Fireside Elementary School

Reviews

• ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
  Because the gifted preschool is so new, I could not find any other reviews before enrolling my child. Here is what I wish I knew: 1. The gifted preschool at Fireside has almost nothing to do with PVUSD's gifted program. The gifted program can arrange testing and get your child in, but the program is run by Community Education. If you have questions once your child is in the program, good luck talking to anyone from the Gifted Department. 2. In my opinion, there is almost nothing "gifted" about this program. Yes, your child will be in a classroom with other gifted students. Yes, this classroom will do worksheets ahead of grade level. Yes, this classroom has incredible technology. That is just about it. In my view, there is very little here for a kinesthic learner, so unless your child is also gifted in the "sit down and do your worksheets" arena, there is very little this classroom can add. 3. This classroom is not responsive to the unique needs of gifted children. Self contained gifted has traditionally been offered for gifted children who are not thriving in a traditional classroom. In this case, I found very little understanding or help dealing with some behavioral problems (boredom, social immaturity) my son has that are common for gifted children. 4. The playground is somewhat open (still not clear if there is a gap leading to the street or a gap leading behind a building as I got two different answers from Community Education). If your child runs to this gap, they will be automatically expelled. I know it sounds too silly to be true. Why have a preschool in a facility with an unsafe playground? Why not station an aid near this dangerous place? I know it sounds too bizarre to be true, and I would have not believed it myself if I did not have a preschooler with a penchant for running off the playground. Nevertheless, if this happens to your child they will be automatically expelled and you will be referred to the Special and Unique Needs program as (and this is a direct quote from Community Education) it is "not a common behavior for children to run off the playground." Needless to say, we had a negative experience. For the money, there are other programs that will help my child more than worksheets and busy work.
  By julie mccartney, May 19, 2017
• ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  We've had a gifted preschooler this year and couldn't have been happier with our choice. Teachers are great as so the school staff. I was worried at the beginning how my 4 year old will adjust from a small friendy daycare to a somehow large elementary school but teachers, aids and school staff, they've all been great. My son has learnt so much in such short time. We'll be enrolling him for kindergarten too.
  By Simin K, April 12, 2017

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