John Adams Elementary School

Overall it's a good school with quality teachers that are a little strict which can be good for lot of kids. The staff was great in the office before now they are extremely strict y the books I.e. kid is 1 second late gets stopped and called into office for a tardy slip. There aren't alot of bullies and I wish there were more African American students. Living In LA there are a lot and Yorrance is expensive but it should be easier to get into the school to make up for the THREE African AMERICAN kids and good ethnic mix of Latino(mostly and stastisticially almost as many African Americans as White and Asian but they must feel isolated at 3% but only 3 out of around 200 students is unrealistic and they need to GET MORE African American kids so they're is at least a 5% increase. They recently hired a new principal who is very good all around ans SHE is African American. Nons of the other STAFF are either! This is my biggest complaint and my children are white so I am not biased but expect more effort in cultural diversity and the new Principal was a start but maybe another staff member, teacher, and students? Most teachers are white or Asian. Kids need to experience ALL backrounds and culture living in L.A. and it seems almost like thsy don't WANT African American students because the demographics and staff speak for themselves. Kudos for the new younger African American Principal replacement but she has new arbitrary rules and a megaphone in the a.m. and p.m. shouting rules which is a little overboard. Other than that if you're child needs a quality experienced teacher who strictly ensures ALL rules are followed and there are NO actual fights I have ever seen or heard of here but Sometimes you have to be a LITTLE flexible and it's very safe and secure now especially with new steel gate construction but wasnt a problem anyway just few overprotective parents? Strict rules, rigid but they'll learn but ALOT of tbe teachers OVERTLY :"teach to the test" and dump it on the parents and haven't taught it effectively yet they give LOTS of homework on it! I.e. my daughter that was barely taught or not clear. It's FEELS as if they take advantage of parents' time with homework on things that weren't effectively taught. I know this bc I ALWAYS must help both my kids who are advanced academically. They're classwork I see correct/incomplete and testss always 130%!

John Adams is a safe school. It is clean and well maintained. There are cliques; it seems based on racial identity. It's not mean but it's obvious. It's an average school, if your child performs in the median you will be pleased. My daughter thrived academically and was not encouraged by teachers but told that she talked too much and made to feel badly about herself for wanting more academic stimulation. She tested gifted and received poor citizenship marks because teachers didn't recognize her abilities and were unable to differentiate up. We are leaving the TUSD.

The teachers are really responsive and care for every kid. The principal stays well involved in school activities. The parents frequently and happily volunteer in the classes. Having YMCA in the same campus is a huge blessing. A nice cultural blend will surely help in the development of young minds. Overall a very healthy school environment.

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