U. B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary

MU child has attended UB Kinsey sine Kindergarten and I would like to say that the administration and teachers are focused on academics and the arts. Although this schools sits in a inner city neighborhood, the priority of the staff is school safety and academics. As a parent I will continue to support the school because they put children first.

UB Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School of the Arts is plagued with problems. In addition to having some of the lowest rankings among elementary schools in the district and state there are some personnel and safety issues as well. First, in terms of academics the fact that only 34% of students at this school are proficient on the Florida State Assessment (according to this website) as of 2016 is alarming and therefore I am certain that my child should have been better prepared for the FSA. This is a title one school so they are provided with academic support from the district level and as a parent I know I provided as much support as I possibly could. In terms of school personnel, a major concern for me is the mentality of some of the teachers, staff and administration. Frankly, it is disgusting how they walk around as if the world owes them something. They are so accustom to the circumstances and attitudes of many of the kids in the surrounding areas that they assume all kids and parents at the school have the same mentality. (It is important to note that UBK is a magnet school and thus “attracts” students from different parts of the county). The administration, teachers and staff often cater to students who are their relatives or relatives of their associates. One can observe how students of area principals and UBK staff members will have the “top” teachers and are involved in the most coveted activities. While UBK has a fantastic strings department and director, the principal does not focus enough on the other art areas. She mainly associates herself with the strings department while the other arts areas are left with more to be desired.
In terms of school safety, UB Kinsey is located in the downtown West Palm Beach area which can be concerning to say the least. However at the very minimum there needs to be staff presence in the parent pick up/drop off loop in the mornings to ensure the safety of students. There was an incident where a parent got out of his car to confront another parent who was holding up the flow of traffic, the confronted parent who happened to be an undercover police officer flashed his gun (in my opinion prematurely) and yelled at the confronting parent to get out of the car and accused him of threatening his life. The confronting parent jumped back into his car and started revving the engine as if he would run over the undercover officer, then drove straight through the barricades and sped off! This unfolded in front of parents, patrols on duty and other students. This incident could have been avoided if there had been staff members present in the loop to facilitate the flow of traffic. This was extremely scary and I truly feared for my safety as well as the other parents and students.
If you are willing to brave these conditions then take a chance and send your child to this school. However in my opinion there is much more to be desired in terms of academics, personnel and school safety.

DO NOT SEND ANY CHILD HERE!