Varner Elementary School

Our daughter has been going to Varner since Kindergarten and we have had no issues. We are really glad she can go to this school. She will be going to first grade this coming school year.

We are very disappointed in Varner Elementary due to poor leadership: the administration is significantly lacking in both communication as well as organization.

My daughter recently graduated from Varner, and we decided to send our 2nd grader elsewhere. Varner has several excellent educators, but their efforts are undermined by a watered down, teach to the test curriculum and poor leadership from the prinicipal and assistant principal. The parents are willing and able to help improve the school, but the principal keeps them from taking ownership of THEIR school.

As parents, we just didn't feel as though we had a voice at Varner. During the six years, our daughter attended the school, there were 3 different principals, but no real improvement. Simply put, Varner is just an average school that doesn't challenge bright students or give struggling ones the help they need.

If you can do so, send your child to a private or charter school instead. We did just that, and have never looked back!

Varner is an amazing place to have your kids reach their potential. My son has developed his independence and confidence through the careful attention of his teachers. My little girl is so excited to start her Varner journey and as a parent I know she will excell in this environment just as her brother did. The PTA is amazing and the growing number of involved parents is only going to make things even better!

Varner Elementary is a well run school. The Principal is very clear that academics is first in the school and the school continues to score higher each year. It is wonderfully diverse with a strong PTA and lots of parents who volunteer for school events. Last year the school had a 100% membership rate with parents, teachers and administrators. The teachers are caring, they communicate to us about our children and they spend some of their off-time making sure they're preparing for the class. Each year, through PTA events, Box Tops for Kids and other fundraisers, the school purchases additional needs like White Boards, an air conditioning unit and hopefully in a few years a track. I appreciate the school and the underpaid teachers who keep it such a warm place. I'm very pleased with our choice to send our children here and I look forward to more fulfilling moments for my children in the years to come.

Varner's Principal came to the school at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. Because of her need to rule and not lead, she has the entire staff feeling as though they could lose their jobs at any minute. They are aware that this principal cannot hire and fire them at will. That doesn't keep her from making up false reports to put in their files. They are forced to do exactly what she says to do even if it puts a communication barrier between a teacher and a parent of a child in that teacher's class. She is completely aware of things happening in the school that are disruptive and even harmful to the children but instead of addressing the people involved, her answer is to ignore any requests for a meeting so clarification can be made. Varner's test scores are plummeting each year and it doesn't have to be that way. The school is full of amazing teachers who care very much for the children helping them succeed. But, when you have to go to work every day in a boot camp atmosphere with an unethical, two faced woman as your boss, staying focused and positive becomes more and more difficult.