Grattan Elementary School

We are very happy with our experience here at Grattan. Ms. Walter has brought an amazing new focus to the school and the staff seems to like her and respect her a lot. She is very organized and honest, and the parents really respect her. The kids love school, and I don't hear any complaints when I pick them up from aftercare. The changes that have happened over the past years since the new principal has taken over have been overwhelmingly positive. The PTA pared down spending and focused more on the kids and their academic needs instead of overwhelming them with extras which really, this community does not need at all. Most people here have the finances to bring extra-curriculars to their kids without having the school do it for them. I like the direction the school is headed and I feel that we have ignored a lot of the inequities here for a long time and it is time we focus on the kids who really aren't benefiting academically. There is a lack of diversity here that makes it very difficult to find the people who really care about every child, not just their own. Some people here are really focused on their own needs and the needs of their one kid which doesn't make the school better, just more privileged and entitled. It can be frustrating to get through that. But the teachers are putting their heart and soul into their work and into their students, and the principal has a huge heart for Grattan. She was once a teacher at the school and has deep roots here. Under all the bells and whistles of big PTA funding this is really at heart a family of people who love their kids and their school. For the most part, everyone really cares about the community here. The ones that complain about everything don't get what Grattan is really about and that's a real shame.My kids love the school and are very happy here. We were transfers from another school in the district which made them miserable, so this school is a wonderful place for them. The focus is truly on them and how they should respect everyone no matter who they are or where they come from. My kids are better for it.

We are about halfway through our time at Grattan with our two children. Each year our children are sad to leave their teachers (as are we after seeing the academic and social growth) but then are thrilled with their teacher the following year. We feel lucky to be a part of this bright, motivated and thoughtful community.

I think it's probably frustrating to the potentially incoming parent of a kindergartener that Grattan's review lay flat as of 2014. It is May 2019, I am here to hopefully provide an updated glimmer into the Grattan community. My child is ending her 4th year at Grattan and I am extremely frustrated for several reasons: Our current principal, Ms. Walter, has been developing her personal family, I support this, but not at my child's expense. She is never actually at Grattan. Why not embrace raising your family and surrender these 300+ students to a principal that is actually around? Honestly, Grattan went from a 10 to a 7 in 1.5 years(how does that happen?!), now it's at an 8. I think with this current principal came a loss of the "Grattan spirit" which literally she revoked, your daily clap-in mantra, promises to revise it...*nothing*. This was a huge blow on top of which in the same clap-in she pointed out the "low income folk," I guess well intentioned, but not. Many, many important Grattan staples are leaving Grattan at the end of this year. I don't wonder "why," I wonder when we are going to speak up.

Grattan is a wonderful K-5 school with great teachers and a wonderful and dedicated principal. Our kids get gardening, computer, music, and art. The after school program is top notch. My kids love going to school and never want me to pick them up early.