Holly Avenue Elementary School

360 West Duarte Road

School District

Arcadia Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:21
Type

public

School Map for Arcadia Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by other on September 10, 2024

Holly Ave Elementary is an exceptional school that provides a nurturing and stimulating environment for students. With a passionate staff, the school offers a well-rounded curriculum blending academic rigor with creative and physical development. Modern facilities and an emphasis on social-emotional learning enhance the exceptional educational experience at Holly Ave Elementary, shaping well-rounded and motivated young learners.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2024

The school is not as good as I imagined, and the teachers are not professional enough.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2023

Two major problems with this school, the slow pace of academics and underwhelming staff reaction to bullying. The amount of academics learned in one 6 hour day of school could be done in 30-60 mins at home. Then there is so much review at the beginning of each school year. They’re doing the the previous grade level until Halloween. Next is the bullying. I have seen and heard about several bullies int eh school from friends and as I volunteer at Holly, but no plan of action was called on the bully or to the parents of the bully. The bullies continued to bully since there were no consequences from the school or their parents. In a couple of occasions the bullies parents weren’t even notified even though the victims parents wanted an apology or some kind of commitment that this would not happen again. Seeing and hearing all this happen made me feel unsafe and worried to send my kids to Holly knowing little was done to keep them safe from aggressive peers.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2022

My son's experience was pretty good at this school. The reason I am giving this review 3/5 is because, first of all, they don't deal with bullying problems. My son's friend got bullied and the teachers didn't do anything. Also, on a field trip, my son brought food on the bus because he was hungry. The teacher snatched his food. She threw it away when they got off the bus. She could have kept and gave it back to him after the trip. This is a good school, but I would watch out for these problems.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2019

Despite a the award winning curriculum and caring teachers the rest of the staff needs some serious training to deal with special needs kids and bullying.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2019

My Son attended Holly for Kinder and First grade and it has been a wonderful experience. He has improved academically and I love that the school has helped my son to read and write at the level he should be. I love the school because they do whatever is possible so no child can fall behind academically.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2019

My son attended both Kinder and First Grade and he loved Holly Avenue elementary. I only wish he could have stayed all of his elementary school years.
Submitted by parent on June 10, 2018

I think this school is excellent and i can see students respect each other. School is willing to help students with any learning differences.
Submitted by parent on November 10, 2016

My son loves his school very much. He looks forward to going to school everyday and he loves his teachers in Holly Avenue. Great principal and teachers. Good students too.
Submitted by parent on November 26, 2014

My child went to Holly and graduated 5th grade but couldn't read as a 2nd. If one can't read one can't write. The school and district office ran us (parents) in circles and refused to amend my child's IEP. The teacher was doing his writing work and told us that was part of his IEP service. They were concealing his disabilities. My son has a high IQ, well manner, and very kind. At the end we homeschooled and taugh him how to read and write at grade level. He is ranked above average in math in national standard. Arcadia USD is running a show and not educating our children. This is first hand experience.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2014

I have kids who attended this school. Not the greatest school in the AUSD, but the district is adequate in providing a decent education. For the parent who posted on 6/29/2014 about an autistic son, question: Why is your son in SDC (Special Day Class)? If your son requires DTT and a personal aid, then your son DOESN T belong in SDC. Children requiring DTT and a personal aid are SEVERE autistic and should be in another program. SDC is for children who have VERY MILD disabilities. My guess? The parent is forcing special ed to have the son placed in SDC. He should be in a classroom for children with severe disabilities. Children with severe autism can cry and scream for 3 HOURS STRAIGHT. My speculation: The reason the child was pulled away from group class work was because he DOESN'T want to do any work and DOESN'T want to participate in group activities without having a complete meltdown, so the teacher had to separate him from his peers. The teacher has at least 8 other kids, with MINOR disabilities, to worry about. The SEVERE autistic kid should be in another class. I feel sorry for the child. Parents putting kid through stress. I don't work for AUSD but I understand special ed.
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2014

My son is autistic. Last semester he was in the 2nd grade SDC class at Holly Avenue Elementary School. We scheduled several observations of my son s class and immediately noticed that my son was seated 3 feet away from his peers. The seating arrangement seemed permanent. We asked for our son to be included with his peers. One day my wife saw our son sitting alone while the other kids sat together on the floor. He was not with his 1:1 aid; the aid was somewhere else in the classroom. My wife asked the teacher why our son was sitting alone. The teacher yelled back, Next time sign in at the office okay! The teacher later denied this. We also learned that my son had been crying every day. We learned early in the semester my son s individual DTT sessions were conducted in either the school s stock room or the vending machine room. Neither room was conducive to learning. After complaining, DTT sessions were moved to the classroom. My wife usually talks with other parents. One day the principal heard her talking about our son. The principal then told my wife that she could not speak about our son s situation, obviously trying to shut her up.
Submitted by parent on May 20, 2014

My son is just about completing his first year at Holly Ave We made the switch from private to public after learning how amazing Arcadia schools were. It is quite sad that we were disappointed. My son is an average level kid. He is not the most academically advanced nor academically delayed. It seemed as if you get the most attention only if you are extremely delayed, which I understand but there were obvious subjects in which my child needed extra help and because he wasn't delayed he had to "figure it out" on his own. Another thing, he would come home with homework that I constantly had to teach him because when i would ask him if his teacher went over it, he would say no. was he maybe not paying attention? maybe. but as a teacher, i believe it is your job to make sure students are understanding the subject and if they are not, to use a different teaching style with the kid since everyone has a different learning style. His teacher had a very laid back teaching style pass out worksheets and do them on your own while i check my email style. My child will be returning to this school in hopes that next years teacher has a different teaching style, if not, he will be pulled out ASAP.
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2013

My child currently attends the kindergarden at this school, and it has been a very difficult year for my child and for me as a parent. My child's teacher has been teaching an advance curriculum comparable to what I remember learning in 2-3 grade. The kids homeworks consists of 4 pages of either math or writing sentences every night. On top of this there are reading assignment of anywhere from 6-12 think reading books. This might be good new to those tiger moms and dads out there who want their child to participate at a higher level, but for me I just want my child to enjoy their childhood and learn what is appropriate for their grade level. The teacher expects each child to write out sentences starting from 3-4 sentences to 6-8 sentences now. The sentences need to be in detail form and they have to form out the words using phonics. My child is having difficulty catching up and has been left behind. I do not believe my child is the only one. I have to spend 2 hours every night with my child to complete the homework assignment, and it has been very exhausting for me, especially after a long days work.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2012

It's only our second year at this school and our academic impression of kindergarten and first grade has been pretty good. However, there seem to be so many rules that are aimed at creating a cookie cutter child. Our son told us that there was a costume parade for Halloween. When I asked if his class marched in it, he told me that they are not allowed to march. They must walk in traveling position. Really, traveling position? I d never heard of traveling position. I m told it means backs straight, hands at their sides, no talking. Wow Holly Avenue! You guys really know how take the fun out of a parade! So many rules for doing everything you must use your inside voice when eating at the outside area, there is no running on the wood chips, you must use jazz hands, not clapping, at assemblies. Good heavens, some of these rules are just ridiculous. Now, I don t think I m hip, slick and cool, but Jazz hands, that s just plain goofy. When is a kid just supposed to be a kid, make some noise, blow off some steam during the day? Our kids are not academic robots; they need some time to burn off some energy and exercise creativity.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2012

Arcadia School District is one of the best school districts in Los Angeles County including the San Gabriel Valley. Great schools with wonderful programs with the exception of Holly Ave. This school unfortunately is not serious about implementing programs that extracurricular that build student interest and esteem.These programs are vital for a child's learning experience,or at least the opportunity to participate in one.The principal likes book smart students and parents that keep their mouth shut, anything other than the later and your on her radar. There is no creative learning or the sort. No emphasis on individual learning styles, or focus on students talents and gifts-just a cookie cutter mentality. Its so much easier and less work for the principle and her staff.
Submitted by parent on September 29, 2011

The school has a great character program led incredibly well by the principal. She has set a high standard and she and the staff spend a lot of time working with kids and parents. I love this school for my kids. Academics are stressed but kids get to grow at their own rate.