Sullivan Elementary School

We've become less satisfied over time with Seward, and are leaving this year. The classes are big, and behavior is an issue. Teachers are mixed - some truly wonderful - but they seem stressed and overwhelmed trying to implement all the many district mandates and remain true to Montessori. There is little written feedback for bigger projects, so it's hard to know exactly where your child needs to improve, and more attention to differentiation at the top end is definately needed. In addition, recess is laughably short, and kids do not get enough movement in their day. The biggest strengths of this school is its caring support staff, many good teachers, and closeknit parent community. The building is horrible, but I believe a significant addition is in the works.

This school has been forgotten by the district ever since they started it. The guy who created the school created it so that our indigenous children had a school of their own where their culture would be prioritized within their education and school life. It has been a home for many of the students that go there, and former students often visit and speak well of their school. The principal is an indigenous woman (the ONLY indigenous woman principal in the district) who is very dedicated to her role as a leader. She is very close to the families and is always ensuring that her school is well run and her students are well taken care of. The district has done a poor job of supporting their school, and they receive many incompetent teachers who are not dedicated to their children or their job. The staff that works there are like a family and treat their students and families as such. The staff that have been there for a long time are very dedicated to their students. They have a lot of struggling children and families, and they do everything in their power to help them through whatever it is that they need. They offer free clothing, jackets and snow pants if the kids need them. They do so much to uplift their children and prepare them for the next school that they will attend. They deal with a lot of issues, and therefore met a lot of challenges. But no matter the challenge, I have seen the staff there go above and beyond to do right by their students. The district doesn't help much that I've seen, even not getting them their own building that they promised 20 YEARS ago. This school is amazing and so is the staff, they are constantly looking out for everyone. They do end up with incompetent teachers that the district sends them. I wish better for this school.

I am not sure if I want my child to go to this school. Last year, I tried calling and calling because I wanted to take a tour of the school to see if I wanted to enroll my child in Kindergarten. I left messages, no one called me back, and when I finally got a hold of them, they told me only the director could give me a tour and that someone would call me. No one did, but I dropped off an application anyways. After my child started at another school in the fall, then I got a call that there was an opening. I discussed the possibility of my child attending the following year because I didn't want to change schools after she started, and now I am having the same problem getting a hold of someone again. I leave messages and no one calls me back. I really hate that, and it is a bad sign that the communication in this school is not very good.