Riverdale Elementary School

Parent & Volunteer Experience at Tara SchoolI began my journey at Tara School as a volunteer and later became a parent with children enrolled. Unfortunately, my overall experience has been deeply disappointing due to ongoing issues with professionalism, communication, leadership, and, most critically, student safety.One of the most troubling aspects has been the school’s lack of transparency around serious safety incidents. Over the past few years, there have been multiple threats—including gun and bomb threats—that were not communicated to parents. Additionally, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several outbreaks on campus that were not disclosed to families. These decisions, made at the administrative level, created unnecessary risks and left many parents feeling blindsided and excluded from essential information about their children's well-being.The front office staff has also been consistently unresponsive and disorganized. Phone calls often go unanswered, and routine administrative tasks like registration have taken up to two months due to poor coordination and a general lack of accountability. Interactions with office staff often feel rushed or unhelpful, and there seems to be little effort made to assist parents in a respectful and informed manner.Leadership within the school has been equally disappointing. The principal, in my experience, lacks effective leadership skills and is often dismissive of parent concerns, with little to no follow-up on important issues. While the assistant principal does appear to care about the students, her professionalism at times feels inconsistent.Family engagement—a priority in most school communities—is nearly nonexistent. Events are rare, poorly organized, or not communicated effectively. Teachers also tend to fall short in keeping parents informed when students begin to struggle academically. Often, parents only find out once the situation has already become serious.Overall, my experience at Tara has been marked by a lack of professionalism, poor communication, ineffective leadership, and concerning lapses in safety and transparency. I sincerely hope that the school takes urgent steps to improve in these areas for the benefit of all students and families.

My son has been in this school since pre-k and i have not had any issue with anyone. If anything happens they immediatelycalls parents and takes action. I feel safe to have my son attending this school because staff do care about students. They are very informative and communicate with parents based on our child academics. The only thing that the school needs is more of our support as parents by attending to all meetings or being part of the PTA in order to give our input of what do we want for them to work on for the best of school and kids so our kids can see we are also part and care about their education. Overall i do recommend this school.

Harper Elementary has excellent teachers who are dedicated, supportive, and passionate about their students’ success. They create a positive learning environment that helps children thrive academically and personally. Highly recommended!

We are 1 month into the new school year and so far King Elementary has shown that they lack severe interpersonal skills. The staff barely greets the kids in the morning and they all act like the conversations they’re having with another employee is more important than greeting these babies in the morning or even acknowledging their presence. The teachers lack the same skills and it’s beyond infuriating. Since I can’t express my disappointment physically, I will be sure to let everyone I know to avoid this school and will be withdrawing my kids ASAP.