Allen (Ella B.) Elementary School

4300 Allen School Road

Bonita, CA 91902

School District

Chula Vista Elementary
Grade

K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Chula Vista Elementary 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 June 30, 2023

This school CONDONES bullying and PERMITS bullies to continue to attend this school regardless of their actions towards other students. My child was bullied for 7 months. The bully would seek out my child, follow and instigate the abuse. It would occur in class, at lunch, at recess, even in the bathroom. The bully would corner my child on the blacktop. The bully would push, pull, smack my child among other very aggressive things. The bully would derail my child’s friendships. My child was vocal during every incident and would tell the bully “Stop”, “ Leave me alone”, “ Dont touch me” the bully would respond, “ I dont care”, Im not going to stop, this isnt over”, “ Im gonna use my body not my words.” The bully committed acts of violence towards my child consciously, intentionally and without reason. Multiple teachers and school staff (i.e noon duties, subs, aids) witnessed the incidents my child endured during the time this abuse was occurring. On multiple incidents, other students in my child’s class were also witnesses to the abuse and would run to get staff’s help. They would also relay details of the incidents to the teacher and the principal leaving no gray area that my child was clearly the victim. At drop offs or dismissals, the bully’s parent even had the audacity to smirk at me, head held up high whenever we would cross paths.The parent was fully aware of what was going on and had demonstrated no remorse. The bully is still attending Allen.As a parent I did everything in my power to follow guidelines under law to stop the pattern of intentional harm my child was enduring EVERY DAY by a reckless, despicable student who was verbally, physically and emotionally abusive. I documented every detail of every incident. I would reach out to the principal (Mr. Greenwell) continuously and consistently every time an incident occurred, and was given the same barren response every time. I even requested a group meeting (parent principle district) and was denied it. The abuse persisted without FIRM consequences or ultimatums. I filed a report with school district and received NO RESPONSE. I didnt even receive a courtesy principal meeting as a follow up. Im now moving forward with this in an effective direction. While many parents will read this and be skeptical, the aforementioned is true. As a responsible loving parent, I seek the best for my child. I hope this review aids in the school choice of future parents should they be considering Allen Elementary.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2023

This school has caused great harmTo this community. They have endlessly supported violent students and well as letting in questionable children from the special school next door for money risking our children’s safety with zero regrets in the process. My child was attracted by one of these special students. They no longer care about anything but what benefits them financially. Many parents feel the same way and are forming groups to fight this tyrannical administration. The teachers allow these violent students to stay on campus and don’t alert parents about the risks their children face and don’t have to due to privacy. So you are sending your child into a dangerous situation where all my children who attended were attacked by these students without you knowing anything about it. I pulled my kids from this horrible atmosphere of abuse and enrolled them in Chula Vista hills a much better school that my own kids say is a 100 times better and their grades and testing scores reflect this. My child was literally threatened and assaulted by one of these unqualified students that needed chaperones to attend. Many parents watch this child attack his chaperones and the school did nothing about it. The principle even lied to the teachers and police when I had to call them about an attack, about violent students they were enrolling. If you want the worst education for your child then enroll here. They are more interested in the federal dollars they get for allowing possible harmful students to integrate with your child they care nothing about
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2022

I did not like my child being at this school since kids there would have fights
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2021

After moving to a new area and not know anyone, I wanted to find an elementary school that was so much more than than having a good academic program but also had a strong sense of community. A place where my children would feel excited and love going to school. I can proudly say this is exactly what we have found at Allen. My two children have thrived academically and live going to school. You can feel that the teachers and the staff genuinely care about the students and the families. They have gone above and beyond especially during Covid. If you are looking for something more than just a school than I would highly recommend Allen
Submitted by parent on November 19, 2020

I have two boys that attend Allen Elementary. We are very lucky to have an awesome Elementary school in our neighborhood with staff that care about the students education and wellbeing. The new principal Mr. Greenwell is doing an excellent job especially when faced with education and support during the pandemic.
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2018

My son went here from kindergarten to 4th grade I never had intentions of changing his schools but the teachers all go by the “I am the teacher I’m right you’re wrong” motto and the principal now is just the same. She “addresses” issues with you but nothing changes. The school has really gone down since my son had started.
Submitted by parent on July 19, 2017

Our experience at this school was very strange. My child was bullied to the point that it became physical and required a trip to the nurse, but nothing was done beyond blaming my child and then making my child clean up the mess that was made during the physical altercation. The principle and teachers are never available even when multiple calls, messages, and stops in the office are made. They repeatedly denigrated my child's intelligence even though later in the year my child was identified as gifted. My child went from enthusiastically loving school to becoming depressed and hating school. We ended up moving the child to a different school.
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2017

We love our small school! The Principal, teachers, VAPA and GATE teachers, staff and PTC are amazing and have been more than supportive! The teachers are very passionate about teaching and many of them have decades of teaching experience. I can't say enough about our PTC president who does so much to support our school. Not only the PTC, but the parents are very involved and active with school activities and fund raising for the school. We moved from another state and couldn't be happier here! Our kids have progressed amazingly, not only academically and artistically, but also socially.
Submitted by parent on April 02, 2014

This school and it's staff always try to improve themself, they listen to the parents and their concerns and try to give a solution the best they can. You can reach them anytime and support you as much as they can.
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2013

My child is learning a lot in First Grade. She loves her teacher (Mrs. Davies) and is very excited to attend school. It seems like this teacher has a passion for teaching and it is very nice to see the way she interacts with her students. She truly cares for her students.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2013

Parents and teachers have a great working relationships. Make Allen top of my list or schools
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2013

We absolutely love this school. My son is in 2nd grade and it is a perfect fit for us. I was sad to see a couple of really negative reviews. This has not been our experience at all. The teachers and staff all know my son's name. Super awesome art projects. Parents are really encouraged and welcomed to be in the classrooms. We have our spot.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2013

Allen School is a wonderful school. My oldest son is now in the 5th grade and my youngest just started kindergarten there. The teachers and help know ALL the students by name. It's a school with a community feel. Ms. Faddis is friendly and fair. I love this school for my kids and I wish they would increase to K-8 so my kids could come here longer! :) I have volunteered in the classroom and the teachers are great. They do the best they can with strapped resources. I wish I could volunteer more. Helping out a few days a month helps the teachers A LOT and my kid LOVES seeing me in the classroom! :)
Submitted by parent on August 01, 2013

Allen School offers great teachers in a smaller school environment of approximately 400. Hopefully with the influx of many new kindergarten students that parent involvement will increase. I would encourage Allen School parents to get involved. What makes a great school is not only the teachers, but the parent and student involvement. I also wish that Allen School had maintained their Magnet school for the Arts status and retained these programs. Or perhaps seek musical programs and other arts programs instead of continually cutting them out completely. Other CVESD schools have retained their musical programs. Also there needs to be more academic specialties offered. Perhaps seek additional help in grant research.
Submitted by parent on July 08, 2013

Terrible and disturbing school experience. I am disgusted by the treatment of both my son and myself. Words like disrespectful, inappropriate, and unhelpful come to mind. My son s Kindergarten teacher and the noon duty staff are very negative and do not treat students with respect or developmental appropriateness. The teacher stigmatizes the children, labels them, denigrates and demeans them. Teachers and staff yell and scream at the children. The kids are scolded, chastised, and criticized unfairly. Kindergarten students are coming home and complaining to parents about being stressed out! Threats are used and punishment is doled out that exasperates difficult situations rather than remedies them. I caution any parents who are considering sending their child to Allen. Don t rely on the school s reputation; schools change over time. There s lack of transparency at this school so keep your eyes and ears open, spend time at the school, communicate with other parents, and above all else, speak up if you don t like what you see. Our experience is not isolated, even though this is what the principal and District would like you to believe. Principal was unhelpful and rude.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2013

Allen School is a well established school in the Bonita community. The vegetable and butterfly gardens are the outdoor highlight. The cafeteria has improved immensely with the choices offered and a lot more healthy than the past years. The school runs on a very small budget because it is a small country school so it is necessary to make yearly donations or participate in the fundraisers. My two daughters have attended Allen and both are well prepared each year to move on to the next grade level.
Submitted by other on December 20, 2012

I personally met with a primary grade teacher in rewards to one of her students. Although, her student is an emergent learner, the teacher had nothing positve to say about her own student. Everything she said was extremely negative. It is very dismaying as an educator to see a peer behave in that manner. Additionally, the meeting was cut short. She then said she had other business to tend to. I stayed for a few more minutes and checked out the ambiance of the school (which was great by the way) but a few minutes later, I see the teacher congregating wiith other staff members and laughing and giggling. Her "other important business" didn't strike me as...important! It is shameful to know that a teacher rather meet with her school friends than to entertain the burning questions of parents. Shame on on you!
Submitted by parent on November 15, 2012

Our kindergartner loves Allen School and her teacher. They have a lovely garden and the staff and teachers are kind, approachable, and helpful. It's true that they don't have any field trips planned, but they have had six guest presenters so far this year! My kid loved the animals the Humane Society brought in to share. I think it's better to bring guests in than to take a bus full of 5 year-olds out! I do with they had more open library time. The fund raisers are non-stop, but I am guessing it's just an attempt to bring in money to keep the drama teachers and the librarian. We love Allen School.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2012

My kids have been going to this school for 3 and 4 years and I'm very happy with just about everything! The key is parent participation - if you want your child to do well, you have to be involved - whether it's volunteering in the classroom or, if work prevents you from being able to volunteer, then be involved in all aspects of their homework and extracurricular activities. The school can't do the job of the parents! The reason for all the fundraisers is to try to compensate for the budget cuts as much as possible. The principal makes it very clear that we are not expected to participate in multiple fundraisers, but rather that different fundraisers are offered to accommodate different interests and hopefully generate some much needed funds for the school. Then maybe the kids can have more field trips! My kids are doing exceptionally well (reading as much as four grade levels above their current grade) and I'm convinced that it is the combination of great teachers and our continual participation as parents in as many aspects of their school life as we have time for.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2012

My child just started here and she really likes it. The only things is that they have fundraisers just about every month, but the younger grades k-3 especially Kindergarteners do not get to participate in many activities, no field trips at all..they are basically confined to the classroom which is really boring. I am satisfied with how my child is learning here but I have to admit I am a little disappointed....