Whitney Elementary School

Such a nurturing and positive learning environment at this school! My child loves it.

My daughters attended here. Hillcrest is a great school. Highly recommend. Excellent teaching staff, small environment, and welcoming.

I attended Jefferson Elementary as one of the students in the Excel program who moved over from Collister in 2012. I spent the fourth through sixth grades there, and while many of my memories of the school have been lost to time I wanted to share what I can remember. After years of struggling with difficult teachers and administration, Jefferson was a hail mary for my development, and my teachers and administrators' drive to watch me succeed was astounding. When I was able to read more effectively than my peers, my teachers went out of their way to find higher level content for me to read to continue developing. When I was clearly gifted in mathematics, my teachers explained and offered to me a program to get the first two years of junior high algebra out of the way in sixth grade, and helped me build friendships with the other kids in this math program which have lasted to this very day.Jefferson is an exceptionally diverse and multicultural school, but it has the unfortunate circumstance of serving some of the poorest families in the city of Boise. As a result, Jefferson has received a fraction of the attention and funding that its wealthier counterpart schools normally would, and the struggle to keep up with the demands of students who are already heavily disadvantaged is visible in the actions and behavior of every one of the staff that works there. Even as a student, I got the impression that these teachers were deeply saddened with how little they could do for these students given their circumstances, and looking back I have no doubts in my mind that the staff at Jefferson Elementary had anything but unrelenting compassion in their hearts for the students.No institution or organization has come close to having the positive formative impact on me and my character that Jefferson had, I doubt any ever will. Thank you.

We have had four children filter through Grace Jordan. The teachers are incredible in every way! They help each child find their passion for learning and encourage them to be the best version of themselves. The entire staff is amazing. We could not have asked for a better school for our children!

This school is a magical place! Our child has continued to thrive each year through the school’s inquiry based learning curriculum. The progressive education approach has helped him stay curious and challenged academically. Each teacher has taken extra care to understand our son as a learner and person. He enjoys the variety in the school day, as no day is like the other with well rounded arts and academic programs that keep his creative juices flowing. Another important piece for us is the schools focus on social emotional growth. He has learned so much about collaboration, diversity, acceptance and contributing to the world. He is becoming a passionate critical thinker at the the young age of 11.