Chesnut Elementary School

Chesnut is a school for those who just need basic education. I would not keep my children in this school past the 2nd grade. They are basically fed worksheets daily, which gives a false impression that they are exceling. My children are now at a different school, and they had to play catchup the entire year. There are so many things that were not taught and we have been paying for it.

The classrooms are packed and some of the teachers are too overwhelmed to care or document anything. If public school is your only option, it's not a horrible school. If you want children who are prepared for middle school, do somewhere else.

Horrible experience. My child was degraded repeatedly and punished undeservinly by his 1st grade teacher when he went there. That was a nightmare for him. I regret that I didn't learn of this torture until April when he had a huge meltdown and spill all that he was going through that school year. Last I heard, that teacher is still there! So glad we left that place.

Love Chesnut! We have involved parents, great teachers, and a close knit community.

I have to agree with the above review, the principal is out of her depth. We've been affiliated with Chesnut for several years and the succession of Ms Williams to principal has not been an asset to this school. She cannot handle even mild questioning about school practices, even when there's evidence that certain things are not working well. Defensiveness and sarcasm towards reasonable concerns from parents is not a productive way to collaborate in educating a child.
If you never have the need to question the school or raise a concern, then you'll do just fine. Otherwise, steer clear until the administration sees some changes. The attitude of "don't bother us" comes across loud and clear.

My son was here for 2 years and I couldn't wait for him to get out. I have always believed in education and the system so when he cried and was unhappy there I just asked him to toughen up. But over the months, I started to understand his hesitation. His English teacher in 5th grade doesn't know how to speak or write proper English. I always looked through his homework with him and he had a 0% on one. When I went in to ask her about it, thinking he wrote the wrong instructions, she said 'Oh, I didn't look at it properly' and changed the 0 to 100%. I was so shocked, I lost interest in his school homework because his teacher had lost interest herself. His math teacher kept calling him out on things, threatening to have him sit in the VPs office every single day. Yet when I ask what he did, it was minor things that children that age do when they are seeking notice. Shuffle around class loudly, make noise with their books on the table etc. I apologized, I offered to sit in on classes, I asked for help for what to do with him so that we worked together, they gave me NO RESPONSES. It was almost like they expected me to be combative and weren't prepared for me to be any other way. He was constantly punished harshly, couldn't go on field trips etc for things he did the day or week before which felt more vindictive and punitive than corrective. The teachers he had displayed an attitude of exhaustion, generally, even in the first week of semester. Like they were veteran teachers, but then they handle issues like novices. I could never quite understand how they acted so disconnected and tired. The principal for me seemed out of her depth, only the VP seemed aware of what he was doing in the behavior management arena. In summary, I found them really unhelpful. They were not partners but adversarial in my son's education. I know kids can be a handful and I was willing to do what it took to make sure mine wasn't. But they had no tips or advice, no direction, no insight, no plan, no ideas. It turned out to be a demoralizing experience all round. If your child asks questions, wants to know why, how, etc. If (s)he is a thinker, this might not be the place for your family. I really wanted to love it. I gave my heart, time and resources to this place. It just didn't work for us.