Polk Elementary

"I'm rather confused by the poor treatment my family has received at Polk Elementary. It would seem to me that only those children whose parents make a generous living are treated respectably at Polk. I'm talking about the cost of the extracurricular activities as well as the bill-collector attitude of the cafeteria administration who will treat my child like a second-class student while hounding me for a 5 cent debt. This may only be my misconception but certain other occurrences happened over the course of my children's attendance to lead me to believe that the school's administration is very accommodating to those parents with means who silently toe the line and much less to those of us on budgets who do the unthinkable and stand up for our children. While the teaching staff sports some very accomplished teachers there are a few bad apples whose behavior left me facing the daunting possibility of sending my little ones elsewhere. The choice was eventually made for me by the school itself. I had a few words with an office attendant over a situation where I felt it my duty to defend my son. There was no altercation, only my son's hurt feelings with regard to an annual talent show, and my need to hold an uncaring office attendant accountable for her "it's not my problem" attitude. There were other things that happened during that year and the year before but this was the instance when I decided we'd had enough. Soon after, I received a letter from the school that we would not be invited back the following year (we'd moved the year before to a home a few feet outside of Polk's district but had been assured at the time that we'd be accepted for the duration). The letter ambiguously stated that enrollment was up and we were wait listed and to seek enrollment elsewhere. I called episd to follow up on Polk's enrollment and learned this was not the case. It would seem that the administration at Polk was not thoroughly truthful with respect to the true reason we were wait listed. This left me questioning: Were we bumped in favor of another whose wallet is bigger than ours? Or perhaps I'm right after all that defending your child against a perceived bully is frowned upon at Polk. However far I may be reaching here, they are both still legitimate possibilities. Despite the sour grapes feelings I have toward the two rogue teachers, the aggressive lunch ladies, and the office attendant in question, I actually had faith in Polk and faith in my children's future there. I am very disappointed in this school. So many teachers and counselors there are wonderful, dedicated people and it saddens me to think that the actions and deceit of a few may prove to be systemic in nature. So my children must go to a new school-hopefully a better school-to make a fresh start, leaving all their friends behind. Maybe this is not so very bad, but I'm still disappointed in Polk and cannot, in good conscience, recommend this school to the average family."

"I'm rather confused by the poor treatment my family has received at Polk Elementary. It would seem to me that only those children whose parents make a generous living are treated respectably at Polk. I'm talking about the cost of the extracurricular activities as well as the bill-collector attitude of the cafeteria administration who will treat my child like a second-class student while hounding me for a 5 cent debt. This may only be my misconception but certain other occurrences happened over the course of my children's attendance to lead me to believe that the school's administration is very accommodating to those parents with means who silently toe the line and much less to those of us on budgets who do the unthinkable and stand up for our children. While the teaching staff sports some very accomplished teachers there are a few bad apples whose behavior left me facing the daunting possibility of sending my little ones elsewhere. The choice was eventually made for me by the school itself. I had a few words with an office attendant over a situation where I felt it my duty to defend my son. There was no altercation, only my son's hurt feelings with regard to an annual talent show, and my need to hold an uncaring office attendant accountable for her "it's not my problem" attitude. There were other things that happened during that year and the year before but this was the instance when I decided we'd had enough. Soon after, I received a letter from the school that we would not be invited back the following year (we'd moved the year before to a home a few feet outside of Polk's district but had been assured at the time that we'd be accepted for the duration). The letter ambiguously stated that enrollment was up and we were wait listed and to seek enrollment elsewhere. I called episd to follow up on Polk's enrollment and learned this was not the case. It would seem that the administration at Polk was not thoroughly truthful with respect to the true reason we were wait listed. This left me questioning: Were we bumped in favor of another whose wallet is bigger than ours? Or perhaps I'm right after all that defending your child against a perceived bully is frowned upon at Polk. However far I may be reaching here, they are both still legitimate possibilities. Despite the sour grapes feelings I have toward the two rogue teachers, the aggressive lunch ladies, and the office attendant in question, I actually had faith in Polk and faith in my children's future there. I am very disappointed in this school. So many teachers and counselors there are wonderful, dedicated people and it saddens me to think that the actions and deceit of a few may prove to be systemic in nature. So my children must go to a new school-hopefully a better school-to make a fresh start, leaving all their friends behind. Maybe this is not so very bad, but I'm still disappointed in Polk and cannot, in good conscience, recommend this school to the average family."