West Woods Elementary School

Overall the school is awesome. They lean into new technology and are always testing new teaching methodologies.The fifth grade teachers each have their own passion (eg one teacher teaches all 4 fifth grade classes science, a different one teaches all 4 history). Their passion then comes through in the material.The parents are highly involved which is great.

I have had 3 children go through this school, with my last leaving after this year. Over the years I have seen a decline in quality of education. The school is overcrowded. Some teachers are really great, others seem to manipulate grades and testing to show growth. Principals come and go from this school every couple years. I heard the new principal seems nice but she never sent out an introduction letter to parents so I don't know much about her. Her bio on the school website mostly pushes the PTA's fundraisers so they can build a new playground. Which brings me to the annoyance of nonstop fundraisers where the PTA is constantly is digging in your wallet. I'm glad our time here is done before things further decline.

I went here and I am having my children go here. very focused on kids and education

I debated if I should write my opinion of this school because overall, it really has been decent but here it goes....I have two kids who are nearing the end of their time at this school. One is "twice exceptional" (Can be challenging to engage) and one is very typical.PROSThe new principal (who is now leaving) is challenging the teachers and parents to "think outside the box" a bit. He also managed the increased growth well despite poor planning by the county and city.The teachers - this is mostly a pro. Most are experienced and caring. The new teachers are a breath of fresh air and seem to already have good classroom mgt. skills. The specials teachers are also very good.CONSMost of the teachers my kids have had are very good at handling "typical" kids. I have had a night and day experience between kids. Few teachers have truly attempted to understand my twice exceptional child while my typical child has thrived. My first child is rarely acknowledged or recognized while my second has on occasion received "student ambassador" etc.Finally, there is heavy emphasis on test scores.I am sorry I ever fed into these numbers.Your child of course knows how important these results are to the school and thus, feels the stress.In a nutshell, I've realized that it is up to me as a parent to bridge any gaps in their education.I have taken a step back as far as expectations go of this school or any school.