Garfield East Elementary School

After moving to Willingboro, my son attempted public school at Garfield East- and was removed in less than two weeks!

First he came home with weekend homework- a large packet of busywork which they expected him to waste precious family time completing- not happening! Then their already pathetic recess (20 minutes, blacktop only usually, outdated and tiny equipment on the rare occasion they could use it) was regularly reduced or denied entirely. Kids need physical activity and they weren't getting so much as half an hour a day. Even gym class, which is only once per week was under an hour!

Communicating with the teachers (there were two) was a mess, as they used a combination of notes home, email, a website and a smartphone app but, weren't consistent with method. Homework was sometimes posted on the website but, sometimes missing- my 3rd grader doesn't have regular computer access anyway so this website was rather inappropriate for the grade she teaches.

He came home with an obscene amount of homework- 10 PAGES IN A SINGLE NIGHT for a third grader is insane- and then lost a quarter of his recess because my husband and I put an end to homework at 9PM with a note to the teacher explaining such. If you can't effectively teach a child during the 6+ hours they are imprisoned in your classroom, you should really rethink your methods because no child should go to bed late and stressed over a huge packet of needless busywork! A dot-to-dot exceeding 430 dots is NEVER educationally necessary!

The day his 504 was written, they began disregarding it! The very day! The 504 was used as nothing more than a way to shut up a parent and continue to neglect my child! The day it was signed, he started coming home with an empty agenda book (no homework listed) and his behavior sheet completely blank (which he'd lose recess for me not signing). Despite a note to the teacher about each, both continued to be ignored.

After this, I found out that in addition to no band, chorus or other extracurricular-type activities, they don't have so much as a library- just minimal collections of books in each classroom. My son also complained that the gym is the size of his bedroom (he has a large bedroom so that's quite possible) and that the art teacher was mean and frequently yelled at the kids for talking. If you can't teach children without yelling, you have no business working with children! It's no secret that public school kids tend to be more unruly and undisciplined but, if you can't find ways to quiet a classroom without yelling, you're clearly doing something wrong!

With advanced notice, I took him out of school for a couple of hours to tour a private school and when my husband took him back to school, he got the third degree about a doctor's note by the always-arrogant office staff who treat you as if they own your child and are inconvenienced by your presence! He was removed that day! When I went back to officially withdraw him from the school, I was treated like a leper by whom they were personally offended.

If you have any option, I would never recommend sending a child to this school! As a former homeschooler, I stand by homeschooling being the best option when possible but, do now agree that there are seasons of life when it doesn't work out as planned. Thank God for private school and tuition assistance!