Garfield East Elementary School

No longer an elementary school- Thank God! This school, like most in Willingboro, was the bottom of the barrel- school taxes clearly don't go to the schools in Willingboro, as they are some of the worst in the state. If you have kids and are considering Willingboro, know that NJ Homeschool Laws are incredible and that's the only way your children will receive a quality education, living here. There is an excellent homeschool community in the area, which is great since the schools are so unsafe. Thankfully, Garfield East is no longer an Elementary School but, now little kids get dumped off into this tax-funded daycare, which they call a "head start". By that, they mean head start into government dependency, since they indoctrinate them younger and younger, these days. Keep your kids as far away from this district as possible!

My son love it ! Amazing staff and teachers !

Love Hawthorne and Garfield East the teachers are amazing

Communicating with the teachers (two) was a mess, they used a combination of notes home, email, a website and an app but, weren't consistent. Homework was sometimes posted on the website but, sometimes missing- my 3rd grader doesn't have regular computer access anyway so this website was rather inappropriate for the grade she teaches. He came home with an obscene amount of homework- 10 PAGES IN A SINGLE NIGHT for a third grader is insane- and then lost a quarter of his recess because my husband and I put an end to homework at 9PM with a note to the teacher explaining such. In addition to no band, chorus or other extracurricular-type activities, they don't have so much as a library- just minimal collections of books in each classroom. My son also complained that the gym is the size of his bedroom (he has a large bedroom so that's quite possible) and that the art teacher was mean and frequently yelled at the kids for talking. If you can't teach children without yelling, you have no business working with children! It's no secret that public school kids tend to be more unruly and undisciplined but, if you can't find ways to quiet a classroom without yelling, you're clearly doing something wrong! With advanced notice, I took him out of school for a couple of hours to tour a private school and when my husband took him back to school, he got the third degree about a doctor's note by the always-arrogant office staff who treat you as if they own your child and are inconvenienced by your presence! He was removed that day! When I went back to officially withdraw him from the school, I was treated like a leper by whom they were personally offended. If you have any option, I would never recommend sending a child to this school! As a former homeschooler, I stand by homeschooling being the best option when possible but, do now agree that there are seasons of life when it doesn't work out as planned. Thank God for private school and tuition assistance!