Whitaker Elementary

Bolton is the local school for the Ardmore/Hawthorne community which is primarily comprised of middle-class homes with college educated parents. However, 99% of students come from low-income families—it’s right here on great schools. That is because Ardmore families do not send their children to Bolton. There are six families on my block with young elementary kids and now that I have withdrawn my child...zero attend Bolton. It's private school or home school. Bolton buses children in from across the city for diversity in a huge gerrymandered school zone that doesn’t serve anyone properly.The culture is not conducive to learning and is focused on discipline, procedure, and lots of worksheets. Our daughter was here less that 4 months and we had two incidents of her having to defend herself from pushing and touching her clothes by little boys. We also had to opt-out of homework because our kindergartener was given assignments to complete over the course of a month. You get to choose the assignments, but kindergarteners should NOT have homework.The school looks like the just one I attended for elementary 30 years ago, it’s very old and run down except for large tv’s in every classroom. It did always appear clean though. They use an app called Classdojo to communicate with you, but you have to send written letters to them about everything even with phone calls and app messages. They tell you not to send your child with any sickness whatsoever, yet badger you about an absence. There is no accountability, everything is blamed on their "Systems" and "Procedures."You’re treated as if you should be grateful, you as a parent ,are allowed a modicum of inclusion in your child’s education. We’re completely done with public school and WSFCS in general halfway through Kindergarten due our experience here.If you parent intentionally, please consider other options before sending your child here.

As a former student and current parent of two amazing children at KP, I can say with confidence that this school has grown tremendously over the past three years, and I’ve seen the transformation with my own eyes. From the teachers who genuinely take their time and invest in each child’s learning, to the way students feel seen, heard, and empowered through everyday challenges, assessments, and special school events, KP is truly creating something special. This isn’t just a school where you drop your child off and pick them up, it’s a full experience. The environment is supportive, uplifting, and safe. My girls don’t just learn here, they thrive here. And as a parent, that’s all I could ever ask for.I’m grateful for the staff, the leadership, and the intentional care that goes into making this school a community.La HP Familia

I don't know what happens from the younger grades to the older grades here, the younger kids are sweet and engaged, smart and happy kids who generally listen overall to teachers. By 4th and especially 5th they are disrespectful, rude, argumentative, talking back, and basically little delinquents in training, downright obnoxious really. They do not want to follow rules and their parents teach them not only that they don't have to but that they can hit people whenever they like without consequences. I'll probably be recognizing some of them in mugshots in coming years, as a lot of the children in this district, because this is the way its going these days. Please actually parent your kids before they end up in jail, for arguing with a police officer after they clocked somebody because "they did something to them first, and my momma told me if someone does something to me to do it back!" Smh

My child has been going to Speas for four years now, K-3. We have found the IB curriculum very effective at fostering a love for learning, independence, and international awareness. The dual language program is very effective and our child has been exposed to teachers from many parts of the Spanish-speaking world. We are strong supporters of Speas. The administration is very welcoming to new families and there is a strong PTA supporting the excellent instructors.

I love many things about DTS but the experience in Middle School has been disappointing, to say the least. Some teachers only follow accommodations if legal action is threatened. Most are professional but there have been two in particular that have caused a LOT of difficulty. How your kids do in social studies is totally dependent on which core teacher they have. An 8th grade teacher flat out refuses to follow accommodations because she personally doesn't like them and that is not how IEPs work. Each core teacher has a section of social studies and they are NOT equitable. You either get engaging quality lessons or lots of worksheets with not a lot of in between. Good luck if you have a bullying issue. Certain students get away with anything and some teachers are not caring or flexible despite only having 45 students whereas teachers in other middle schools easily have 140plus. This school thinks it is a LOT more inclusive than it really is.