Clarke Elementary School

I am extremely disappointed with this school and the lack of support and communication provided to families.Throughout the entire time my son was enrolled, I had no clear understanding of what he was learning. There was no consistent platform, newsletter, or communication from the teacher to keep parents informed. Additionally, there was little to no homework sent home, which made it impossible for me to stay involved in my child’s education.I enrolled my son early in the summer, expecting a smooth start to the school year. However, when August arrived, he did not even have an assigned teacher. Shortly after, I received a letter informing me that the teacher assigned to him was not certified. This was extremely concerning and unacceptable.More importantly, I requested an IEP evaluation on the very first day of school due to my son’s needs. Despite this, the entire first semester passed without any evaluation being completed. Instead of following proper procedures, the school unilaterally decided to move forward with a 504 plan. It felt like this decision was made to avoid accountability rather than to meet my child’s educational needs.As a parent, I expect transparency, timely communication, and compliance with educational laws. Unfortunately, this school failed in all of these areas.Because of these ongoing issues, I made the difficult decision to transfer my son to another school after the first semester. My child deserves better support, and no parent should have to fight this hard for basic services and communication.

My son was SA’d at school, in first grade, by another student. He told the teacher and trusted she would keep him safe. She didn’t. Once I caught wind of this, my son had to tell me because the teacher didn’t. When confronted, she stated she “should’ve told me” and that she was sorry. When I brought it up to admin, they swept it under the rug. It took 6 weeks for them to actually take action, but not until after I made a stink about the situation on our neighborhood Facebook page. Only then did an AP reach out to me about actually doing something to keep my son safe, but she was reluctant to do so stating “its been over two months, we don’t really understand why this is still bothering him”. But even before then my son came home telling me that his teacher told him she “forgot” about the incident. Once all was said and done, after the teacher had been asked to take administrative leave, she was “cleared” to go back to work and still be back in the classroom. But because of her “forgetfulness”, my son has experienced life changing trauma. AND, after she “separated” my son from the other student, she allowed the other student to claim more victims by being careless. If I could give this school zero stars I would. If this school is an option for you, I HIGHLY recommend finding somewhere else for your child(ren). Any and all issues will be swept under the rug whether right away or after the fire starts to die. From the principal down to the teachers, they’re all careless.

This has to be the worst school ever. Just please put your kids in a charter or private school if you could afford it.

Venable is an amazing school especially for my Sped child. All the teachers and admin work very hard to make sure everyone is successful. They welcome all volunteers and have all sorts of events every month.