Helen A Hansen Elementary School

Mr. Ortman is a stellar principal. He has been very hands on for the past three years my son has attended. Last year, he was at drop off nearly every day. He knew all the students names and would give high-fives as they got to school. It feels nice knowing that the principal gets to know the students and they respect and love him. I think every grade has a "meh" teacher, which my son landed this year. We have many close friends who would agree. However, none of the teachers are bad teachers, just not as stellar as others. The front office is usually quite professional and helpful. There is no homework from K-2nd grade, which is awesome. I feel the teachers just want the kids to focus on learning in class and being kids outside of class. I couldn't agree more. There are after school reading groups for those who need help. (Didn't have to use those, so I can't speak to the helpfulness firsthand, but our friends spoke highly of it). We had a friend whose daughter was not thriving in a certain teacher's class environment. This mother spoke with the principal (albeit too late in the year) and was assured her daughter could switch classrooms without pressure or pushback. Administration listens, teachers are great. I will say my son HATES music. He can see fake from a mile away and does not care for the music teacher, who they see every 5 days. I feel like the music teacher either chose the wrong profession or he needs to be working with a different age group altogether. That is my only complaint!

While I find the teachers very professional and excited about their students progress I find the rest of the staff to be lacking in professionalism and unable to handle issues properly.

Mt nieces go to school there and they are getting a great education. The teachers really care about each individual student and I love teh fact that if they are sick and their mom forgets to call the school, the school calls home to make sure all is ok. This school is way above the rest in my opinion. And they truly believe each child is equal to all of the others so they do not pick favorites or least favorites. My nieces want to be teachers because of North Cedar Elementary School.

My son was welcomed to Southdale for 5th grade. His teacher, Ms. Sellers was above and beyond in her attention to my son. I was also welcomed warmly. All my questions and concerns were answered, no problem. E mail and texts are an extremely important add on for reminding me of all the wonderful activities, school closures, and early dismissal. I'm excited to have my son there this year for 6th grade. Thank you Mr. Strubb, school principal for a lovely experience.

St. Pats community is like none other! I am confident my children are also receiving the best education, social, and emotional support. Faith based learning is evident in the students behavior and every day lives. Would recommend!