Penn London El School

Kindergarten program has now been converted to FULL DAY - thank heavens! As with many schools, the level of organization and communication is driven largely by which teacher you get. We LOVE Mrs. Russell, our 1st grade teacher. Organized, great communicator, kind, tough love, rewards the students, and good homework regimine. Our son's K teacher, not so much despite having 17+ years in the field. Poor communication, scheduling, and overall not impressed with her parent engagement. Not a fan of school leadership, parent emails verge on abrasive. But overall so far so good, our child is reading at 2nd grade levels, math skills are high, students are kind. We are good for now :)

We moved to Avon Grove, like so many other families, because of this district's reputation and were so looking forward to our children attending school here. However, we were so disappointed to encounter nothing but disorganization, poor communication, safety concerns, and rudeness from faculty at PLE. I would also encourage parents to do their research on Common Core and data Mining. Sadly, I district with a previously good reputation for educational excellence does not mean much anymore. Common Core brings conformity and low standards for everyone, regardless of district. I don't care about tests scores. I care about my children's education!

This school is wonderful, clean, and has the best teachers. My Kindergarten age daughter is already reading. Even though the K is only half day, the amount they are learning is amazing, especially compared to the Catholic schools. I volunteer at kid writing, so I get to see the interaction between the teachers and the students.

Penn London get high marks for security and safety, but these come at the price of extreme rigidity. The teachers are fantastic! The admnistrators and the school board are not so great- too much photo ops and worrying more about the budget than the actual kids. The PTA is no better- they spend tons of time selling all kinds of stuff to the students even though that's not in the childrens' best interests at this age level (It's also not unusual PTA behavior.) If you wish to conform, you are allowed to volunteer in your child's class IF your child's teacher allows it. If not, you are out of luck.