Balboa Elementary School

My son is above his grade level And they challenge him, to help him succeed.

While there are some great teachers at Linwood, there are others, along with admin; who do not have what is in the best interest of student's first, but what is easiest for them. Hopefully new principal next year will do better. For example, we have found IEP meetings to be extremely difficult to schedule and they wait until the last minute (right before their deadline) to schedule the IEP meeting, even when I have tried to schedule the meetings well in advance to avoid scheduling conflicts. Additionally, when I have asked questions during the IEP meetings, my questions were often met with annoyance and condenscending attitudes. I had to make several requests for IEP progress notes, which should given with every report card. IEP Meetings were only scheduled for 20-30 minutes, so meetings were rushed.We had major concerns about our student's math skills because they had deep difficulty with basic multiplication and division (upper grade student), the homework would cause overwhelm. We requested more support for math from the IEP team and we were shown "data" that our child was performing ok. When the IEP psychological evaluation results came back, our student scored in the FIRST percentile for math for their age and grade. We asked the IEP team about this discrepancy and they blamed our student for being a bad test taker. Our student also experienced harassment, intimidation and bullying. Students at Linwood are expected to report "conflict" immediately, even in front of their bully. Our student experienced major bullying over the years at this school. More recently, one of the last events was reported to me directly after school, so I was able to report it to the teacher the same day. The plan was for a restorative conversation, however it took several days for it occur and then my student was bullied horribly again. This time it was reported before dismissal, the day it occurred, when they felt safe to do so. My student requested cameras be checked and his friend to be interviewed since he witnessed everything. Bullies denied it, recess staff didn't notice anything, so case closed. They never checked the cameras or interviewed the friend (confirmed by friend). The admin blamed my student for not reporting it immediately in front of the bullies (victim blaming). We had to get the district involved after Linwood admin stonewalling and giving poor excuses for not investigating thoroughly. We had no choice but to pull him from Linwood.

My youngest have been in attendance here for that last three years. My son's previous schools just let him slide through the cracks so that when he entered 3rd grade at ridgeview he couldn't read or write!! The staff and Mrs Johnson were incredible! They got my son back on track with his peers. I don't know how they do it but they are excellent at making sure every child is individually loved unconditionally. Thanks to Ridgeview my son is back on the right foot and will be completing his last year of elementary there. They also offer a lot of exclusive opportunities and engagement for children that attend a public school and may not have experienced these activities otherwise (ie safety bicycle classes, free ski/snowboard lessons, and many other opportunities). I can't say enough good things about the principal and her staff.

While the PTA is very strong at this school the focus is academia only, the concept of teaching a love of learning, active play, and even recess is once a day for all grades. Zero elements are in place to support children with bullying and working through problems since the efforts are mostly test scores and meeting standards. Each kid hated school severely after attending and won't go back. Several parents I've talked to have had similar experiences. The admin needs to change before this school can thrive.

It’s refreshing to find a Catholic school that focuses on what is important - teaching students how to read, write and do math, all intertwined with the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Catholic faith. Teaching is done in the rhetorical style, so the children are engaged. They are held accountable here, not enabled. They will study Latin and grammar, and the beauty of nature studies. They will be exposed to classical and sacred music. Children will learn the history of Western Civilization and why it matters. Classrooms are clean and orderly and free from distraction. The school offers an authentic pre-K Montessori program that fits well with a classical model of teaching. The St. Charles leadership understands the end goal of developing children who can think critically and live out the Catholic faith - and strive for sainthood. Grateful St. Charles is an option for our family.