Doss Elementary School

7005 Northledge Drive

School District

Austin Independent
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Austin Independent 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 parent on August 26, 2024

Doss was a great school for our kids until 3rd grade. By 5th grade it felt like a public school in an extremely under funded area. In 5th my son basically leaned nothing. For example he was taught the water table for the 2nd time and went through the same math class He did in 4th grade. He witnessed fights, bullying, and general lack of engagement in the class room by both teachers and students. It was bad enough for us to take both our kids out and go private for the rest of their education.
Submitted by parent on January 10, 2023

Happy, positive climate. This school teaches so much more than the basics, and there are plenty of optional clubs, contests, and after school activities. The teachers are nothing short of phenomenal and most are very experienced--- and fun and kind to boot. Lots of opportunities for parents to be involved; staff are warm and welcoming of parental involvement.
Submitted by parent on August 20, 2022

Doss is a good school. It’s amazing
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2021

This school WAS great! However, with the current administration 14 teachers left at the end of 20\21 school year. Hmmmm.....Mass exodus.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2020

Amazing school with outstanding teachers and staff.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2019

My kids all love Doss and have wonderful memories.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2019

Overall, this is a good school. If you are an involved parent, you can overcome any of the issues I listed above. All of our issues stem from the teachers we've had, but the education my son is getting is by far the best he's ever had. He loves his campus, he takes pride in his school work, and has made lasting friendships.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2018

The instruction is top notch. Staff is friendly. Leadership is solid.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2018

It's clear the principal is overwhelmed and exhausted. Her demeanor has trickled down onto the staff and the kids are getting the result of it. It's clear the standards of education, the standard of staff, the standard of administration, and the standard of the well-being of our students have all been lowered in the past 7 years. It's really sad. Janna is in over her head with the school expansion and is too proud to have someone step in to help. Because of this our students are lacking adequate resources, support, and care. Do NOT go to Doss if you can help it.
Submitted by parent on December 01, 2017

My son attends Doss and I have been absolutely impressed with his teachers so far. The principal has a "choose kindness" campaign to deal with bullying that the kids really seem to get in to and brings authors in to read to the kids. Good teachers, good admin. The school also has amazing parent and community engagement. I have not noticed the overcrowding, not even sure how it has impacted anything other than they have a few trailers next to the school that are connected by a walkway.
Submitted by parent on October 22, 2017

Horrible - Excess Homework - Child has hours homework cannot join after school music dance or sports because of hours homework
Submitted by parent on August 14, 2017

I agree with previous reviews about the overcrowding. The school is bursting at the seams. It is ultimately the school district's fault and that is why I tried to not have my child attend AISD at all. This school is full of parents who think their little Johnny or little Susy is the best student in the world and everyone needs to recognize that. The community consists of a bunch of uppity self-absorbed parents. The high-achieving
Submitted by parent on December 20, 2016

Doss has gone above and beyond for my family and my sons special needs. Couldn't ask for a better school. Chosing Doss was the best decision I've made. Very happy here!
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2016

I'm spending far more on my housing budget than I'd like to, haha, for the main reason that I would not want my kids in another school. I have found the teachers to be the finest I've ever had (and my kids went to Eanes and Leander ISD in the past...their education is my highest priority) but my heart swells when I think of how they treated my family and I with respect and humanity. They dealt with my kindergarten son's behavior issues the first week of school effectively and with heart and worked with me to find solutions that were in his best interest. Now he's in the top of his class and absolutely thriving. To call Jana Griffin "uppity" is ridiculous - she's absolutely amazing. Keeping class size low is one of the most important things an administrator can do, so for other parents reading - this school WILL do what needs to be done to give your kids the best education....even if it means telling an entitled parent that their kids can't join the Mandarin immersion program because it's filled. THANK THEM for that! They take such great care to give all kids the very best and I am grateful every day my boys wake up and can't wait to go to school! The parents here are involved, educated, and as relaxed and cool as can be. We've made so many friends here with the kiddos and parents alike and I can't sing Doss' praises enough. Can't wait for the upcoming school year!
Submitted by other on December 27, 2015

The education quality is great up until the fifth grade, where I believe the teachers are utterly incapable, however the school, as far as dealing with child discipline, has no effective system and leaves children punished for poor behaviors with no clue why those behaviors are bad, leading to repeat scenarios and confusion.
Submitted by other on November 30, 2015

I am searching for an appropriate school for my daughters and found this one that offers a 50/50 immersion program in Mandarin. My children are currently in full immersion and the Principle Jana Griffin was so uppity she would not even entertain the idea that my children would be good enough to test in. If they were good enough she said she would not increase the class size of the upper classes to 22. Even though 22 is the state limit. I'm not surprised by some of the comments on here, what happened to educating the child? Why would you deny children that are more than qualified to attend a program over the fact that you don't want to increase the size of the class?
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2015

I love the school, they have great teachers and the staff is very nice, they work hard to do their best. The parents are very active and involved in the school activities, however the school has serious problems, caused by the overcrowding issues. It is almost 100% overcrowded. The school capacity is 500 students and the enrollment (on 4/10/2015) so far is around 940 students. (this websites show 840 students but that number has not been updated). The school is running out of space for portables. The only hope is a bond to build facilities which will not even be ready until next year, and who know if it will pass and even if it passes it would take a long time before the building project is ready. And to make thing worse there are many developments coming up to the area which will increase enrollment on an already extremely overcrowded school.
Submitted by parent on April 02, 2015

I moved to the nw hills neighborhood in part because I heard Doss was excellent and a good place for special needs kids. I wish more folks had been honest in their reviews and this wish is why I have to try to warn prospective parents with special needs kids to find a different school. There is neither the will nor the resources to help any child who cannot thrive in a very crowded, tense environment in which there are very few interventions to prevent bullying and very little attention to anything besides getting the kids through the day. My child was kept inside during recess because of a serious physical disability that kept her from writing quickly, and when I asked the school to stop punishing her in this way (p.s. it is illegal) the teacher freaked out and yelled at me instead of apologizing. I am sure that a lack of money and too many kids has doomed the school, but an honest parent will tell you that (especially for a kid at all outside the norm), this school is mediocre.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2015

Doss is the number one overcrowded school in the Austin school district now. To accommodate for more students, they added new portables that covered up part of the track. Growth is not sustainable here and the school is bursting at the seams. Traffic at drop off and pick up is ridiculous and there is very little parking available. There is a very active community of parents. Some are very warm and welcoming, and others not so much. There is not much socio-economic diversity and it very much feels like a school of "haves" with very few "have-nots." There is not much racial diversity -- although there are some Asian families (perhaps drawn to the Chinese Immersion Program at Doss). If your child doesn't require special assistance, they should do okay at Doss. If your child requires attention, they don't seem to have the resources to provide adequate help (special needs or gifted students).
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2015

I agree with the review that states the staff does not address the concerns of parents. My 8 year old son has been physically bullied for the last 6 months, bloody lips, torn backpacks and clothing, and nobody took it seriously until he retaliated yesterday. Now they want him to write apology letters to the kids who have been terrorizing him! REALLY!? I won't send him back to this den of terror. A child should not be scared to go to school.