Hay Elementary School

Our family is extremely happy with the education at John Hay. We have two kids here and have done grades K-2 so far. There are down sides like you'll have at every school, but the good far exceeds it. The teachers are very capable and do an amazing job teaching all their students the myriad of subjects they go through. There's a good amount of focus on STEM and art, which keeps my kids loving the fun side of school. The parents are active and volunteer a lot of time to support staff and tutor students. It's a really strong community.

this school is okay. the teachers like to teach with humor, at least some, and it's a fun way of learning, some other teachers are strict and yell alot. have witnessed some bullying...

The upheaval with long-time principal and mainstay Kari Hansen leaving has left the community in a bit of a flux. The staff is great but looks to a strong leader, as does the parent population.Like many north end schools heavy demand on fund raising to make up for what the District and State doesn't fund or pay for. Volunteer demands are high but always appreciated. Love the fact that kids have access to Multi-Arts and Technology. Love Festival of the Arts and that the hallways are full of classwork and artwork throughout the year.

Good school as long as your kid is left-brained. Right-brained kids (which make about 25% of the population) learn differently; for instance they are visual, and phonics don't work well for them. They need to be taught with different methods. John Hay couldn't care less about that segment of the population, so those kids tend to space out, or be disruptive, and the school is content with antagonizing them, and trying to either lead them out of the school, or have them under Ritalin. Realize that the school gets good ratings because of academics. But is that really what you want for your kid? As that age, the most important things to develop are respect, love for others, and self-confidence. Right-brained kids at John Hay will NOT develop self-confidence as they are constantly told they are failing.