2116 E Cole Ave
Fresno, CA 93720

I have 3 daughters, one that is presently attending Liberty Elementary School (5th grade) and 2 that have graduated from this school (now in the 8th and 10th grade). My experience with this school was great for my first daughter - no issues and quality education. However, I have seen a significant decline in the quality of academics, teachers, and administrative staff after she graduated Liberty, and more specifically after the pandemic. A vast majority of the classwork has become robotic in nature (essentially practice assignments for State Testing) with minimal challenge. The class work in grades 4 and up is primarily computer based, with kids spending a large portion of their day on a screen completing assignments or playing computer games as a reward for finishing. There is no incentive for kids to try for academic excellence. There is no encouragement to develop fine motor skills with handwriting or complete quality work.Two of my children participated in the GATE program. It is essentially a short meeting once a week (meetings start in December) where the kids are given an optional activity they can complete at home. Liberty's GATE program does not include academic acceleration, classroom based challenge, or a sense of pride in being academically different as the GATE students are encouraged not tell anyone they are in the program. There are some genuinely amazing teachers at this school. However, there are far more mediocre ones. Many teachers seem tired, lazy (using the computers to babysit their students and "teach" them using learning games), and generally don't seem to want to be there. The teachers K-3 are the best but as you get into the upper grades it is harder to find quality teachers. Safety and bullying at this school has become a big issue. Liberty had a change in GIS several years ago, and the new GIS seems to struggle with how to appropriately handle these situations. The bullying between the girls is bad and seems to fly under the radar. The GIS seems very focused on punishing trivial infractions like switching seats in the cafeteria, running in the hallways, not picking up trash, etc. than handling the more serious issues at that school.I am writing this review because this school is changing, and not in a good way. If you have a high academic student, care about safety and bullying, want a supportive admin staff, and want teachers that provide a quality education then this school will not be a good fit for you.