Hillcrest Elementary School

Principal sits in his office and does not help when needed. I have observed that Mr. Corcoran has his favorites in staff and students, it definitely shows. My child was getting bullied at Harriet Gifford and Mr. Corcoran would just sit in his office and do nothing. Comment he said about one of the staff who would call for help was we didn't hire this teacher to use all of our additional staff.

My language delayed daughter has been EXCELLING after only 2 months here. She comes home happy, and is very excited to go in the mornings. She loves loves loves her teachers, and has really socially blossomed. They offer the coolest programs and activities. I cannot believe this is a public school. We are so lucky and blessed for our child to attend this school. They mix together the 3 and 4 year olds, which at first I thought was strange, but the 4 year olds are role models for the 3 year olds, sharing all they learned the previous year with the new little ones.

Our experience differs greatly from the previous reviews. Our child is finishing up 5th grade at Washington and is in the dual language program. They started before COVID and had mostly distance learning for 1st grade. Kindergarten was kind of rough, I think because some families did not have a diagnosis/supports in place via preschool. The school handled working with all of the students well, it just took time. What we value about Washington is that we trust them to educate our child and keep them safe. It's a community school which feels like a community. They have proven to us each year that this is their goal. Our child is doing well academically and socially at Washington. I'm particularly impressed with the math skills they and the neighbor children have. I've learned about how they learn to work in teams and support each other. I think that's great for their overall skill building with concepts and people.I recommend the u-46 preschool program for setting up students for services and easing the transition to school.

The gifted program is geared towards “model” students and has no accommodations at the school or district level for kids with ADHD, etc. The 6th grade gifted teacher failed to communicate assignment/syllabus to students or parents, did not follow my child’s IEP, and chose not to notify us when our child was speaking about self-harm in class.Getting my child out of there has greatly improved their emotional health, safety, and academic achievement.

The school does not care about your mental health and does not understand your situation, even if they are a nurse. I was asked to leave because of my unwanted mental health issues.I was asked to leave the school because I was a safety hazard. I dealt with severe depression and was told to express my feelings to the nurse. I was allowed to talk freely about my problems and unwanted thoughts; that is until I expressed an unwanted thought, that was not going to be acted upon towards friends in my class. I was then told to leave the school due to my behavior. I am still emotionally scared and have to try to learn to trust others, thanks.

My son loves going to school! The teachers and staff are caring and truly care about him as a person. We are so thankful to be here!