Miramar Ranch Elementary School

My experience with MRE is good. We've been at MRE for one year and my kindergartener came in with few math and reading skills and left proficient in both for her grade level. The Family Faculty Association (FFA) sets this school apart from the rest; highly involved parents equals a great public school experience. Minimum days for teacher meetings and once a week makes it difficult to manage a routine especially if you have other children, but overall we had a good experience.

I have three children that have been and are currently students at Miramar ranch (the last 7 years). I really have no complaints about the education my kids have received. The teachers are amazing. They truly care about my children. Parent involvement is incredible. My one complaint is the parking and that’s out of theirControl. Parking situation is the one thing that takes a while to get used to. Love the programs they have with the art corps and the running club. All sorts of after school programs going on. Really something for everyone.

My daughter graduated from this school last year and she loved her experience as a student. She loved her teachers, friends that she made, and the fun activities throughout the school year. She is now in middle school and just got straight A's on her first progress report so I think Miramar Ranch gets some of that credit.

I knew as soon as I heard the words “There is no running on the playground” that something was wrong with this school system.The kindergarten class didn’t have grass and there is no running on the asphalt. “It’s not safe and can cause really bad scrapes.” Scrapes, bumps, and bruises should be a part of childhood—they’re how kids learn to manage risk.The “No running on asphalt” policy is the norm for the entire district. In the face of an ADHD epidemic, an obesity epidemic, and neuroscience that proves that kindergartners cannot sit still for long periods of time, how can we require such young children to stay still all day while adding increasingly heavy academic demands? Children who behaved well each day were given green cards.Then yellow cards, then orange cards accompanied by a phone call to the parent, then red cards signifying a visit to the principal’s office. How many more yellow, orange, and reds are given out as a result of the lack of energy release throughout the day? How does self-esteem suffer in the kids who are trying to behave but incapable of staying still that long?I began to see more global problems. The running was now the least of my worries—even if it was the underlying cause of many of the problems.I heard children lectured for minor violations (like drawing instead of writing letters). I saw timers being used at stations. I saw children stressed.I saw teachers withholding recess from children unable to complete their work. The kid could be goofing off or legitimately slow and needing help, but the punishment was the same.I saw kids showing anxious behaviors.I saw certain boys being labeled and regularly put in the corner as a way to control behavior.I was saw a pervasive lack of compassion, or even tolerance, for age-appropriate behavior. I saw it from teachers, I saw it from coaches, I saw it from playground staff, and I saw it in the rules that disregarded common sense.When my son became afraid to write his name, I was concerned. When he stopped writing and drawing all together, I was devastated.It wasn’t that I was having trouble “letting go” of my first baby, as some at the school had suggested to me. It was the school. It was the school’s profound lack of respect for children. It was their institutionalized ignorance of basic child development. I hope things start to change in public school but we left the system.