Arapahoe Ridge Elementary School

My child is finishing their last year at this school and I couldnt be happier. This school has gone down hill very quickly. As others have said it is over populated allowing children who need more help to slip through the cracks. My daughter also spent two grades out in a trailer for her classroom with no bathroom which meant the kids had to walk up to the main building and ring the bell for a locked door to be opened to come inside. Completely unsafe. The lunch times are short and crowded and have lunch ladies who are rude and made my child cry on several occasions. The worst yet is that my child started being bullied in the end of the year this year and even though ive brought it to their attention someone called safe to tell and brought it to their attention theyve dont nothing to stop it. They " spoke to" the children involved which sid nothing because after being told to stop the kids started puttinf "anonymous" notes in her desk as if we have no clue who it was. The vice prinicpal told me shed " investigate" as she likes to call it but ive yet to hear back from her all. This is after I myself had to go into the school to talk to them about her being physically harmed by these kids and not recieving a call even after I left them a message about it. KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM THIS SCHOOL! It really is too bad that the admistration staff is so bad because there are a few wonderful teachers here but they unfortunately cant make up for all the down falls of this school.

The 504 and Health care plan are only partially being followed. VERY large class sizes and not enough focus on students as a result of overcrowding. For 2 months there was no work sent home or papers graded. No way to assess what your child is learning or how they are doing. Our child was new to the school and we discovered after 2 full months of school that the teacher had not told us- or noticed- our child wasn't receiving work she needed to do and it does affects her grades. I much prefer a school that focus more on students to ensure they are understanding the material all through our the year. Also we prefer that homework and graded work be sent home to parents. Especially since our child was missing school from illness and medical reasons- make up work should be included to insure the all childrens grades and education are being put first. I prefer a school that follows the 504 medical and Health care plan and not just what works best for the school. Also an extremely Strict attendance policy even if your child has medical reasons. We received zero make up work for the time our daughter missed until after I reached out and asked now we are cramming to catch up! Never had this issue at any other school. I can only assume it is to the very large class size and probably overworked teachers. We have tried to make these things work for our child. The lunch time is very short and our daughter has brought that up as well as other parents I see. Our child wakes up at 7-7:30 am and needs additional rest due to medical reasons. The school never wanted to accommodate us and that is a shame. We are having our child go to another school next year. This was not a good fit for our family

I agree with the reviews on the teaching staff, they are great. Now for the ugly truth. The class sizes are horrible. They are stuffed in like sardines and if a child needs a little one on one , its not going to happen .The lunches ARE too short, and further down the line these kids will most likely have GI problems. Now for assessment test. They have MULTI assessment test all year. If you don' t live in the walking distance and can't make it because they do not have the busses for assessment days they count your child absent for the entire day. Another way to keep a lower income child ..is no car...from taking the test and penalizing them for it..They also now that that will give them a higher than average overall test scores. Causing the the state and Federal government to pat them on the back. It's an unjust district to penalized the not so fortunate child that doesn't live near and has to bus and they don't. SHAME on the district.

Safety is a concern. Parking lot and traffic is horrible. Administration is biased and treats families unfairly. Many behavior issues in classes that are not being addressed and effecting my child's education and safe surroundings.