physical improvements over the past 3 years.

All 4 of my kids have attended Crafton over the last 10 years and have had very positive experiences. The principal and staff are caring and easy to work with. There is an overall sense of pride and belonging at the school and the academics are top-notch. We love Crafton!!

The school no longer cares about the children. All they care about is test scores and getting money from the results of the tests. Children need a little bit of fun in order to maintain interested in school.I think they need a new principal one that doesn't tell a 4 year old that "life is tough and they should just deal with it". That tells me as a parent that she does not care about the children.

Crafton has always had the best teachers - highly dedicated, motivated, and caring. However, since the recent change in administration (Spring 2011), the school has significantly deteriorated. Students are not held to the high ethical standards for which they were previously accountable and student morale is low. The new principal's lack of administrative control has driven out two of Crafton's hardest working teachers, a handful of PTA board members, and countless families seeking schools that are positive and better run. It's been difficult to watch what used to be such a great school unravel at the seams as a result of the lack of administrative leadership.