Grand Star Elementary

As a contactor worker, I observed some rather unsavory parts of working at Gardner Elementary. First, they expect silence from kids in the hallway (even the lunch line). They yell at kids frequently and adhere to rigid rules that make teaching or working at the school 10x harder. The way they punish kids is punitive and does not help bring about a more positive outcome. They expect complete compliance and are SEVERELY lacking in the special ed department. They are understaffed severely and since they don't want to pay an actual living wage, they put their workers in this situation that is not only unethical but not safe. The kids that require 1:1, do not get it. Because there's not enough employees. By law, a lot of those IEPs REQUIRE it.If you are a parent who may only speak Spanish, don't expect them to try and accommodate you or understand cultural differences.That's just the beginning. If you are a contracted employee, expect to be treated like an an unwelcome visitor. I had a woman (Lisa) yell some snarky comments at me in the parking lot when I was having car issues. I had an para (Jessica) tell me to leave. That doesn't even begin to cover the pettiness going on with the paras themselves. There was not ONE DAY that I heard anything nice from their staff.Please, do yourself a HUGE favor and stay away from this place.

New administration has made amazing changes in the past year and this year to really improve the environment and overall learning. Sunflower is back to its former glory!

Great school and staff. I love how inclusive everyone is

Great school and amazing teachers! The SPED program is top notch.

Amazing school! My daughter has been attending since Kindergarten and is about to finish 4th grade. Her education here has lead her to being in a gifted program - TAG, due to her testing above bench mark. Some of the “bad” reviews on here and other sites were prior to the current principal. The current principal, Mr Haber, is awesome. He is outside, rain or shine, greeting the kids each morning. He knows all of their names and he is ALWAYS at every single school event, even on the weekends. Not only does he go to every single event, he brings his family and participates in the events. He also recognizes most of the parents, too. One thing he often does is send out videos of him providing general school updates to keep parents in the loop. The staff (including counselor) have gone above and beyond to help my daughter with some issues she was having. The teachers here are nothing short of amazing, themselves. They had a recent school lockdown (due to an incident in the town, not directed at the school), which they handled so well! I’m sad to have to leave after she finishes her last year here. We will greatly miss Nike!