John Fiske Elementary School

I honestly have mixed feelings about Fiske. On one hand, the teachers really seem to care and there's been some talk about new wellness funding coming in, but on the ground, it's a different story. The chronic absenteeism here is super high—like, way over 30%—and you can really feel that instability in the classroom. It feels like there’s always a bug going around and because so many kids are out consistently, it’s hard to tell if the school is actually staying on top of sanitizing or if it's just a losing battle. The building is older and definitely shows its age in terms of ventilation. While they talk a big game about wellness programs, I'm just not seeing the consistency. It’s frustrating when you want your kid in a healthy environment but half the class is missing every other week.

My youngest is at John Fiske for pre-k and overall it's been okay, but the health communication is kind of hit or miss. The teachers are really sweet and definitely care about the kids, but I feel like when a bug is going around the classroom, we don't always get a heads-up until half the kids are already out sick. The school is an older building, so it doesn't always look 'sparkling' clean, though they do their best with what they've got. They're pretty strict about the 24-hour fever-free rule which is good, but I wish they were a little more proactive about sanitizing the shared toys in the early childhood rooms during flu season.