1770 Second Ave
Ketchikan, AK 99901

I attended this school as a child, and later five of my own children attended as well. Overall, I would describe the school as mediocre. While there were some decent experiences over the years, there were also ongoing issues that made it difficult to maintain respect for the school environment. Even as a child, I remember the front office staff coming across as rude and unkind. Although I believe the front office atmosphere has improved somewhat in recent years, my experiences as both a student and a parent still left a lasting impression. With the upcoming changes to the school system next year, I unfortunately have little confidence that things will continue improving moving forward. The lack of professionalism and compassion from certain staff members made many interactions unnecessarily stressful. The previous principal especially made difficult situations worse rather than offering support. During pickups, while visibly pregnant and carrying a baby in a car seat along with a toddler, I struggled with the poorly designed parking situation and difficulty navigating stairs. Instead of showing understanding, I was criticized for not parking in certain areas, despite clearly struggling physically. The school’s parking layout has long been inadequate and poorly planned, creating unnecessary stress for parents and families.

I would highly recommend home schooling or another school over sending them to Schoenbar. I went to school here as a child, I was bullied by the front desk. My sister went to school here and they had kids “slapping each others butts.” This went on for years. My son goes to school here, he was getting jumped by kids all day. NOTHING was done. And then my son got in trouble for fighting back. This sent him into a survival state, and since he has not trusted school. Instead of calling and having a conversation about my son’s hygiene. They called OCS saying my home is “not clean.” Which turned into the rest of my 5 kids getting questioned as well as him. And my home having a visit that wasn’t needed. This put ALOT on my family, and even the workers said. Everything was okay. I don’t understand how this school was awarded best principle when all this stuff is happening to my son and put this all on my family. I just don’t see it.

This school year has been a cluster the 5/6 grade program has no accountability and teachers are rude to students. They say they are prepping them for middle school but it looks like our children are test subjects. I received no grades for the first quarter and the parent teacher conference was a joke.

Most of my children have attended school here. Over the past year, I have experienced repeated concerns involving the school and related agencies that have caused significant stress for my family.This school year alone, I have had two OCS-related calls made regarding my sons. These situations have added unnecessary stress and disruption to our home life.When my children are sick, I have received repeated calls and texts from multiple numbers stating that my children are in immediate danger. In one recent instance, my child had just been taken to the ER with a fever of 104. Despite this, I was told they were “missing school,” even though children with high fevers are not medically able to attend.Additionally, my son’s lunch was stolen at school, which was concerning and upsetting for him.Last year, my son reported being verbally mistreated by a teacher. This concern was brought forward at the time, but I feel it was not adequately addressed or resolved. This year, since there is a new teacher, I had to address the situation again. Since then, I have finally begun to see my son participating in classroom activities more consistently.