Poplar Bridge Elementary School

8401 Palmer Road

School District

Bloomington Public
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Bloomington Public 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 16, 2020

This is a long due five stars review. My kids love the school and teachers. We, my wife and I, believe the teachers are doing a great job and understand our kids needs. The main reason I'm giving this review today is the way I saw them handling distributing remote learning materials during the corona virus thing going on. The school has made 2 drive-through lines (based on grade) to distribute the materials, they made the distributing process very each, quick, and effective. Not to mention, by doing that they ensured they do the minimum contact with parents! Thus, helping effectively with stopping the spread of the virus the best way they could. I'd also like to mention the clear and timely communications we've received from the school during the corona virus thing. That communication includes both the one from the school and the one from my kids' teachers.
Submitted by parent on September 29, 2017

Poplar Bridge is a warm, nurturing environment for children to grow and learn. Exceptional leadership, teachers and staff. After-school programs are great, too.
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2016

Our family LOVES Poplar Bridge Elementary. The teachers are VERY CARING and really get to know the kids. The work the kids do with their classes is meaningful and really helps them prepare for the next grade. Conferences are fantastic, as the teachers are wonderful about sharing what your child's strengths are and where they need to work harder, based on assessment data. Additionally, we can't say enough good things about the principal, Mr. Cantu. He is an encouraging/positive leader, that demonstrates his commitment to the school & community. This school is FANTASTIC!! Don't go by a rating number alone.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2015

Thank you to Poplar Bridge for making such positive improvements in the past year! This has always been a wonderful school. They had 2 years of a bad principal which accounts for many of the negative comments on this site. However the school and administration took action and let him go! My children currently love the new principal and the school is back on track. The test scores are up and the teachers seem so much happier too. So glad Mr. Cantu is now the Principal. He is FANTASTIC!!
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2014

My guess is that people who visit this website are new to Bloomington and are looking to compare elementary schools. If that is you, take heart, my two children have had very good experience at this school. Their teachers have been wonderful and committed to their advancement. The BPS administration is responsive to parent concerns. If you are looking for information on PB, please ask neighbors and others in the community. Reach out to teachers at PB or PTSA members via e-mail. The e-mail addresses are listed on the website. Your personal connections will mean more than anonymous "reviews" on a website.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2014

20011/2012 this school went down hill fast. We had 4 glorious years at Poplar Bridge and then an inexperienced political control freak principal moved in. He's going to do what he wants regardless of laws or your rights as a parent. The vice superintend changes stories to protect the principal. There were some clear legal violations this school pulled on us but who wants to spend your hard earned money to pursue legal action against your own city and school? We chose to spend the money to move to a better district. Over punishment, over reaction, targeting of students, lying, double talk and failure to follow legal regulations in place by the state. Everyone wants to put your kid on psychotropic pharmaceuticals. Horrible 3rd grade teachers.Look up "gas lighting." Looking for a great school district, I'd say keep looking. I'd stay out of the entire district too. You don't have to take my word for it, have a look at the test scores through the Pioneer Press/Twincities.com. Third grade is horrible. Overall they're dropping with very little recovery. It's hard to do well in a toxic environment. Politics and protecting bad public servants take a toll on kids.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2014

We started out very pleased with this school, but ended up disappointed. I don't think best practices are being used. We had an issue that wasn't even remotely appropriately handled by the principal, Mr. Flucas. I won't be sending my younger child to Poplar Bridge, which is unfortunate because we live just blocks away. There are better options in Bloomington at this point.
Submitted by parent on June 23, 2014

Things have changed for the worse at this school. Many of the teachers feel entitle and really aren't interested in teaching. There still are some very good teachers there that struggle to keep a positive attitude. With the retirement of the Principal Swor and the installation of an inexperienced individual, the school has changed. No questions have been directly answered. There's a need to distract, there's a lack of accountability by teachers, administrators (including the superintendents) and principal. They are very eager to put kids on pharmaceuticals. It's a negative environment, with bitter teachers and a serious lack of accountability. Granted, academically there are still some merits to this school. Hence the 2 stars. Also to be fair, this is probably an epidemic that is rolling through all public schools, not just this one. I have ran into many teachers and just general employees from Poplar Bridge in the community. They are seriously unhappy since the installation of this principal. I also would comment there there's a bit of reverse racism going on. I don't make these statements lightly. I won't send my child to this school
Submitted by parent on September 17, 2013

I believe the student experience and learning begins and primarily stays between the teachers and the students. Poplar Bridge has amazing teachers. We have 3 kids so for in Poplar Bridge Kinder through 3rd grade. Our children have had a positive experience. They are learning, excelling and making great friends. If there ever is a concern, by open communication, email, phone calls to teachers or principal, head office - it's a team effort - and in the best interest of the child - we all work it out. We really like the new Principal too - He is awesome! Love the passion of the Art Teacher, Media, Music for Specials too. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) focus of the curriculum starts in Kindergarten as a science/health professional love that. Thanks Poplar Bridge :)
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2013

My child has attended Poplar Bridge since 2009. We have always been pleased with the school and the communication that we received. This year we have received very little information. We have to request information or press for information about many subjects. We we ask questions, we don't get clear answers. There is a lack of information about what's happening at the school, what's happening with our girl, and what is happening in the classroom. We don't get notifications like we used to either. The school has also become dirty and lacks things such as toilet paper in the bathrooms. The school has gone downhill this year. The atmosphere seems to be more negative. My daughter went from loving school to wanting to stay at home. Her assignments aren't clear, she doesn't know what to expect and she seems to be fearful of how the staff with treat her. My husband and I don't know what's going on, because no one seems to be able to answer simple questions. In our opinion the school went from wonderful to marginal in less than 10 months. The other parents and her friends seem to still be a positive factor in her attendance. We don't know if we are going to move her for her 5th grad year.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2013

My son attended Poplar Bridge K-2. He had an increasingly difficult time with one child in particular who was very disruptive to the learning process. He was also placed in math levels that weren't suitable to his learning ability. When each of these issues were addressed with the administration at the time (2009 & 2010), I felt the adminstration lacked a real grasp of being able to attend to my concerns. I ended up moving my son to Ridgeview in 3rd grade where he is finishing 5th grade this year (2010-2013). Ironically, two other of his classmates left Poplar Bridge to attend Ridgeview for the same reasons in 2010 (all three of these kids are "high performing" students). I understand the administration has recently changed at Poplar Bridge, so I hope things will improve for the students of this school. There really is a "top-down" effect to administration that directly impacts the quality of children's education.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2011

We have been nothing but happy with this school. It is the only elementary school in Bloomington that has locked front doors and you have to be buzzed in to even get in the school. The teachers have zero tolerance for bullies and are fantastic at dealing with concerns of parents. The principal knows all the kids and parents when they walk in the door.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2011

Fantastic school! My two children, that are teenagers now, went to Poplar Bridge. The principal is great and all the teachers were attentive to the children's needs and very creative. They did an excellent job of getting the parents involved too.