Major General William R Shafter Elementary School

The administration is the worst we've encountered in 5 different duty stations. They tell the students one thing, but tel the parents another making it impossible to know which is the lie. Closed three library and cafeteria due to poor decision making but made the children suffer for it, forcing them to eat outside on a tarp while the staff ate in their air conditioner offices. Condoned teachers physically grabbing students for not walking "properly". Made numerous idol threats to students to enforce discipline. Felt it appropriate to change school party venue from Dave and busters to Rumors nightclub without informing any parents.

Adminstration doesnt care about military families. Families were lied to . After over 2 yrs at shafter. GE were denied automatically. No exceptions. Doesnt matter they dont care.

The school administration does not support military families and is out of touch with their needs. What makes this school great are the Military families not the administration. We make great sacrifices for our country and we only expect a little in return for our families. This is not a personal attack on the administration because they had the authority and opportunity to change the situation which is described below. This is an honest thread that needs to be heard and read. Military families were given an opportunity to move into new housing at Tripler village from old cramped housing (10 mins away but not in this schools zone). The Principal would not allow affected students to remain in the school for the remainder of the tour (1.5years on avg) or grant a geographical exception. This impacted only 10 students. This shows how out of touch the administration is with the needs of the military family. They are not concerned with how often children change schools and the toll that takes on them. The concern is with the current over enrollment of the school, 10 students was not asking much and the situation would have leveled out in less than 2 years. The administration did however allow students to remain until the end of the current year but by the time most families move into new homes, that "generous" offer would equate to 1-2 months most. There is no reason why an exception could not have been made to allow the children to remain until they PCS in less than 2 years. The school servicing Tripler village is also crowded and the student to teacher ratio is about the same. There is no team work or logic with the decision making. Be very cautious when asking for something exceptional with this school administration because they are only concerned with their own agenda.

It's like a private school in a public school setting. Kids excel here and there over 400 students. Staff and principal are very involved.

This school is truly a gem. It is small…less than 200 students. The teachers are all highly qualified, caring professionals, who dedicate a tremendous amount of their personal time to classroom preparation. The principal is a truly outstanding leader and gifted administrator who truly cares about the students. The support staff are caring and responsive. Students are greeted by name and feel like valued members of the community. The PTA is active, sponsoring after school events, and the military partner unit assists with events such as Arbor Day and Jump Rope for Heart. Technology and curricula are current. Most classrooms are equipped with interactive white boards and Education City™ software. Shafter is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school’s No Child Left Behind Status has been “In Good Standing, Unconditional” for the past 7 years. Our child has thrived at this school.