Westside Elementary School

Okay so I was a student at this school, I’m now in 7th grade but at the time I was in 5th. I want to give my opinion considering this school was one of the WORST schools I’ve been to. And I’ve traveled to lots of schools.Okay so I was assigned to the teacher Frankie Jackson. She was ruthless to 5th graders, and made them scared to even answer her in class.She was to strict and didn’t even feel like a teacher, she felt like a boss but a rude one. She was never your friend and she told us that. She was rude to kids that (to my assumption) had ADHD undiagnosed. She never tried to help them really, and if she did know they were diagnosed(which idk if she did) she still didn’t treat them well. It seemed she didn’t understand that they needed a little more help than the other kids.She would snap at the smallest of mistakes and would call students mistakes out in front of the class. She has I think made students cry before to. She once made a boy( who I’m pretty sure had ADHD) go without a chair because he was talking. Which she could have resolved without that type of treatment. She made me want to not go to school in fear of her. I was so horrified of her that I basically went mute in the classroom when she was around. She scared kids so much that they wouldn’t even answer her in class because of fear. She. Instantly told us we were the worst class, that we were terrible. Which I will admit we could be loud, BUT that was because we felt free when she was out of the room. She never treated us like kids, she treated us like adults. I feel like she failed at realizing that we were young and didn’t know everything. We were bound to make mistakes. She put on a whole different version of herself in front of parents. Which is horrifying as well.If you don’t believe me or don’t like me talking about her like this that’s fine. I can’t force you to believe me or like the way I talk about her. But if you were in her class in fifth grade in 2020( I think that’s the right year) and had bad experiences please speak out. Because I know how you feel and I want you to let others know. She was the reason I’m scared to go back to school. And why my anxiety is through the roof now. We were so heavily yelled a lot. And even though it was almost two years ago, this experience still horrifies me. Its probably why yelling scares me. I believe there is more, but I can’t remember much. I would put more but ran out of characters.

My little brother has attended Grace Hill Elementary for all of his academic career. He’s had great teachers, such as Ms. Lopez, who created a safe and happy environment for kids to learn and be prepared for the rest of their academic career. Now as a 5th grader, my brother has continuously had his spirit crushed by the staff and his 5th grade teacher. From being told his future will be at “Crossroads” (Learning Center for Troubled Youth) just because he went to the classroom to change into his outside shoes, to only being provided a hot dog bun for lunch because he was in the office all day for throwing a beach ball. For purposefully keeping his baby pictures out of the graduation assembly and claiming they were “lost” (when they clearly weren’t), to sending him to the office all day for things that multiple kids were doing and only reprimanding my brother. I understand that being a teacher is a hard job, but considering a tragedy concerning the wellbeing of a young girl in this school just took place, shouldn’t teachers show the greatest empathy to their students and try to understand them, instead of putting them in a box? Isn’t their goal to create a safe, encouraging, and respectful environment for their students? Build them up?

I was incredibly disappointed in this school. My child went there from K-2nd and our first two years were great. I don’t know what happened during my child’s 2nd grade year but my child was put in a class with a teacher that had a lot of kids with behavioral issues. My child could not focus because of the other kids and was put at a desk by their self. It was the first year I got a bad note home and I got them weekly. While other kids were jumping on tables, throwing books, threatening to punch kids in the face, threatening to severely harm another 2nd grader and follow them home. A 2nd grader brought a vape to recess. Luckily my child has gotten into a well known school for academics, athletics and well brought up children so we are looking forward to leaving this awful year behind us. Also, I reached out to the principal and vice principal many times and was either ignored (not called back) or told there was nothing they could do to switch his class…before the first quarter was even over. Please take your babies somewhere else. Giving two stars only because our first two years were great there but something changed.

This is a good school. Even though it can improve its programs for talented kids.Teachers are responsible and respectful with kids.