Austin O Sexton Elementary School

Honestly, the health environment at Sexton is pretty rough and it feels like the school is struggling to keep its head above water. With chronic absenteeism around 40%, it's clear there’s a major disconnect with keeping kids healthy and consistently in class. The building itself is older and doesn't exactly feel like the cleanest or most ventilated space, which doesn't help when stuff starts going around the classrooms. It's frustrating because the staff seems like they want to help, but they are spread way too thin to really manage individual wellness or stay on top of daily hygiene issues. If your kid has asthma or any health needs, you definitely have to be the one constantly pushing for updates because the communication from the school office is just not there.

Sexton is okay when it comes to the health stuff, but it's definitely a typical big city public school. My son’s classroom usually looks pretty clean and they are decent about sending out those 'exposure' emails when a bug is going around, but I swear once one kid gets a cold, the whole grade has it within a week. I wish they were a little stricter about keeping sick kids home because I've seen some pretty cough-heavy kiddos at morning drop-off. The nurse is really nice though and was super helpful when we had to deal with an asthma action plan earlier this year.