Hope Elementary School

3010 Tamarack Ave.

Carlsbad, CA 92008

School District

Carlsbad Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Carlsbad 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 parent on March 22, 2022

They were so concentrated on mask mandates this year that they didn’t notice discoloration and bad smells from the drinking fountains. They have been feeding our children RECYCLED WATER for months and chose not to mention anything until it was too late. Poor leadership.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2022

Hope used to be a great school however, Ms. Rossiter and her staff no longer have the children's best interest in mind. Be prepared for major discrimination and lack of unity.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2018

Terrible because of the principal and his unprofessional conduct.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2018

Hope Elementary is unfortunately a missed opportunity for the local community and Carlsbad in general. There are a few good teachers there who would probably be great in the right environment and in a setting which promotes high academic standards. Sadly, the school operates based on the principal's whims, and on the whims of the inner circle of parents that he surrounds himself with. If you're in, you are all set - you'll get the most desired teachers, you'll even be able to get a green light for your ideas and projects. If you are a working parent who cannot afford to spend endless hours volunteering or participating in the PTA activities - you can be certain your children will be at a disadvantage - worst teachers (there are plenty of those and nothing is being done to correct them - they just get moved around from one grade to another), and forget about the principal paying attention to your requests. Many parents secretly complain about it, but they are unwilling to speak up because they don't want to "fall out of grace".One other very serious problem - even though the school promotes itself as a kindness hub, the bullying is rampant and I personally haven't witnessed or heard of effective handling of bullying situations - either by the teachers, or by the aides, or by the principal. Finally, the academics are last priority for Hope Elementary - the high achieving kids are in no way encouraged, or made a positive example of. The school claims that the classrooms provide differentiated instruction but in reality it is a joke. The teachers, even those who have good intentions and try, are overwhelmed by the large number of students and in the majority of the cases fail to offer what is necessary to meet the needs of each individual child. This is especially true for the children whose needs differ from those of the average student. All in all, I am happy to be done with Hope Elementary - again, a missed opportunity for an otherwise great community.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2018

We have two children at Hope and we’ve been very happy with the programs and staff. The administration is excellent — I’ve never heard of a more involved principal than Mr.Tubbs and he genuinely makes the school a great place to be. Staff is mostly excellent. A couple of teachers were less effective than others, but they are the minority. The environment is welcoming, parents are involved, students are sweet...and my kids have flourished here.
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2017

The main reason I enjoyed Hope was because of the teachers. My daughter was learning so much her first two years and was in the advanced groups both years. The teachers she had were so involved and cared so much for the kids. What I didn't like was the parents, I'm a full time working mom, I won't lie it's very hard for me to get out of work to volunteer, so I was judged for it. The moms here gossip so much it's crazy. They seclude you if you don't fit their criteria. One day I pulled up in the drop off lane and I literally heard two mothers talking about my car (2008 dodge neon). How childish can these women be ? When my daughter made friends and I would call the moms for play dates, every single time "oh sorry we have plans" or my calls are just literally ignored. I always had to apologize to my daughter, trying to explain to her why she never got to see her friends outside of school, it was horrible. I took her out, even though she was doing good in class, a kid needs those friends to socialize and grow. She was hurt. She loves her new school and has so many for friends this year. Oh and the parents are actual grown ups.
Submitted by parent on March 28, 2016

Mr. Tubbs and the teachers at Hope rock. Everyone of them cares about kids, parents and community. Having our children go to Hope was an honor. If and if there was a concern for either of our children, it was taken serious and there was an open door from teacher to principle. I give this school a 10...even though there are only 5 stars. -Michael S.
Submitted by parent on November 25, 2015

This school is top-rated for many reasons. The Principal is hands-on, responsive, transparent and leads by example. The Teachers and Staff are incredible, go above and beyond regularly, are thoughtful and compassionate. They all work together like a well-oiled machine to create the perfect learning environment where every single student can thrive. It is an amazing school because of these exceptional people. We are so grateful for all that they do to help our students (and families) to learn, grow and thrive.
Submitted by parent on November 22, 2015

We have had 2 kids go all the way through Hope & our 3rd is in 4th there. What a wonderful school! I can honestly say we have had great teachers every kid, every year. The school community is caring and fun. The principal is amazing, a great, hands on leader who cares for each family at Hope. Can not say enough good things about this school!
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2015

My children have been attending Hope Elementary for the past four years and we couldn't be happier! The teachers have been wonderful and the principal is very involved with the students! Hope is a great school experience for children!
Submitted by other on August 02, 2015

My son spent six years at Hope. He was lucky to have 3 excellent teachers during his six years there. The principal doesn't care at all about parents concerns .... LOTS OF BULLIES ! Happy that my kid is done with this school.
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2014

We were new to Hope last year, moving back to Carlsbad from Seattle after an eight-year absence. Our son is in 5th grade this year so sadly this is our last. Mr. Tubbs, the principle is a great guy; funny, loves the children and goes out of his way to interact with them, takes time to get to know them, makes sure they are happy and even takes a personal interest above and beyond. Mr. Tubbs stays late to decorate the school for events; he dresses up for holidays, and has a great drive for raising funds to make sure the school has the resources it needs. The teachers are wonderful, this year we feel very lucky to have Mrs. Lawrence, who is the best teacher we have ever had. The parents are friendly and helpful and very welcoming, we have a great time when we volunteer for school events. Hope is a wonderful school and we would recommend it to everyone.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2014

I was just reading all the post about Hope Elementary, most were good but some said the class sizes are to big..Hey look around! The state of California has big class sizes.. I my self feel blessed that my kids are fortunate enough to attend Hope. I have two 8 year old in 3rd grade and they are doing excellent. They have been at Hope since Kindergarten.. They love Hope. The principle Mr. Tubbs is not somber or unfriendly, he does communicate well with parents and he does take issues seriously. I don't know why a parent posted that. He is very good with all kids and does not let any child get away with things that are not right. The teacher are EXCELLENT.. The school is EXCELLENT. Like I said I am blessed to be able to have my kids and foster kids attend Hope, very Awesome school.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2014

I've grown to become very disappointed in this school. This is our 4th year at the school and I've become worn out battling the various issues; a first grade teacher who doesn't show up to work and leaves the children out on the playground; an art teacher that yells at children to the point and makes them cry, unfriendly and disorganized office staff, and a principal that cares more about taking selfies than being responsive to parents and students to truly create an inspiring learning environment. Some of the issues I have personally witnessed over the years have gone uncorrected and should be reported to the district and the state.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2014

We have an excellent teacher and for that we are grateful, the front office staff is very nice as well, unfortunately the principle is more concerned with his image then attending to the concerns parents have. If you bring an issue to his attention he discounts it as mentioned below by others, dismisses you or never replies. He recently won an award but I cannot imagine why. In addition the PTA is VERY cliquey and they love to gossip, it is the "adult" version of High School Mean Girls and they are supposed to be grown ups, and if you are not accepted by them or don't fit their criteria then be prepared to be pushed out and in turn have your child excluded. If one of them does not like you, the rest will follow, they will not take the time to get to know you, they will listen to the gossip and shut you out. Hoping to transfer to a different elementary school for next year. How anyone makes it through this school for the entire five year duration is astonishing. How they won a distinguished school award is even more amazing.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2014

Hope has great potential but is limited by decisions made at the district level. Did you know that CUSD filed a waiver with the State Board of Education to allow class sizes that EXCEED the legal limits? What a dissapointment that this would even be an option! My child has 38 in her class and as the other review mentioned, severly imbalanced gender mix. The teachers and principal are doing the best that they can with what they have been given, but this decision is not in their hands. Sadly, the children are impacted the most - there is simply not enough time for the teachers to help the kids that need more support to succeed. CUSD has let down our children and is driving parents to pull out their kids and take them to Charter and Private schools.
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2014

Hope Elementary has positive qualities but my main issue is the class size. My daughter's class has 38 kids. In addition the female to male ratio is lopsided with a significantly larger group of boys than girls. I complained to the Principal and he dismissed my concerns.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2014

Hope has wonderful teachers, however the class sizes are much too large making it difficult for the teachers to spend time with students that need additional help. They rush through the curriculum to meet the district standards as opposed to making sure the children fully understand and remember the subject matter which isn t fair to the teachers or the children. Great parent involvement. On the downside, there is extensive bullying without consequence and this occurs on a daily basis. There is not enough supervision during recess and lunch. The principle is somber and unfriendly and does not communicate well with parents nor does he take issues seriously. The lunch monitors are loud and rude and yell at the children saying things like "hey you better pick up that trash", setting a horrible example, my daughter hates eating lunch here. The special ed monitors do not seem experienced and they do not engage the special ed students in activities often forcing them to sit out as opposed to keeping them active or teaching them a skill and this is difficult to watch as these children need special care, love and patience. We have attended Hope for three years, this being our final year.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2013

This school is absolutely terrible, and it's not even the teachers fault. It's the superintendent's. A terrible person leading a school with so much potential, things were much better before she came along.
Submitted by parent on August 23, 2013

I am writing because I take issue with what the person below wrote. I very much doubt that Hope school "went to the state" to request a waiver to ask for large class sizes!! The *district* would do that, NOT the school. And yes it is ridiculous that class sizes are huge, but that's on the CUSD and the state, NOT the school. My daughter went to Hope for 6 years and graduated in 2012. This is an excellent school and the staff and principal were great. I wish class sizes were smaller but that is not on this individual school, it's on the district. This school also has amazing parent involvement and some great programs. It felt like a family. We miss Hope!