Ellis School

I typically never write reviews, especially negative ones because I know people can have off days and I like to think the best. But to be honest, I have been really unhappy with my interactions with the principal at this school. First off, my oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago and takes medication for it. Last year she was really struggling each day after school because of the amount of homework she had, and we were having a lot of meltdowns from overwhelm. When I talked to the principal about this, and asked if my daughter needed any accommodations due to her ADHD, I was told she is doing fine in school and that I basically just needed to be the boss and not let her be in charge. I didn’t love that answer because she doesn’t know all of the parent training I have done and all of the energy I have put in to avoid power struggles. But my interaction with her today is what really hurt the most. Today when I was dropping my oldest daughter off at school the principal confronted me in front of my child about a situation I was completely unaware of. Instead of assuming the best of me, or asking how things are going and offering support, I felt like she was accusatory and demeaning to me. I actually went back in to talk to her after dropping my daughter off because of how horrible I felt after the conversation. Luckily she heard me out and gave me a parking pass to help make my circumstances a bit easier. But I would have loved to be approached more compassionately and spoken to more like an adult than like a small child. To be honest, I already feel like I don’t fit in here due to my circumstances, and my interaction with her today actually caused that feeling to get a lot worse. I write this review simply because I think going forward, it would be best to see why something may be an issue and first offer support vs thinking the worst and making someone feel even more isolated.

We have had good teachers and a awesome principal!

In my experience this school is really not that good…. When I went there I was in the lunch line and a boy who was behind me had STUCK HIS HAND IN MY PANTS!!!!! And the worst part is, there was a teacher right behind him and did absolutely nothing. There has been many other incidents that have happened to me, and friends too. Here is another short story, so I had a friend who has SEVERE epilepsy and autism.(It is to the point where she can barely talk) She is significantly younger than me, but I was her 3rd grader tutor so we knew each other. But one day I saw her mom because we were neighbors and I immediately knew that something was wrong because she was acting different. Turns out that she was a little loud in the class so the teacher thought “WHy nOT JuSt TIE HER TO A CHAIR?!?!” Both the teacher and her aid tied her to a chair and made her sit there the rest of the class… this is the reason I gave this review. In conclusion, don’t send your kids to woodruff elementary school.

We love Bridger Elementary. Our daughter started going to this school a couple years ago and absolutely loves it. The teachers I’ve met care a lot about all of their students, even the hard ones, and our daughter comes home excited about what she’s learned and what’s going on in the school. From what I’ve heard, Principal Goodman has made lots changes to many aspects of the school that have made it safer, more fun for the kids, and a better workplace for teachers as well. She also has implemented programs to teach responsibility and reward efforts of kids in non-conventional ways that have had great results. We’ve even seen changes at home with how our daughter acts just by being in school. This school has 3 special education teachers and lots of support staff that go above and beyond in a very difficult area of teaching. A lot of activities got put on hold for the pandemic, and the PTA has done a great job of bringing them back and making them fun for the students. They are encouraging Bridger kids to get back into STEM, embrace the very diverse population, and they encourage all parents from all walks of life to join them. We even did! I know not everything is perfect there, and I know everyone is human and we’re all just trying our best, but Bridger Elementary is moving to the top in Logan!