Ivy Creek Elementary School

I have too much affection for this great school where my daughter has learned and has been able to improve her talent and discipline. great work of the teachers and managers.

The best school for my kids with excellent teachers.

Ivy Creek is a poor place to send children for a well-rounded and effective education. The reason Ivy Creek scores so highly in testing is because the teachers only teach to the tests. There are assessments of some kind every few weeks. The kids are always testing and never actually learning. The gifted program (FOCUS) and the Accelerated Content (AC) classes do not provide additional educational challenge to the children in them. They merely serve as an opportunity for the school to pick out its best test-takers and groom them for better test performance. The work isn't more enriching in these programs, it is merely more volume. There is almost no project-based learning. The principal is the one who controls these programs at the school-level and she has made Ivy Creek a testing mill rather than a place of real education. It is an atmosphere that teaches children WHAT to think, rather than truly HOW to think. Additionally, the atmosphere is one of constant negative reinforcement. There are rules, rules, rules at every turn and children are made to obey out of fear of being punished for the slightest violation of the many arbitrary rules rather than being taught the value of order and discipline. The students are encouraged to "tattle" on each other, and are rewarded for such behavior. Good behavior and positive traits are rarely, if ever, recognized. Our kids never had discipline issues in the school we previously attended for three years in another state, but here they are getting notes sent home, almost daily, for minor infractions that should easily be handled through good classroom management skills (i.e.: "[child's name] was clipped down today for picking at a string on the carpet" and "[child] got in trouble for playing with a pencil").Before arriving at this school, our children loved going to school, they loved the gifted and advanced content classes in their previous school and were excited to learn there. After two years at Ivy Creek that joy is gone. Luckily, our oldest child will not be returning next year and we are weighing other options for our other children who currently attend or are reaching kindergarten age.

My children have both had great experiences at Ivy Creek. Excellent, devoted, and caring teachers and staff. I could not be happier.