11366 Willow Gardens Dr
Windermere, FL 34786

I wanted to write this review in hopes that it helps other families—especially those relocating from out of state—who are searching for the right school for their child.When we moved to Florida, we initially enrolled our daughter in a well-known private school for kindergarten and first grade. Coming from a state where public schools were underfunded, overcrowded, and filled with overwhelmed teachers, we assumed a private school would provide a better experience. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Despite the big promises, the reality was underwhelming and fell short in many ways.This year, our daughter attended Windermere Elementary School, and the experience has completely restored our faith in public education.From the very first day, we felt the difference. WES has an incredibly supportive and tight-knit community of parents, an exceptional PTO, and dedicated teachers—many of whom have been at the school for over a decade. Her 2nd-grade teacher has been at WES for 12+ years and brings not just experience, but true passion and care. She saw and nurtured our daughter’s unique strengths, made learning fun and engaging, and created a classroom environment that my child couldn’t wait to return to each day. She literally cried on the last day of school because she will miss her teacher so much.Leadership at WES is also something special. The principal and assistant principal know the students by name—and by heart. My daughter gives them a hug every morning at drop-off, which speaks volumes about the kind of culture they've built.Academically, the transformation has been incredible. After two years in private school and nearly $50,000 in tuition, our daughter entered WES below grade level. Thanks to her teacher’s support, she not only caught up—she grew two levels on state testing and made honor roll.If you're looking for a school that will nurture your child—not just academically, but emotionally and socially—look no further. Windermere Elementary School is everything we hoped for and more.

The administration at this school is horrible! I have had kids there for 5 consecutive years now and have continued to have issue after issue. My first son there was always saying how the administration is mean and made him feel like he was a bad kid and does not listen to him. He is a straight A student and never got into trouble so I didn't understand why he was saying that. Then my middle child started attending. He had an IEP for speech and accomodations for severe ADHD. He never got speech classes and none of his teacher even knew he had an IEP or accomodations. When his lunch table got in trouble at lunch for tossing water bottles and trying to land them they got sent to the deans office. The dean gave him a referal and marked it as severe (the same level as bringing a weapon to school). When they told him to sign the 2 page paper and the punishment he politely told them he wanted to bring it home to go over the document with his parents before signing (something I teach my kids to do before signing anything). The dean refused and forged his name on the document. My husband and I went to discuss the matter with the dean, she was rude and dismissive and would not listen to us. We told her we felt unheard and and she refused to talk with us. We had to have campus security come in. I then understood why my kids were feeling unheard and dismissed, she was doing it to us as adults. This year they changed the policy for sending computers home and stated that they could check them out at night if they didn't have computer access at home. My third child a straight A student in the gifted program who doesn't have access to a computer was denied each time she tried. She got her first b's and c's on her first quarter report card because she is unable to complete her homework or study for her tests and quizzes at home. After sending our daughter to advocate for herself and being shut down we stepped in, and of course were disregarded by several of the admin. After a trail of emails from admin we had a phone call with the principle and again felt unheard and dismissed. They can care less that our straight A student is now suffering and doesn't have the tools available to succeed. They have unused computers at night time and they still won't let her take one home. I am sure there are plenty of other students who may not be A students or have parental support at home who are suffering. The bad leadership stems from the top, the students feel it and parents too.

This school is absolutely awful. The teachers are amazing but the staff and administration, not so much. I’ve went to west orange as well as windermere and I’d pick west orange any day, although I do have amazing teachers, The administration besides some exceptions is horrible. I am a senior student and since september i’ve asked for mental help multiple times and accommodations and They CONSTANTLY ignore my emails, I have quite literally begged for help so i can exceed as I used to and again my emails get ignored. They don’t care about kids graduating they care about money.