Wells Branch Ymca

My son began at Wells Branch three years ago in Pre-K, and at that time, the experience was fantastic. The teachers, staff, and overall environment were supportive, and I felt confident in the school's ability to provide my child with the education and care he needed. Unfortunately, the experience has changed significantly since then. In the following year, there was a noticeable lack of stability among the staff, including the office staff and the principal. This instability has continued to affect the school environment, and it seems to have worsened over time. This year, for example, my child’s classroom teacher resigned at the end of August, and the position has remained unfilled since then. As a result, my child has had multiple substitute teachers with no consistent leadership in the classroom. There has been zero communication with families about the ongoing situation. As a parent of a child with special needs, I reached out to the school principal with my concerns, but it took a week to receive a response, which was merely an apology for the inconvenience. While I appreciate the acknowledgment, the lack of follow-up or any substantive action is deeply concerning. More recently, I learned of a serious incident involving a Special Education employee. When I picked my child up from after-school care—provided by a third-party organization on school premises—the after-school program leader shared a troubling report. She had witnessed a school Special Education staff member speaking to my child in a demeaning and disrespectful manner, even physically forcing him as a form of punishment. According to the leader, the SPED employee instructed the after-school staff to "make him do things, not ask him," and to isolate him so he could "learn." This behavior is unacceptable and deeply concerning, especially in an environment that should prioritize the safety and dignity of every child. I emailed the principal immediately about this alarming situation, and while I did receive a response stating that an investigation would take place, I have not heard anything further since then. The lack of transparency and follow-through on such a serious issue is simply not acceptable. As a result of these ongoing concerns for my child's safety and well-being, I made the difficult decision to withdraw him from the school. It is heartbreaking that we have come to this point, but I cannot, in good conscience, continue to send my child to a school where I no longer feel his needs are being met or that his safety is guaranteed. I am sharing this experience with the community because I believe it is important for others to be aware of the challenges our school is facing. As a mother and as a member of this community, I am deeply worried about the future of this school and the impact it is having on the children who attend.

We love this school! As with any school to maximize the experience for children, then it requires active parent involvement (so if you come, please volunteer). Great teachers, supportive administration and staff, and a caring program. I always feel welcome. Dual language programs are offered. The school has an active garden program run by the PTA and community volunteers that welcomes parents in, and it is a great way to be involved. My children love the arts integration and the free after school enrichment. My children have explored interests in chess, tap dance, drums alive, and ukulele club. It's a quality education!

Arts integration is not about performance. It is about using kid's innate creativity and desire to express themselves to motivate and deepen learning in all areas. My children have thrived since Art Integration was introduced in this school. Music supports math, visual art supports history, dance supports science, theatre supports social studies. This is child- centered learning in a public school setting! Plus, free enrichment opportunities including summer camp and after school programs like culinary arts, instrument making, dance, Suzuki violin, theater, coding, book writing, and much more! I took one star off only because this is the first year so the teachers are still learning how to best integrate art into their classrooms. And testing season seems to revert back to the status quo. But I expect this to improve as they receive additional training and support, and gain confidence. Great curriculum, active PTA, responsive administration.

If I could give this place negative stars I would! They claim they have a zero tolerance policy however the principal, assistant principals and teachers do not enforce it. I have a second grader and he was beaten up several times at this school and it really affected my child’s self esteem. I went up to school several times and had many conferences and the still nothing was done. They even tried to label my child as having emotional problems but of course any child would if they were being ganged up on everyday by much bigger kids and nothing was done about it. I ended up moving my child from this school after only 6 months and we are much happier at the new school. Beware

Teachers are great, but the FRONT OFFICE STAFF is disrespectful and does not know how to communicate nor know what they are doing. The FRONT STAFF needs to be reevaluated and reconsidered.