Holt Elementary Language Academy

I think the rating should be higher. I don’t believe racial makeup should be counted. It should be denoted but no one can make people of a certain ethnicity move into a school district due to redlining and other factors that are not considered in Great Schools data. When you look at the ability to succeed and improvement from one year to next and keeping class size small these are features that matter. This school should have a rating of at least 7/10 or higher.

Hillandale is a richly diverse community school with a long tradition of excellence. The school and broader parent communities feel like a family. Teachers are dedicated, creative, and care deeply for our children. The school represents the community and is rooted in equity and respect.

I don’t want to pull the race card but I feel like it’s been an issue with me being Hispanic. I can’t speak very well English but I try my best to understand especially when it comes to my kids. I have explained my situation that I don’t have a car to pick up my kid so I take the bus and I come walking to pick her up, we don’t live far but it is a long walk to get to the school. When I came on the first day to the front office to pick up my kid, I see that the receptionist was talking nicely to the black lady that was in front of me, as soon as it was my turn, her tone of voice changed and attitude was different, I felt it because I was expecting a good welcome, instead I deal with something else, I asked for my kid and she said “you didn’t come to the open house?” “Yes I did, but my English is not good and I could only understand what I could” I asked for an interpreter and she try her best to explain too. From that day it’s been a lot of back and forth with picking up my kid, I’ve seen other parents parking where they’re not supposed to and I try to follow to the rules but again it’s a hard to understand when the staff doesn’t do a good job explaining let alone understanding. Last time, I was able to bring my work vehicle to pick her up but because I wasn’t parked at the right spot, they pulled my kid away from me and they told me to go in the front to pick her up, even though I was told to pick her up at the back of the school. That is where I’m asking which way am I supposed to pick my kid up? There’s a lot of miscommunication and the lack of teamwork and I don’t think that’s a good example to give to kids. I hope this is not how the staff treats the kids.