Whittier
6
9 reviews
777 Elm Tree Ln
Tacoma, WA 98466
Tacoma, WA 98466
(253) 571-7500
Community Reviews
Read what parents are saying about WhittierFormer Panther here and now a Mom of a Kindergarten student. My whole family lives in Fircrest and both my nieces have also attended Whittier and are now in 8th and 10th grade. I was so excited for my son to start school here but it’s not the same as it once was. The boundaries have been revised since the opening of Wainwright and the demographics of Whittier have changed in a negative way. My sons teacher is phenomenal but his classmates have so many behavior issues that he’s not getting the full experience he deserves. Lunch and recess are a nightmare for him due to bullying and my once school loving son hates going to school. As I mentioned before his teacher is awesome but the school overall is suffering and it’s sad to see my son have this experience. It’s gotten so bad that I am transferring him to Sherman next year to get away from children who call him a little b*** h and punch him at lunch time. Whoever revised the boundaries of Fircrest did a disservice to everyone in the community, my son included.
Posted by a parent on 2/6/2018I have a high performing second grader and a special needs preschooler who is on his second year of peer modeling this year and we have had the best experience. My oldest's teachers have been caring and my child is excited to tell me what she has learned every day. I especially love the newsletters that come home every week that let me know what is going on that week and all special dates for the month. She said she can't decide if her favorite teacher was her teacher last year or this year. The both teach as if every child was their child and they wanted them to succeed.My son is in the peer modeling special education pre-school and has an IEP. This is his second year at Whittier and he has been improving so much. He is now excited to go to school and has the language skills to tell me how his days went and what he did at school. His teachers are very educated at working with special needs and are always ready with new ideas to try in order to make learning and participating with the group fun and comfortable for him. I am confident he will be ready to go to mainstream kindergarten next year and be successful and happy to do so.I have also had experience working with the principal and she is always readily available, addresses concerns, and identifies good work. We have had a great experience at Whittier and would recommend it to any family. They do a great job of meeting all the needs of families and have excellent communication. Thanks Whittier!!
Posted by a parent on 11/15/2017Whittier use to be the best school in the Tacoma district but has gone down hill over the last couple of years. I have three children who have all attended and my youngest is currently in 2nd grade. I have to walk her to her line in the morning due to constant bullying by some of children. The things I have witnessed on the playground (usually only one person on duty for over a hundred children) are shocking. Children swearing, hitting, and berating each other and this happens in the classroom as well. There are also a lot of kind and polite children too but they are ignored in order to tend to the behavior problems. All of the teachers are excellent but even in my conversations with them, they express how the dynamic of the school has changed and how they barely get anything done because their class is chaotic all day. I have heard this has a lot to do with classes be inclusive, and while I agree it's important for to include every child in general ed, it's not fair to the students who are missing out on important instruction time because the teacher has to deal with one or two students all day. Just today while walking my daughter to her line a little boy was smashing another kids lunch sack on the ground while he cried. I went to inform the duty but she was dealing with a boy who was down in valet parking using construction cones to throw at cars. I think it might be time to look into private school.
Posted by a parent on 5/12/2017I love this school, I went to Whittier, followed by my niece and now my daughter! The staff are incredible. They really went above and beyond for my niece who had serious behavior issues due to problems at home. They made a huge impact in managing her and helping to prepare her for her future. They are understanding and always communicate everything and put whats best for the child first. Teachers have spent thier lunch and stayed after for both girls making sure they are learning what is needed. They have helped us with resources and I always feel my child is in good hands when i drop her off. We moved to puyallup for two years, during that time I commuted (about 2-3 hrs a day) the girls to and from everyday to ensure they stayed at Whittier. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I cannot say enough on how great they are!! Thank you to all the staff and the Fircrest community!
Posted by a parent on 1/1/2016My son has wonderful teachers, they really care about the children. It's only October and they have already had some amazing activities/events: Autumn Craft Fair, Rollerskating, Clifford the Big Red Dog helping with the crosswalk, Pie Sale Fundraiser, low priced pictures, and more! My son looks forward to going to school EVERYDAY! Also, my son seems to learn something new every time he goes to school. Thank you Whittier for being such an amazing school!
Posted by a parent on 10/18/2015Nearby Schools
Browse other schools near Whittier- Delong
- PK-5
- Public
- 395 Students
6/10GreatSchools RatingParent Rating Average
No reviews available for this school. - Evergreen Primary School
- PK-4
- Public
- 554 Students
6/10GreatSchools RatingParent Rating AverageIn my experience this school doesn’t provide good education not due to the teachers but do to how many behavioral issue students they allow per class where it becomes stressful and disruptive. Pros- great teachers, nice staff Cons - over crowded classes - behavioral kids causing major distractions- only 15 min lunches 10 when they have to get seated etc. - PARENTS aren’t allowed to be volunteers in the classroom or for field trips or any other opportunities.Parent Review5mo ago - University Place Primary School
- PK-4
- Public
- 519 Students
8/10GreatSchools RatingParent Rating AverageNo reviews available for this school. - Montessori In Motion
- PK-K
- Private
- 17 Students
N/AGreatSchools RatingParent Rating AverageNo reviews available for this school. - St Charles Borromeo School
- PK-8
- Private
N/AGreatSchools RatingParent Rating AverageThis is a follow up after more than one year when our son(actually our family) was expelled just prior to the end of the 21/22 school year in the six grade. We had a conference with a senior member of the WA State Catholic Schools System, and her comment at the conclusion of our meeting is that perhaps his leaving St Charles would be a blessing for our son and our family. That was an understatement as we immediately enrolled our son into Wainwright middle school in Fircrest until the end of the year. Everyone form the principal on down was incredibly kind and helpful and at the end of the day when our son completed his first day, you could visibly see a huge burden lifted off his shoulders. The staff until the last day of school had nothing but compliments about our son's demeanor in class(which has always been the case), and his academic improvement was immediate due to the positive, helpful and encouraging environment. Last year our son attended Narrows View Intermediate school in University Place as our transfer request from the Tacoma School District was approved.(Its out of school district for Fircrest, WA) Once again we experienced nothing but positive and incredibly helpful staff regards the high performing academic culture and focus for the individual needs of our son. We had previously received similar support at St Charles until we experienced the incredible frustration with a first year teacher and principal who in tandem(along with presiding Priest) failed to protect and support the needs of our son. The inability for an effective intervention process was probably the most frustrating experience for us and never thought we would ever experience at St Charles. Now, here is an extremely important aspect of this whole episode that was also frustrating and left us disappointed. . My mother in law was staying with us at the time and she is a Phd educator and retired president of a University in the Philippines with over 45 years of educational and administration experience. She attended 2 of the meetings at St Charles School concering our son and every time she attempted to advise and impart words of wisdom and support for improvement, she was immediately disrepected and shut down by the new principal. The good is that we are now in a first class public school system on par with St Charles and Bellarmine, and just as I discovered at West Point, private school peers had no advantage over me in a highly competative college setting.Parent Review7mo ago - Life Christian School
- PK-12
- Private
- 464 Students
N/AGreatSchools RatingParent Rating AverageWe absolutely love it here! They treat you as family.Parent Review5mo ago
Check with the applicable school district prior to making a decision based on these schools. Learn more.
Tacoma schools - Whittier is located at 777 Elm Tree Ln, Tacoma WA 98466. Whittier is in the Tacoma School District. Whittier is a Public school that serves grade levels PK-5.
Homes with this school assigned
Skip to last item
OPEN SUN, 1-3PM0.27 ACRESNWMLS, Active
See more homes for sale inTacomaTake a look
Skip to first item