Oakwood School

This school has been exceptional for my two children. One of my children was in the gifted and talented program at Bauder (99% for literacy) and through their time at Bauder also increased their scores on CMAS for math by fifteen percent (going from 81st in 3rd to 96 in 5th)! They ended up also being identified GT for math in 5th grade after growing tremendously. This was huge for entering into middle school. My other child was a struggling learner and reader in first grade. They needed additional support, which Bauder provided, and they went from being in the low 20's on testing to scoring well into the 80th percentile on MAPS and CMAS now that they are in 4th grade. The teachers at Bauder are kind, committed to the kids and great at teaching. We have been so happy with our experience! There is also strong parental involvement at Bauder with an exceptional PTO. We have a lot of fun doing activities with our neighbors and feel so thrilled with our choice.

We love the culture at Irish! It is a very close knit community. We have been raising our two children, currently in 1st and 3rd grade, bilingual in Spanish and English since they were born, and feel that Irish really supports and reflects both facets of identities. The teachers are amazing and go above and beyond to meet the unique needs of each student and to get to know families. The school population is very diverse and we've had the opportunity to get to know parents, teachers, and staff from many different countries, which makes for a very rich experience. We also love participating in the unique cultural events and after school enrichment programs (PSD After 3) that Irish offers. In addition to providing such an important multicultural education, Irish also excels at social-emotional support and supporting children with unique learning needs. One of our kiddos was recently diagnosed with both learning disabilities and gifted abilities, and we have been so impressed by how the teachers, counselors, interventionists, and school leadership have supported our family on this journey as we figure out the best support and accommodations to meet their needs and ensure they thrive. Irish Elementary Escuela Bilingüe has really gone above and beyond all of our expectations, and we are so grateful to be a part of the Irish community. It is truly a special place!

Harris Bilingual School's dual language approach does not work well to teach native English-speaking students to communicate in Spanish. From first grade through third grade, students focus mainly on their native language (English or Spanish) in two separate groups. Starting in fourth grade, there is an attempt to merge the two groups and increase the amount of Spanish instruction, however, at that point, native English-speaking students do not have the Spanish-language foundation necessary to understand the grade-level texts that continue to be used year after year. Students are not encouraged to make an effort when it comes to speaking in their non-native language. Teachers often translate texts into English to "help" students understand. This doesn't help students to step outside their comfort zone of their native language. Harris switches between English weeks and Spanish weeks, the goal being to speak the language of the week. However, there is very little Spanish spoken in either week by teachers - particularly to native English-speaking students.

We have been at Laurel elementary for 7 years now and cannot express in words how amazed we are by the compassion, professionalism and dedication every single staff member has.