Summitt Elementary School

12207 Brigadoon Lane

School District

Austin Independent
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
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 March 23, 2022

My children have been at Summitt for a number of years, and I'm commenting because I see a lot of comments about the school prior to some fairly big changes. Specifically, prior to the current principal there was some turnover associated with personnel issues. At the same time, one of my children was targeted for bad behavior despite being in a very disorganized, poorly-run classroom about which there was rare and ineffective communication. So we'd hear nothing for long periods and then suddenly the phone was ringing off the hook with sudden problems that actually had been going on for a long time. We were also approached at dropoff by a teacher who was not even my child's teacher, who seemed to be angry at us for not curbing behavior that we had no idea had occurred. Some of this behavior was due to disabilities, and so we went through the IEP process, which at this point several years later I now know was not the correct process. It did not feel as though the school and we were operating as a team, and it did not feel like we had any choice in the accommodations that they felt they should make. Around that same time, ASID broadly sacked many of the special ed staff "to improve morale," during which it was hard for them to actually get much done in that area. That said, since that era, and with new leadership, my children have had great support -- one with an IEP and one without -- and have had a great school experience. Despite the turnover, there are many teachers of fairly long tenure there, who are effective classroom educators. The dual language program appears to be going strong and adds cultural opportunities regardless of enrollment in the program. Overall, Summitt is now a well-run school with relatively good services.
Submitted by parent on August 14, 2019

I'm sad that this school looks so great by test scores, but has been such a let down. I guess they are just riding on the coattails of teaching mostly advantaged white children who typically do well on standardized testing regardless of teacher effectiveness.
Submitted by parent on August 29, 2018

Had two children attend from Pre-K all the way through 5th grade. No real issues until 2017-2018 school year when the 5th grade teachers and the assistant principal decided to make my child an outcast. Unacceptable behavior on the part of adults working in the school.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2017

For a school that boasts racial diversity and a Vietnamese dual language program, there’s quite a bit of racial exclusivity instead. The Vietnamese folks keep to themselves, while the non-Asians act like Asians don’t exist. In addition there seems to be a secret book club that meets every week to exclude the non-goers even more. I’m addressing the adults here - parents and staff.It's like this invisible veil of mutual "let’s-ignore-this-problem” that covers the face of every non-asian and vietnamese person there. Do people not want to get along? I don’t mean co-exist in the same space, but really exchanging friendship and racial unity? Considering that this is the racial state of the school, most people are blind to what’s going on here. If you don’t look Asian, great, but if you do and you’re not Vietnamese, be prepared. Don’t let it stop you from contributing.With that said, the education my child gets is wonderful, and is very happy in class and has lots of friends. Not part of the dual language program. I’d say my child is well adjusted and the teachers my child has had so far were wonderful. There is definitely a desire to learn, and my child gets excited to go to school every day. There is a high parent involvement which is a positive but they’re mostly racist Christian parents … so while the parents are involved they don’t necessarily involve each other. Not all of them are like this but it is the majority.I really get uncomfortable bringing up issues like this and I don’t like pointing out the negatives but if you ignore something for too long it becomes worse.
Submitted by other on February 03, 2017

Teachers care about students as individuals. Parents are invested and involved.
Submitted by other on January 22, 2017

A wonderful facility with an awesome staff!
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2016

This school hates boys!! The staff and administration do not value and cherish individuality and complexity of boys. Most of the staff are women and are always praising the girls and ridiculing and punishing the boys for acting the same way. Adiós awful school experience that has permanently damaged my son!
Submitted by teacher on May 13, 2015

Although not a staff of the school, i personally worked for an organization that uses the school's cafeteria for the afterschool care of the children there. What I found most appreciative about the school is that it has children that are very involved in wanting to learn just like how some of the parents are involved with the school. One of the things that I like most about it is that both the students and the parents are involved in ways to learn and grow in its right definition of learning rather than just simply doing it for the sake of getting the honors as a community. if this keeps up, Summitt will become one of the best schools to learn since I found that many schools need to model in ways that are similar to them.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2015

We could not be happier with our experience at Summitt. Our daughter participates in the Vietnamese Dual Language program, and she goes to school each day excited and happy. The teachers are wonderful, and we love the community of parents involved at Summitt. Parent involvement is very high, and the school organizes an incredible amount of activities throughout the year for the community to attend. The school's communication is consistent and organized, and we receive updates from teachers on a daily basis. The library program is strong (the library is beautiful!), and the librarian is creative and active with the students. We have also found the administration to be open, approachable and very supportive of the students and activities at Summitt. Finally, we really appreciate the diversity of the student body. Summitt is a wonderful place, and we are proud of our school.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2014

My son attended Summitt Elementary last year and we were very disappointed. There are wonderful families at Summitt and we still have friends who attend there, but I have to say that the school is mediocre at best. The problem seems to stem from a lack of strong leadership and imagination. There is no strong vision for the school, and the learning environment is not exciting nor engaging. In our experience, the leadership is also slow to respond or unresponsive when parents bring up concerns. We moved to a new school this year, and my child is much happier and finally excited about school.
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2013

Nice school with an open layout. The vertical team is amazing and the teachers we have had are excellent.