Redbird Elementary School

My son has ADHD, and this school has truly been life-changing for him. He thrives with the structure and consistency of the Franklin program, and we’ve seen tremendous growth in both his academic skills and his confidence. Every staff member he interacts with greets him with genuine care, and he comes home talking about how they make him feel seen and supported. He is excited to go to school every single day—a feeling we never take for granted. We feel incredibly fortunate to have found Franklin Downtown and are so grateful for the environment, routines, and relationships that have helped him shine.

Absolutely horrible school. Within a week of enrollment, I'd already had so many issues with administration I went ahead and enrolled her in another school for the following year. As soon as I heard they had an open spot for the remainder of the year, I pulled her out.The issues:Told the school she would have a watch to text and call me and her father, only when she sent me an audio clip of a teacher yelling at her and I took it to the principal did they have a problem with it-- because they realize they are now being held accountable.During enrollment, I wasn't pleased to hear that because of Covid, parents aren't allowed entry for pretty much any reason. I later found out (when I finally got in to go to a PTA meeting), that all these parents in the PTA are on campus all the time volunteering. When leaving from that meeting, I found my daughter not playing at recess but hiding in a corner because she was cold. Why wasn't there a teacher helping her? I would visit and wave to her at recess some days and the teachers always side eyed me and made me feel terrible for coming at my daughter's request bc she didn't like being in school. Once while watching recess, I saw a maybe 5 yr old screaming and crying being dragged by two grown adults. I was in such shock, I still feel like I hallucinated it.During drop off, if you get there right at 7:30, the teachers will be looking you in the eye, watching your kid get out and lock the gate so you have to take the kid into the office to get into school. The playground is mainly unshaded and sand. Please spare yourself and child of this school and go somewhere else. There are amazing charter and select schools nearby with much better staff, facilities, and policies.

Lincoln is a little diamond in the rough. My kids attended another Mesa elementary school and we had a bad experience. We changed to Lincoln and what a difference! Lincoln has an amazing group of teachers, support staff, administrators and students! Everyone wants my kids to succeed! Bullying is not tolerated. I would highly recommend Lincoln to anyone!

The school principal bullies and physically grabs students. The security camera at the school conveniently malfunctions whenever complaints about the principal are raised. Teachers claim to be concerned but they only focus on students who exhibit disruptive behavior and refer them to special education. Students are told to behave well when visitors are coming. Children like my daughter who is quiet goes unnoticed that she struggles with reading until it is time for state testing. During happy hours teachers mock the families they dislike. Parents are really not welcome. We left that school.

I would say overall it was an enormous waste of our money and of our children's time. By the time we took our students out of this school they were so far behind (in math in particular) that it was embarrassing to them at their new schools.