John B. Riebli Elementary School

Great safe environment for children to learn and have open space to enjoy physical exercise too. My son started in 1st grade after a not so supportive kindergarten experience and I've watched him thrive and grow with all 3 years thus far at Riebli with great teachers!

I only give it 4 stars because I feel there are some things that can be improved upon. For example, a full time P.E teacher. I understand most schools have no P.E teacher so Im not faulting the school, Im faulting the district in general. Sports and physical activity studies have proven to improve self esteem, physical health and overall test scores and grades. A healthy brain starts with a healthy body. My son is in his 3rd year at Riebli and I can honestly say he has had 3 great teachers. All with different styles but all the right fit for what my son needed at the time. My son attended a poor pre-school due to my financial situation and when he started kindergarten he was way behind. Mrs. Traeger was his teacher and although she is firm she also challenged him to do his best. The next year he got a great teacher Ms. Adams. A UC Berkeley grad, she is the perfect mix of brain and brawn. This year my son has now jumped ahead because the teachers he had truly cared. In response to Ms. Dirty Classrooms, If the class is dirty maybe volunteer to clean, volunteer your time. Im sure not every teacher at this school is great, I just havent experienced that yet.

Filthy classrooms w/ unhealthy practices, burned out teachers! We were excited for our son to start kindergarten at Riebli. A week in we were so disgusted w/ what we saw we had transfer him to another school. NOT ONCE were the children instructed/allowed to wash their hands before eating or after using the restroom, though a sink is in the room). The chairs/desks were filthy, sticky, and germy...even after an entire summer's opportunity to clean everything. The rug (where children sit many times per day) was gross. The teachers, though sweet in many ways, seem burned out and a little too excited to drop off the kids for snack and lunch (drop and run, regardless of whether a child needs something). When children ask questions--often ignored. Kids asked to retrieve their water bottles from the outside backpack shelf due to thirst, and they were simply ignored. They may have the water bottles on the outside shelf, but are not given access to them. Many parents do not want their kids sharing the germy, disease-spreading community faucet in the class....yuck. Do yourself a favor and look for yourself...volunteer in the class, look around, ask your kids. Our kids deserve better!

The principal was not "sent down". Ms. Hansell has been an innovative and action-oriented principal. The school is in a stronger place today because of her vision and work with the staff. The garden program is amazing-- an outdoor classroom that brings together science, art and writing in an interactive way. The P.E./health and fitness program is evolving, and the students had both Zumba and a P.E. teacher last year. The sense of community is growing stronger and stronger each year. We have very active parent involvement/support in the classrooms, in school events and the PTA. Riebli is a great ft for our family. Figure out what makes a school a good fit for your child- and look far beyond this website...