1404 S Elm St
Ottawa, KS 66067

We have had many opportunities to get involved with school functions and activities . We've had great experience with sports and our child is a beginner, so no special treatment from what we can see. I've had great luck with caring teachers who are available at any time to discuss my child's education.

Went online for a semester of my last year and the performance has been sub par. For starters, the school didn't let students change their classes on their (the ones they chose in April of the previous year) schedules at the beginning of the year. So students got stuck with classes they didn't need or want for a semester. Another consistent issue is at least once a day a class won't start the meetings (where online students go to start class.) The school uses a site called Big Blue Button which causes them frequent problems. The teachers don't really know how to teach online with all due respect. Not their fault but if you're going to have online students make sure your teachers know how to teach online classes. Communication is something they need to work on. Barely any interaction with online students and as a student who is trying to learn the subject, it makes it very difficult. It puts a lot of stress on kids my age and younger. I've had to try and teach myself on many of these subjects and it just doesn't work. It's not as though that they aren't aware about the struggles kids are having as they occasionally send out emails telling us that "we're stronger for the experience" (in regards to online learning). As a student, it's demoralizing to have your efforts be for nothing and for the school to know why. So, to summarize, don't send your children online at any point to this school. They will not receive anything from it except undue stress. Online schooling here does not put students in a good position to learn. 2/10 would not do again.

My child is being traumatized by the systematic, targeted, and discriminatory actions of Sunflower Elementary's teachers and staff. There is not a safe adult for my child in this building. The title teacher doesn't provide reading intervention despite being below the intervention line because of "numbers."The counselor doesn't enforce a recess contract and supports bullies. "Victims need to be tougher."The school board president's wife is ableist and inequitable. She has no accountability because of the position of her spouse. Most days, there is no one supervising recess. At lunch, children are screamed at to be quiet. Safe, supportive adults don't last in this system-either the are forced out or must leave due to their own ethical boundaries.The principal is willing to lie to parents and doesn't care about a culture of positive support for children. She doesn't know nor understand state laws nor instructional best practices. The administration of the district is morally bankrupt and inequity is king. During covid, the Superintendent told administrators he was going to extend the school year because he didn't get personally thanked for using COVID-19 relief funds for a teacher retention bonus. When the ability to go to any school that has openings in Kansas happens soon, everyone should bail on USD 290. They don't deserve tax dollars to create a private school system (haves are protected while have-nots are ignored or punished) within the public sector.