Caldwell Elementary School

I didn't receive much communication about my son's behavior throughout the school year and unfortunately the last month of school is when it was finally communicated that he was having issues. At that point there was no way to modify the 504 plan he had in place. The communication was so poor throughout the school year. When I asked about homework at the beginning of the year I was met with no response. I should've seen that as a red flag but thought maybe he was completing it at school. Even during the last month of school when my son was reported to have choked a classmate I was not called to pick him up from school. I received the report a week later. Because of the lack of communication, it really does have me question whether any of these events actually happened. If so, why was I, as the parent, not called immediately? I received one phone call throughout the school year, so I know they had the right number on file. The call was regarding my son pushing a classmate. When I received the letter stating he wouldn't be allowed back there were multiple incidences (varying levels from crying to the choking). At minimum I should've received the number of calls that matched the incidences. Receiving one call is unacceptable. Be aware that the kindergarten teachers are the hooks but once your child is in the program for the next year, the lack of communication could be a barrier to your child's education being excellent if the teacher is not invested in your child. The only reason I did not rate this school lower is because of the Assistant principal and the kindergarten teacher from the previous year. I would say this school did a great job with my son's adhd the first year, but this past year was a complete disappointment.

My child has been at Joe Lee Johnson for a few years now. When we started, the school was struggling, but under new leadership, it's really turned around. We've had excellent teachers and my child is a super reader! The campus itself is gorgeous and well-maintained and the kids love the playgrounds. The PTA is SUPERB, very active, and incredibly involved. I encourage you to join if you enroll at JLJ. Principal Dean is very transparent about the changes and the work being done to turn this school around and the teachers have been working incredibly hard to ensure all students get the attention they need.

I enrolled my twin boys in the Spanish Immersion Kindergarten program, and unfortunately, our experience was deeply disappointing. Both of my children had a very difficult time, and their dissatisfaction with the program was evident early on.The classroom environment was not conducive to learning or communication. I made multiple efforts to engage with the teacher to better understand the curriculum and find ways to support my children at home. Unfortunately, my outreach was often met with resistance, lack of communication, and an overall unwillingness to collaborate.When I raised concerns with the assistant principal, I was disheartened by the lack of support. Both the teacher and assistant principal suggested that my children may have behavioral or learning challenges. Following their recommendation, I had my sons formally evaluated by the school, and the results confirmed that neither child had any such issues. This only reinforced my belief that the core issue lay in the quality of instruction and classroom management.I also spoke with other parents in the same class and found that many shared similar concerns about the teacher’s effectiveness and the overall learning environment. When I brought these concerns to the principal, I again received no meaningful support or resolution.Given this experience, I am in the process of transferring my children to a different school. I am extremely dissatisfied with the way this situation was handled by the school’s staff and administration. I cannot recommend this program based on our experience. In fact, I HIGHLY recommend putting your children in ANY other school!!

This schools ranking is only as high as it is because it hosts the talented and gifted program for 4-5th grade kids for the district. Without the talented and gifted program the test scores and ranking show a completely different picture. This school is on the chopping block to be shut down for the next school year anyways but overall I would not recommend this school to anyone that is looking to move into the district. My kids have seen so many fights, there are many issues with bullying at this school, the special education program needs help as they don't follow the laws and district rules. I hate that I didn't know all of this info before moving here myself. It's a low income school so all kids qualify for free breakfast. There are some great teachers who work so hard but it's just not enough.

This school is such a special place. To have people that truly love and take care of your kids while you are away from them is invaluable! The class sizes are small and yet they still seem to have a very healthy number of teachers. Everyone is friendly and kind. The school runs very smoothly from what I can tell. The communication from our teacher using the app and pictures is amazing and we love that part.