Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy

I really want to love Hawthorne because the academics are so strong, but the actual state of the building is starting to freak me out. We recently found out there was an 'emergency' power rodding for the basement bathrooms and the lunchroom because of major drainage issues, which is just gross when you think about where the kids are eating. It feels like the school is constantly patchwork-fixing plumbing and infrastructure problems rather than actually keeping it clean and updated. Between the old building smells and the frequent 'emergency' repairs in the cafeteria area, I’m honestly worried about the hygiene levels. For such a high-performing school, you’d think the basic health and safety of the facilities would be a bigger priority, but it feels like they just focus on test scores while the pipes are literally bursting.

Hawthorne is great, but honestly, with the kids being so focused on academics, 1st floor can get a little germy during flu season. The school is pretty good about sending out emails when there's a spike in strep or whatever is going around, so I feel like I'm not totally in the dark. My daughter says the nurses are super sweet if she has a headache, and they don't just send kids home for every little sniffle, which I appreciate as a working parent. It’s an older building for sure, but the custodial staff really keeps up with it—bathrooms are usually decent and it doesn't have that 'old school' smell. Overall, they handle the health side of things well without being over-the-top about it.