429 E Skylark Trl
Mankato, MN 56001

My children go to Mankato East High School. I feel that the teachers are caring and do a great job explaining their subjects. My children have found many opportunities to excel both academically and in athletics.

We had children at Washington for 8 years. The teachers have been great. For the vast majority of them, when our kids had trouble with classwork or social/emotional situations, they helped us come up with a plan to move through. The reading program is amazing. Kids are all able to move at thier own pace through the levels and are supported where they are at and then grow from there. The PTO is as active as it can be with limited parent participation. Pre-COVID, the school-wide family picnics at the beginning and end of the year were wonderful and I expect they will return as soon as it is allowed. All grades go on at least one field trip a year. The older grades usually have at least two field trips. A spider climber was added to the playground in 2019 using PTO raised funds. The Title I reading and math nights provide fun activities for families to do together and there is always free pizza. Our kids never had issues with bullying at Washington. They are a Leader in Me school, which focuses on creating an environment of leadership and excellence. The kids have weekly curriculum on incorporating the 7 habits into their lives. There is also a mentorship component between the older kids and the younger kids. We have had a good experience at Washington.

Good school overall, my daughter really likes it there. As with many schools, some teachers are really exceptional, some are not so great. Since they split students into two teams, you will get an assortment. Teacher tenure/union contracts make it hard to weed out the poorer ones. In my opinion they need to be more disciplined or picky in the hiring process. But overall we have had a good experience. They really seem to care about the students and do the best they can with the socioeconomic factors they deal with. The best thing you can do as a parent is to get involved so you know what is going on. Seems hard when you are working, but it is important to do.