Garfield Elementary School

1205 Northwest Garfield Avenue

School District

Corvallis 509j
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Corvallis School District 509j

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 February 23, 2020

I have had three children attending this school over the last 8 years. The school went to full dual immersion right before we started. A lot of the reviews I have seen are from before the school went DI and do not reflect the positive changes the school has made. I am very happy this is our school.
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2018

Avoid this school and Lincoln Elementary, the two spanish immersion schools in Corvallis. Unless you are a native spanish speaker or your kids are especially adept at learning, it's not worth the heartache when your kids get to fourth and fifth grades and are falling behind in their math skills because of the language barrier.
Submitted by parent on October 02, 2018

If you are reading these reviews and worrying about the low test scores - please KEEP IN MIND - these kids are learning in 2 languages and many many of them speak a different third language at home. In my opinion, if the tests were administered in the child’s native language, we would see very different results. My experience working as a volunteer has shown me many bright, caring and hardworking students...the test scores don’t reflect the true nature of this student population.
Submitted by parent on August 01, 2018

We moved from North Carolina a year ago, our daughter started first grade at Garfield 4 days after we arrived on the other side of the country. I was concerned about her starting in a new school as kindergarten had been a little stressful for her. She was immediately welcomed into a loving educational community with great teachers, staff, and a diverse and wonderful group of kids. She has blossomed socially and intellectually. We have been so happy with Garfield and couldn't imagine a better place for both of our kids to spend their elementary years. The icing on the cake is that she is learning to speak Spanish too.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2017

We love Garfield! It's a warm, inclusive, bilingual community. Proud to be schooling our kids in such a culturally diverse environment where wellness, sustainability, and biliteracy are prioritized!
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2017

My son is now in first grade at Garfield and went to kindergarten here also. So far we have had a great experience with this school. The teachers have been so understanding of his needs. Their teaching has been great and I am also very happy with the amount and quality of Spanish he is learning. The parents also seem very involved and there are a lot of opportunities to volunteer. We love Garfield.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2017

Garfield Elementary School has an amazing diverse, caring community, of which I am proud to be a part. My children are receiving an excellent education and I am thankful to have this dual immersion school in our community! And before you put too much stock in the test scores, please keep in mind that dual immersion programs generally have lower test scores in elementary school, but then those same children end up not only catching up in middle and high school, but surpassing their non-bilingual peers' test scores.
Submitted by other on March 21, 2017

My own children attended Garfield K-5, as I knew there is more to education than high scores (although both children are TAG students in all domains and their needs were MORE than met!) Being in the "real world" of education was so positive for them, surrounded by people from all over the world and with a wide variety of economic situations. Both children are now professionals: one a Bio-Medical Scientist/Disease Reduction Specialist. The other a zoologist in Graduate School. Yes, this school has issues and will continue to do so as long as inequities exist economically and even in terms of the quality of volunteers we can get in the school. It is painful to see budget decreases limiting being able to provide what students truly need in terms of resources. The staff is the hardest working in the district and will ALWAYS COMMIT themselves to being there for children. To say they only focus on non-whites is ridiculous in some of the comments below.
Submitted by parent on March 29, 2012

I was very excited for my child to attend Garfield based on the reviews and especially regarding their dual enrollment program. However, due to knowing too little Spanish, he was denied access to the dual enrollment teachers. Throughout the year the only bilingual teaching he received was 30 minutes a day (except on Fridays). He complained constantly of issues with other children while at the same time having issues with his learning style meshing with that of the teacher's. He was sent to the front office often and I was contacted often. At first I was aghast and worked with the teachers/administrators with consequences at home matching regular reports. Once my son began complaining of other kids in the class disliking him and bullying him while he would still be getting in trouble for the infractions I began to have doubts. When I found out my son was injured with no call to me, I confronted them regarding the communication breakdowns between the office and the teacher. In the last two months since changing schools my son has had absolutely no behavioral issues with his teacher or his class.
Submitted by parent on March 29, 2011

Our eldest has been doing really well in the dual-language program and learning an amazing amount of Spanish (it keeps brains busy, which for a TAG student can be really important) while still charging ahead in English. We are excited to have our youngest start kinder here next year. We've seen a lot of excellent teachers each year, and the one that didn't mesh well with our student, really worked hard to turn it around, and did. A really good school!