South/West Park Elementary School

Horrible.... I have not seen a school like this in my life it’s very sad

As far as the GATE program goes, we either had great teachers or teachers that should not be teaching GATE. As far as the school environment, it's pretty divided. My child had issues with kids not in the GATE program because as they put it, he was "English". I feel the GATE program is only at this school to boost their overall scores, which is truly sad. If you are not hispanic, don't expect to be welcomed by parents outside the GATE program. I suspect their attitudes are passed down to their children.

My daughter went here under the gift programme for 2 years before we and some of the other parents I know had to move the kids away fro this school. It's primarily a Spanish speaking school with both the principal( name sake ) & the vice principal prefer to address in Spanish than English @ the school. The programme was just a joke & like other parents we were shocked to see the environment at this school to a point we had to take our daughter out of this school. Some gifted kids parents did tolerate while some of us couldn't since we felt we are in Mexico rather than in US.

We have come from out of district for the GATE program, and I couldn't be happier. We were initially turned off by the way the school looked and concerned about the overall score of the school. However, it is way more than meets the eye! The principal and vice principal are on top of things, well-organized, and lead the faculty positively. I am beyond impressed with the teachers. My child is learning, using critical thinking skills, challenged, and thriving in a variety of subjects. My child is excited to learn! SWP is more than I could have hoped for. I went into it thinking my child would be getting only a more challenging education, but the school's culture overall is wonderful.

My child transferred to this school to attend the GATE program. He has been at this school for 3 years, and I feel he has made great progress in his learning. The teachers are knowledgeable and help the children improve academically.