My Lakewood Elementary Visit (Dallas, Plano: appointed, how much, home)

[littlewmn]

I have to say I was very disappointed with my visit to Lakewood Elementary. A parent gave us the tour and didn't really let us in the classrooms much, but I peeked in for a few. They were sitting at several small tables of about 4 kids each and doing worksheets of a letter of the alphabet. They also do rewards for reading (you get money for the school store), and they only go to LOLA (the outdoor learning area- which I was really excited about) once or twice a year. I was disappointed. I thought they had something unique going, given their Blue Ribbon status, but now I am thinking it is just having involved parents and a decent amount of money pumped in that makes the difference. The teachers seemed bored. The students were certainly quiet and obedient. I am sure they do well on testing, and know the basics very, very well. Past that, I didn't see anything supporting higher level learning. Well, there was an expensive Mac lab.
Any Lakewood parents out there who can give me an additional snapshot, since they don't allow frequent visits? Is quiet and non-disruptive they best I can hope for in a public school nowadays? I am very disappointed.

[Grainraiser]

I not sure how you can come to this conclusion by just walking thru the school for a hr or so.

[Texan#1]

Isnt that what goes on in elementary schools? Were you expecting something exciting or something? lol

[littlewmn]

Well- yeah- it is a very limited 2-hour snapshot, so I was hoping to get a broader picture from any Lakewood parents.
And yeah- I was expecting evidence of something more exciting than worksheets. His preschool was far more exciting than what is in store for him in Kindergarten at what many are calling one of the best elementary schools in the state which has a coveted Blue Ribbon.

[billdfw]

Originally Posted by littlewmn

Well- yeah- it is a very limited 2-hour snapshot, so I was hoping to get a broader picture from any Lakewood parents.
And yeah- I was expecting evidence of something more exciting than worksheets. His preschool was far more exciting than what is in store for him in Kindergarten at what many are calling one of the best elementary schools in the state which has a coveted Blue Ribbon.

I don't know much about Lakewood elementary other than it is one of the best in DALLAS, NOT the State (which because Dallas schools are so bad, does not say much).

I believe the Blue Ribbon award is based on test scores and not depth of program. You might want to check out a few private schools (or other public ones like Stonewall and Preston Hollow) and compare them to Lakewood Elementary.

[melissaj100]

You are going to be hard pressed to find a better school in the area unless you go private and pay 10k a year. Of course, pre-school is exciting and open and fun but when they start kindergarten it is much more regimented (and for a reason).

You will be surprised what all they start learning in kindergarten from counting to 100, to patterns, sequencing, etc.

The teachers are all great. I think you won't be disappointed.

[traceyr13]

I just wanted to address the Blue Ribbon status - I have been on the faculty of 2 different schools (high schools) who went through the Blue Ribbon application and evaluation process. It is NOT primarily based on test scores, rather a lengthy process of evaluating curriculum, teaching methods, interviewing teachers, students and parents about a variety of subjects, etc.

In my own opinion, the Blue Ribbon does not so much necessarily designate or indicate that a school is great, rather that the parties involved are willing to go through a rigorous evaluation (of course, my own opinion is that a school that is willing to jump through the hoops for the evaluation must be dedicated to the learning process!) The schools I taught at were VERY different (one was a small, Catholic high school of many middle class parents, while the other was large, public and in the wealthiest community in the state) yet they both received the Blue Ribbon, when, in my opinion, they functioned very differently. Yes, I thought they were both good schools, but I left the experience thinking it was more about the pages upon pages of documentation rather than what was truly happening, if that makes sense.

I know nothing about the elementary school being discussed, I just wanted to clarify the Blue Ribbon element.

[CGGirl]

OP - What do you consider "higher level learning" for kindergarten, exactly?

[FarNorthDallas]

You should tour some other schools to compare - a Highland Park elementary school, maybe Brentfield in Richardson ISD, a school in Plano ISD, Lamplighter, etc, just to get some comparison.

[littlewmn]

CGGirl- I guess I consider it to be interactive learning. Discovery learning.
My son went to Science School for preschool and he brought home a mini version of the Nile, experiments on viscosity, estimations on the number of pumkin seeds in a pumpkin, how much it weighs and what its circumference was. To me, figuring out these types of things represent higher level learning.
As melissaj100 was mentioning, I know they learn things like counting to 100, patterns and sequencing. He already knows those things, but it wouldn't hurt to learn them again if they were presented in a fun way (like, I dunno, making patterened jewelry or something. I don't teach Kinder; I have no clue how they would do that), but worksheets??? If this is because their main focus is literacy and they don't teach basics in more creative ways, then a child who can already read is stuck doing incredibly boring stuff. I thought they would do enough creative and fun approaches in an award-winning school to keep the kids' attention and focus, but that just wasn't what I was seeing, and LOLA wasn't being used much at all. I had a very, very brief snapshot, so I was hoping others could give me more insight and hope.