Clinton Elementary Feedback archived

Hi All, I would love to hear candid feedback, good, bad, or otherwise about Clinton. We've mostly heard very positive things, particularly about the staff - but, would like to hear more from all perspectives. Thanks!

My child has had very positive experiences, and had really wonderful teachers. Much of a child's experience seems to depend on the teacher/student match, as it does anywhere. But, you said you already had info like that, so it's probably not much help to you.

I'm guessing you are asking because you still have concerns (perhaps due to the somewhat higher percentage of lower socioeconomic status students than some other schools?): One of my child's school friends has parents who have been separated for a while. One parent lives in South Orange. The other parent lives in Millburn. Their children have remained attending Clinton school, even though they could also legally attend a higher SES elementary school in Millburn.

The teachers are a dedicated and talented group. As with any school there is always chatter about a few that drive parents nuts, but: a) we've been quite happy with all of ours, and lucky that each has had a positive impact on our children and, b) I doubt this is unique to any school in the district. I have had issues with the curriculum and its lack of challenge, particularly in the earlier grades, but that's not unique to any one school.

The administration is wonderful... cannot say enough good things about the principal (and her asst), a pair who seem to have carved out a solid working formula for juggling extensive personal interaction with students and effective school management. We are lucky to have them.

While I'm admittedly biased, I think the PTA has enough accolades and accomplishments to speak for its success and importance, comprised of an extended group of parents who freely share their talents, time and wallets at every available turn (ref. the after school programs, the huge annual play, a record-breaking auction fundraiser this year, etc., etc).

We thought seriously about sending our oldest to Pingry when he was entering 1st grade several years ago, but decided instead to give Clinton a chance before doing so. We haven't regretted it.

Clinton gets some kids from South Orange?

As a neighbor, I'd say the kids seem really well behaved whenever I see them playing out front and walking near the school. The other day was crazy hat day or something - a couple classes were parading down our street, I was kinda surprised at how orderly all the kids were. Some of the reading classes take place on the front lawn in nice weather - seems like a nice school.

kmt said:

Clinton gets some kids from South Orange?

Yes. We're a block into S.O. and zoned for Clinton

Two years in -- my son loves school and learning & his teachers thus far have been lovely. I really do not have a complaint!

We had two kids at Clinton so we are finishing our (gulp!) 8th year there. It's been a wonderful experience for us and our kids and we will truly miss it. We feel like we really lucked out. As for the socio- economic mix, we've always seen this as a plus. They've had friends from all sorts of backgrounds and have both had a core group of really terrific friends. The parent community is also very strong.

I would take ctrzaska's recommendation seriously. He could have sent his kid to Pingry, yet he's happy with Clinton. That says a lot.

The Clinton zone straddles the Maplewood/South Orange border. It is also entirely zoned for SOMS, including the Maplewood portion.

And it gets ESL students from both towns, right? I went to the International Potluck a couple years ago. Great experience. Sadly I no longer have a way to get myself invited.

Thank you, everyone, this is very helpful. We are coming from a beautifully diverse school in Brooklyn, so, that is not the question. I was just curious because we hear so much about Jef and Tuscan, and not as much about the others. Keep the feedback coming, it's greatly appreciated.

We're not a Clinton Family, but as someone in the community, I always hear wonderful things about the Clinton Leadership from parents and students there. The value of a strong leader, and one that has a positive relationship with the parent and caregiver community....so important in so many ways, IMO.

My daughter just started there in September. We're really pleased with the activities and exposure she has gotten. I'm going to assume all of the elementary schools are similar in that the parent involvement is very high and supportive. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the grade school options in Maplewood.

Can someone comment on the lower scores reported for Clinton versus Tuscan or Jefferson? I always hear people talk about this. Where does the information come from? How are these scores gathered? Just curious. My kid will not enter school for a few years, and a lot will likely change by then.

Awesome school, awesome principal.

Clinton is also the designated ESL elementary school for the whole district which for us was a huge plus. Our daughter is in classrooms with children who have multiple languages spoken at home or sometimes they are the primary English speaker at home even from a young age. Our daughter's current second grade teacher is fluent in Spanish and works with the native Spanish speakers in that language sometimes when it is needed. I think it is great that my daughter is exposed to multiple languages at an early age and hope that unlike her parents she tries to gain fluency in a second or even third language over the course of her life.

As with every school your mileage may vary but I think if you are looking to be a partner in your child's education along with them and their teachers Clinton will not steer you wrong.

Also big shout out to Mrs. Latimer the excellent school librarian who has always been very helpful to our daughter in suggesting and assisting her in picking out books during library time.

Here are a few items to check out that may be helpful to you:

http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/after-personal-battle-clinton-principal-brings-sun-protection-education-to-students

http://www.clintonelementary.org/tag/tricky-tray/

http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/the-day-after/

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0DF143DF935A15757C0A96F9C8B63

pmartinezv said:

Can someone comment on the lower scores reported for Clinton versus Tuscan or Jefferson? I always hear people talk about this. Where does the information come from? How are these scores gathered? Just curious. My kid will not enter school for a few years, and a lot will likely change by then.

Clinton Elementary is the English as a Second Language designated Elementary School for the South Orange/Maplewood School District so all children in K-5 in the district whose primary language in the home isn't English attend Clinton.

I think when you consider that 10% or more of the students at Clinton may not have fluent English speakers at home the 'average' test scores are actually pretty great. The experience your child has in coming to the understanding that we are living in a truly global economy and age is truly remarkable and in my view far more valuable than being in a more homogenous school (language wise) with higher 'average' test scores. Clinton and its international experience was one of the factors that contributed to my home purchase so I could be zoned for Clinton.

IMHO


From the website:

http://www.clintonelementary.org/faq/#esl2

Clinton is the ESL elementary school in the SOMA School District. The ESL population makes us a truly international school and every student in the building learns from and values our incredibly diverse environment. One need only visit our annual International Dinner that takes place every spring to see one amazing result of this diversity.

About 10% of the student population are ESL students, although this number varies from year to year. When we quantify this diversity we’ve found that we often have 30-40 countries represented and many, many languages.

The Clinton PTA translates a bi-monthly newsletter into Haitian Creole and Spanish as they are the two most commonly spoken languages of Clinton families after English.

I was not aware of this. That is really great! I am an ESL myself . Came to the US as a senior in HS not being able to speak much English at all. I would rather my child be surrounded by others who speak something other than English. I try to speak Spanish as much as posible around him, but I am so Americanized that I do forget. This definitely is encouraging. Hopefully that does not change by the time he goes to school, in another 3-4 years.

Obviously there is much research I have to do to learn more about the schools in the area.

We are also a Clinton family and beyond happy. Even though my husband is from an English speaking country ( sort of, He's from Ireland. Does that count as English??? :-D ) it's been really good for our kids to be around other people who have foreign parents. Some of the enrichment is based on teaching the kids about other cultures and the PTA has won awards and grants based on the programs they do. Parents are always welcome to see these events too.
My children like school. I HATED school growing up! They LOVE Mrs. Latimer, the librarian. They LOVE the Principal and assistant Principal. They've had really good teachers. Both hate sports yet LOVE the physical education class. Most importantly, both of my children have found passions through what they've been exposed to.
As a family, we have felt welcome and inspired but the Clinton community. It's been a great experience for all of us.

janahf said:

I was just curious because we hear so much about Jef and Tuscan, and not as much about the others.

Just curious: Is this from your Realtor, or do you have other sources? As a happy Clinton parent, it seems that there has always been a bit of a PR issue around the school, but I'm not sure what the source of this is.

pmartinezv said:

Can someone comment on the lower scores reported for Clinton versus Tuscan or Jefferson? I always hear people talk about this. Where does the information come from? How are these scores gathered? Just curious. My kid will not enter school for a few years, and a lot will likely change by then.

What Cap'n Marko said above is correct. Clinton takes all the ESL kids from the district and every student has to take the standardized tests. When my eldest son was in 2nd grade he was in one of the designated ESL classes (we are native English speakers; the ESL classes are 'inclusion' - ESL kids learn side by side with non ESL kids, and there is an additional ESL-trained teacher in those classes). That year a young man transferred in part way through the school year who spoke only the most rudimentary English. Those kids have to take the standardized tests as well, which are in English, so a large part of the Clinton scores being lower can be attributed to kids taking tests in a language they may be absolutely unfamiliar with.

I think the school does a great job of helping get those kids up to speed, but if a child who speaks no English enrolls and two weeks later the test is given, he's taking that test - the school does not have the ability or discretion to exclude him. And you can be the brightest kid in the world but if you're given a test in a language you don't understand, obviously it's no surprise if you don't ace it. If you examine similar cohorts from each school (i.e, native English speakers vs. native English speakers) I think Clinton test scores are comparable.

The year that transfer child was in my son's class, on library day the other children in the class would make a point to go to the "easy reader" section of the library to pick out books that they thought would be helpful to him. It was heartwarming to see second graders acting with such compassion towards a school mate - not making fun of him because he didn't speak English, but working together to help him learn. I think that Clinton is very special in that regard. My children accept differences in others: language, culture, etc., as a fact of life; the school teaches them to embrace the uniqueness in everyone, and that is something you don't find everywhere and that no test score can measure.

sprout said:

janahf said:

I was just curious because we hear so much about Jef and Tuscan, and not as much about the others.

Just curious: Is this from your Realtor, or do you have other sources? As a happy Clinton parent, it seems that there has always been a bit of a PR issue around the school, but I'm not sure what the source of this is.

It's been a combination... it's not that i've ever heard a bad thing about Clinton from a realtor or otherwise, just don't hear much. There definitely seems to be a difference in home prices (they're all high!), depending on the neighborhoods, as well. I have actually heard/read a lot about the test scores at Clinton, and how it's the ESL magnet school. I take these test scores with a grain of salt, anyway.

That said, through inquiring, I've heard all great things - about things that matter to me.

Every Clinton parent I know is very enthusiastic about their school.

I haven't seen any mention of Seth Boyden on this thread, so you should be aware that ANY student/family from anywhere in South Orange or Maplewood may apply to transfer there. So when you are looking at options for your student, you should visit/research Seth Boyden as well as your zoned school. We had a wonderful experience there and (based on the fact that I still "lurk" on their email list and have friends still in the school), from all accounts it just gets better and better.

Actually, I don't think you can go wrong with ANY of our elementary schools. There are "personality" differences, but they are all fine schools and when the kids get to middle school and high school, they all seem to have been equally well prepared.

I know most of the people who have posted here and co-sign with all of them....this is our last year at Clinton since starting back in 2004. The successes we've had have far outweighed the challenges. All I can add is that we have an outstanding and incredibly caring and supportive principal and assistant principal...so go visit and see for yourself. Simply put, Clinton School is truly a special place, and I mean that with all my heart.

Clinton has been the most amazing place for my two daughters and as my youngest moves on to middle school in the fall, I am already mourning the loss of this special school with its outstanding administrators, fabulous teachers, and wonderfully tight-knit community. It is rare to experience an environment as diverse as Clinton (racially, ethnically, socio-economically) that is also so beautifully cohesive. I have had the good fortune to present Clinton to a national audience of PTA leaders regarding a program we created at the school several years ago and it was incredibly gratifying to see first-hand how these parent leaders from across the US were so incredibly impressed by the fact that our diverse community works together as one in a way that benefits every child/family at the school. In addition, my children received an excellent academic education at Clinton which prepared them very well for success in middle school.

We loved our time at Clinton. It's the warmest, homiest school you could ask for as an elementary school. Every kid that I know that went there has very fond memories (they are all now 14/15). It also has incredibly involved parents and the PTA has done amazing things.

The "buzz" thing is an ongoing issue and if you search the threads you will see it pop up several times. We moved here in 2000 and Tuscan was on all the realtors' promotional materials. Here's a thread I started in June 2012 at my daughters SOMS graduation http://forum.maplewoodonline.com//discussion/84329/#Item_1

Thank you, Eliz. We are leaving an amazing school in Brooklyn and I'm thrilled about how similar they sound - on so many levels. Thanks, everyone.

Love Clinton. I would never have realized there was any negative press had it not been talked about here.



Love the art teacher, too!

I don't think there has been much negative press towards Clinton School. However, if one school is constantly praised by realtors as more desirable (Tuscan), many people will draw the conclusion that it is better and there must be something wrong with Clinton.

For the record, when we were looking at houses in Maplewood every realtor we spoke to said that Clinton was good (It's their job to sell houses regardless of what school zone they are in). However, the Tuscon Zone is glamorized in all of the realtor material ("TUSCAN SCHOOL ZONE!!!") which pushes down Clinton's appeal by default.

+++ Side Note: My daughter is attending Clinton and we a very happy with the school so far.