Ft Sam Houston Elementary School

I wouldn’t send my student anywhere else than Fort Sam Elementary. It’s a hidden gem where students are loved and have endless opportunities. They invest time and money into the changing times. Our students have access to state of the art techs and more continues to purchased based on the needs and discovery of new things. The principal and his staff are present - in the cafeteria and classrooms constantly. They are seen and involved. The teachers want to be there- of course some are at different stages in their career and have teaching styles, but in my experience they go out of their way to connect and teach. I’ve been extremely happy with our time here.

It's been really bad with my kids, grades always down and when they changed schools grades went up

It's been amazing. I will be sad to leave this year.

My children have been attending this school for two months now, and so far our experience has been great! I homeschooled for four years, and thought the integration process was going to be dreadful, but the staff has made everything so easy for us. I do however think that the curriculum for my 5th grader needs to be bit more rigorous; I believe he's not challenged by the work. But, overall, the staff is very attentive and most importantly - I feel safe with my children attending this school!

This school has a very large student population, and kindergarten classes have one teacher with class sizes over 20 students. The pre-k program has two teachers per classroom and also follows the same hours as the elementary grades. There are some great teachers here, and the office staff was always welcoming. The education seemed very mediocre. The amount of time spent watching shows and movies completely surprised us. At least twice a week, the lunchroom plays non educational, sometimes even PG rated children's movies. I imagine this is an attempt to control noise, but I strongly believe the students need the social interaction and time to communicate. Computer lab special area, which also meets twice weekly, consists of minimal time on typing games and a lot of free time on sites like Nick Jr allowing more access to watching shows. Our family was used to movies in school used more seldomly and as a student reward. We were shocked to learn this and even addressed our concerns with administration. There are many studies about children not transitioning from screen time/activities easily and I can only imagine this put teaching at a disadvantage after students watch Pokemon and other related shows. If our family is stationed again at Ft Sam, I would consider an alternative for elementary school for my children to grow and learn. I think smaller class sizes, more rigor, and less tv/movie time would encourage and help them as lifelong learners. I hope this review is helpful for other families as they navigate finding an elementary school.