Beneke Elementary School

Great , overall pleasant experience. Its definitely a loving environment.

When I went to this school, around 2 years ago, it was a mix of good and bad. The extracurricular activities were very inclusive and had a variety of options. The teachers were ok. They would either be very nice, strict, or not care about what you did. For the disabled kids, they were a little more strict with them, but I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be. The staff like the counselor, and APS were ok too. Some staff were strict, some were nice. If you have trouble, they take it seriously. Their lunch is very low-budget. It was a 5/10, sometimes 7/10 on a good day. The trips they planned were fun, some more than others. This school is decent, not the best, but not the worst. Overall, I would not recommend sending your kids here.

The current principal and the majority of the staff members should undergo communication and health classes to understand how to appropriately communicate with children under any situations. Counselor Villalobos is incredibly biased against students and will never resolve any matter since she has a justification for everything. When it comes to problem solving, Principal Leal does not communicate with any of the parents. I'm not sure how she was named principal of the year since she's created so many problems since becoming principal.

Northland had been a thriving & growing. Unfortunately over the last few years it steadily declined. The board made a terrible choice in the new headmaster and sat silent while he and his wife ran the school into the ground. The headmaster's reign only ended after multiple activist parents forced the issue. Student enrollment is down ~50% from a few years ago. Most enrollment decline happened due to the situation this year. The school is failing on multiple fronts. They literally did not have any established curriculum for most of the middle school classes. Multiple long-time teachers left the school in 2025 due to the degradation of the school leadership.The school is financially insolvent. The only reason the doors are still open is because the Chairman of the Board has appointed himself as the interim Headmaster (contracted through his child's graduation next year) after overseeing the decline of the school, and is writing checks to keep the doors open. Stay clear of this school!

I have been blessed to be a parent of Northwood for almost 4 years! This is not a typical environment; it is a prepared environment! It is one of only 3 accredited schools in the Houston area that are accredited by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), the organization dedicated to maintaining the practice and pedagogy principles formulated by Dr. Maria Montessori.From 18 months to 6 years, this school focuses on their moral, behavioral, emotional, and intellectual development - the WHOLE CHILD. The teachers & staff are well trained and love the children as if they were THEIR OWN. My children love to learn, are so kind, respectful, and confident. In addition to the traditional work period, Northwood also offers afterschool care in the "Home Environment Room" as well as parenting classes in the evenings two months out of the year that have helped me on my parenting journey! Thank you to the staff, our Northwood family, for all you do every day!