Kolter Elementary School

Wonderful teachers, caring administration. Great opportunities for kids to mature and learn and create lifellong friendships.

My daughters have been going to this school for 2 years. The intentions are good, however, there is a strong cultural/social presence that permeates the school given the area. The zoned parents hate that it's magnet and look down on "outsiders". It's highly political and favorites run plenty!

I m not motivated to change schools, but I don t have anything amazing to report either. We bought a home specifically to be zoned, but meh. 1/2 way through K & I have yet to be impressed. PTO is huge & there seems to be a ton of involvement, plus a lot of chaos & lack of information, esp for K parents who don't automatically know things from past years. My LO tested GT but classes are integrated & I've not seen anything specific to push GT kids. We re seeing improvement in reading, (although, 1/2 through the year, my LO says last week was the very 1st time to read for the teacher to establish a reading level), & a general enjoyment for school, which is why I haven't pulled my LO. The language classes seem ok, but aren't what I expected since this is the language magnet. They seem basically the same as the classes I had in K-12, back when all schools had language. I ve been appalled by archaic practices re environmentalism-required to bring lunch in a single-use plastic bag for field trips?! And healthy eating habits-giving 5 yr olds potato chips and candy to teach a taste-test lesson?! Maybe my expectations are too high, & I should accept public school will never be perfect.

My child has been welcomed here since day one and has found both a great academic and social home at Kolter. We are so thrilled to have this school in our community! Dr. Shetzer, the teachers, the office staff, Ms. Garcia the school nurse, the librarian -- all are wonderful professionals who really seem to want the best for the kids. The community also benefits from a very high degree of parental involvement. Why anyone zoned to Kolter would choose a private school or another HISD is completely beyond me. This school is, as another reviewer put it, a gem.