Townsend Elementary School

It’s an overall good school but the staff needs improvement. They lack communication skills. Between teachers and other staff members covering up mistakes, To waiting for the last min to report an accident.. I’m started to realize the name of the school now.

The principal is nice, but ignorant of laws related to students with disabilities. It was a struggle to get supports in place, because the teacher dragged their feet submitting the paperwork for an IEP for my child with behavioral and learning disabilities, despite the request being made in writing on the first day of school, and they were chronically suspended or taken out of class for trivial offenses the entire year. Admittedly, my child had substantial conduct problems, but the teacher would not follow the 504 plan that took 6 months to get in place, and the principal backed the teacher every time. I felt bullied and shamed the entire school for my child's behavior, even though the kid was generally well behaved and did their work when the plan was being followed. This was our first any only year at this school, my child has had these problems since pre-K, and we have never had this much difficulty getting supports in place and having their behavior plan followed.

My child went to this school for years K-3. While Kindergarten was a great year, the subsequent three years were awful. My child had a new teacher for 1-3 (brand new to the school or fresh out of college). None of these teachers could maintain control of the classroom and was complete chaos from the very beginning (one teacher cried daily for the first month). Despite parent’s calls to leadership to support the teachers, it fell on deaf ears. From 2022-2025, they’ve had 3 principals and a handful of vice principals. They don’t have a PTA, they don’t sell yearbooks, there’s not much of an incentive to participate in the one crappy fundraiser they do once per year. The gifted and talented program is a joke and there were several times they didn’t even show up. I had to supplement A LOT at home. To the point that we didn’t have time for any extracurriculars.One time my child was placed between two children that were arguing with each other in STEM class to try and discourage them from fighting. One kid decided to punch the other little boy and my child (a girl) was caught in the crossfire and clocked in the jaw. The boy was never made to apologize, was not suspended, no discipline whatsoever. I won’t even get into the incident where my child’s arm was broken on the playground at recess. Parents need to stay on top of the teachers, leadership and school board if you want anything positive out of this school. In our experience, it was a nightmare.

El hijo del director del colegio cristiano Destiny, Jerry Manderfield, acosó a mi hijo, lo que lo llevó a estar al borde del suicidio. Como consecuencia, tuvo que asistir a numerosas sesiones psicológicas para poder superar esta situación.

The new principal, Mr. McMullen, is a real blessing to this school! He leads with Christian values and is a strong presence on campus. He possesses extraordinary humility and a love for God and the students that shows every day. He makes himself available to parents and is excellent with frequent, open communication with parents and students. We can’t say enough good things about the positive impact he has had on our kids and the rest of the students in his first semester as principal.