Independence High School

There might have been potential improvements over the past 15 years, However my experience at Vinci Park was a terrible one. My time as a gifted student in the GATE program during 4th and 5th grade at this school was highly disappointing. The GATE section, intended to focus on enhancing "IQ," veered into random subjects in 5th grade, during 4th grade it was more appealing as the club involves puzzles and projects with fellow gifted students. However, 5th grade took an unexpected turn with activities like dancing. My experience included a 5th-grade teacher abandoning our class and a overly strict 4th-grade teacher, leaving me feeling unprepared for middle school.I hope future students won't experience the dissatisfaction I did.

My daughter was enrolled into transitional kindergarten under Mrs. Deshpande. At the start of class, my daughter could barely write and was unable to read at all. By the end of class she writes very well, reads way beyond her current level, and has a strong grasp of foundational mathematics. I was immediately skeptical of certain web/online elements integrated into the class. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see how these resources were able to engage the kids in learning far beyond anything I experienced at my daughter's age. My daughter also had issues associated with selective mutism that she was able to overcome under Mrs. Deshpande's tutelage. Mrs. Deshpande is an exemplary educator and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any child embarking on their learning journey at Ben Painter Elementary.

I would not recommend this school to any parent.My nephew attended this school and experienced severe bullying by other students, including being jumped and physically assaulted. This caused him serious emotional and physical harm. What made it worse was the lack of support from staff. Instead of protecting him, his own teacher began treating him differently and unfairly.Like any child, he made a mistake. Instead of helping him learn and grow from it, the school labeled him as a “problem,” treated him like a liar, and made him feel like he was the issue. He was isolated, unsupported, and clearly not cared for. Because of this environment, he learned very little and dreaded going to school.Since transferring to a new school, the difference has been night and day. He is thriving learning more than ever, making friends, and feeling safe and supported. His confidence is back. His teachers care. He is respected and protected.That alone says everything.Children deserve a safe place to learn. This school failed him.

While teachers were as effective as they could be, administrator, safety, and protocol are severely lacking. There is no security and people can come and go as they please. The administrator is focused on scores rather that social emotional well-being of student which also includes instruction. Taking things personally means there is no equity or fair contribution to the students. Without having a background in actual classroom management, both principal and coordinator are ill-equipped to run a school. In fact, coordinator with no credentials or teaching certificate which was in classrooms unsupervised without a Certificate of Clearance (COC) for over a year was with students without teacher supervision. In fact, they only have a certificate of clearance and should not be in a coordinator position to begin with and sometimes acts as acting administrator without any certifiable credentials. Unsafe on many levels.

The school used to be good, especially in the earlier grades. Kindergarten through 1st grade felt warm, fun, and safe. But as I got older, I noticed how strict and unbalanced things became. The leadership completely fell apart after the current principal, who i will not name, took over. She is out of touch with students, staff, and what education should look like.She fired two of the best teachers in the school maybe the best I've had my whole life. One had taught there for decades and was loved by students for being fun, kind, and a fantastic educator. The other had been teaching for 7.5 years and was an incredible support for students struggling with their mental and emotional health. Want to know why she got fired? The principal told her, “One of the reasons is you sit down while teaching.” She has a documented disability (uterine fibroids) but was let go anyway. Why? Because they stood up for their students and themselves.Meanwhile, the school keeps bad teachers even after students tried to petition for one to be removed. They didn’t listen to us at all. But they fire the ones who actually made a difference? It makes no sense.Another big issue was “Silent Time.” This occurred during snack and lunch, and it was ridiculous. The last 20 minutes of lunch had to be in complete silence. You might think, “Maybe they just want you to lower your voices,” but no say even one word, and you lose five minutes of your recess. It didn't matter if you were finished eating or not. We weren’t even allowed to play silent games. We tried playing things like rock-paper-scissors or other non-verbal games just to pass the time, but even that would get us in trouble. If we interacted at all socially, even without talking, we still “owed” five minutes. It felt like we were being punished just for being kids. Our school day ran from 8 AM to 3:10 PM longer than most schools and we only got two breaks. We were bored out of our minds,The actual teaching? Terrible. Most of our time was spent reading packets and worksheets over and over again. And science was the worst. We barely learned any real science. When I got to middle school, I was way behind in science compared to other students. That’s how unprepared I was because of this school’s weak curriculum.In the end, this school has some good teachers, but no one you can trust the same way we trusted those they got rid of. The staff doesn't listen to students, and the principal makes unreasonable decisions.

RDP is literally the dream school i wish i went to . I love how everyone is so welcoming and supportive. Everyone is in such a great mood and I just know my kid is safe in there . I personally think every kid in this school is above their grade level which is wonderful!. This school is literally the reason why i haven’t moved because there’s no other school like RDP!!!