Campbell Elementary School

Poor staff. This is the school where I was told in a one on one meeting with the principal that " timeliness is not important, and that she (Stephanie King) doesn't mind if a student is 20 minutes late every day. I found her lack lackadaisical attitude about my children's attendance and homework habits to be absolutely mind numbing. I have to question her ability to effectively perform in such a critical leadership role. My children will not be returning next year.

I’ve had two daughters attend this school. In both cases they ran into a teacher that shouldn’t be teaching. My oldest had the same teacher twice and we had to pay for tutoring as the teacher was not helpful. My personal observation at the time at open house was a marked delta between my daughters class and the other same age students. I judged this on the fact that all of the same grade did the same assignment and my daughters class looked terrible across the board. Joining her for lunch multiple times the kids in my daughters class were bouncing off the walls versus the other classrooms walking in single file line and quiet. We had her tested for dyslexia and she has a form of it but the leadership sat on the results for over half a year. My wife had to become belligerent for them to move on it. That teacher is now retired where she can’t harm future students. Now second daughter just got below on social studies. I asked how the class works and she said the teacher passes out a worksheet, they’re expected to read it and answer questions and that’s it. No actual lecture. So now get to take time off work to get to the bottom of this. I already sense the only path is tutoring again. Now mind you she’s been at or exceeds level every year prior to this year. She has often come home with letters on her good behavior and positive attitude.Why send them to school if we’re expected to teach them and send them to tutoring?Prior to this year the school had no grades. Setting the kids up for failure in middle school. Reason for high scores is affluent area, not because of the staff. Most of the parents are well off, working solid jobs and can pay for tutoring. We cover for their poor teaching.

Teacher pay in Friendswood is lower than the area average for public school educators, and there is little incentive for them to further their credentials. This was highly evident in the first grade teacher that my daughter had. She was very inexperienced. When my daughter told me that the class was practicing their writing in shaving cream at the end of first grade, (something appropriate for preschool) and her reading test was incorrectly adminstered, I knew I had to get my child out of there. Sadly, Texas is behind the times and does not seem to get the importance of early proficiency, and value it. Parental involvement at this school is more about the grandiosity of the self-centered parents than the overall well-being of the kids.

The teachers were kind and caring, and my daughter really enjoyed her time with them once she settled in. However, the experience with the front office staff was very disappointing. At first, they placed my daughter in the 2-year-old class, but later moved her to the 3-year-old class, saying it would help her learn better. I honestly felt it was more about making room in the 2-year-old class for new enrollments than about what was best for my child.Eventually, they removed my daughter from the program because she wasn’t learning at the level of the older 3-year-olds — even though she’s only 2 and a half. They said my daughter was delayed, so it wasn’t ideal for her to be at their school. But that’s exactly why I chose a private school — smaller classes, more teachers, and better support to help her grow and learn personal skills at her own pace. It felt like they only wanted students who already knew full self-care by 2.5 years old, which is unrealistic for many kids.My daughter cried during the first few days, which is completely normal for a child who’s never been to daycare or school before. According to her teacher, she adjusted quickly and was happy throughout the day. After the July 4th break, she returned and was fine on the first day, but then began crying heavily around nap time and even threw up. The front staff didn’t acknowledge anything might have gone wrong — they insisted she was just crying for no reason. When they called me to pick her up, all of her things were already packed before anyone told me what the decision was.It’s also worth noting that she was only enrolled for the summer, not the fall. I can’t help but feel like they were less patient with her because of that. The teacher herself was always sweet and supportive — she never complained about my daughter. It was only the front office staff who had a problem. I even brought donuts and pizza during the 4 weeks she was there to show appreciation, but sadly, the way things ended was disappointing.

We love Primrose, my daughter has been attending since she was 14 months old and now she is almost 3. She continues to learn and grow everyday. She enjoys going to school and loves all her teachers, I know she feels loved by them as well. The curriculum is wonderful and all the fun events, projects, and activities surpass any other preschools I have ever been to or heard of!

Full of favoritism and nepotism. There are much better schools for the money.