Perkins Elementary School

4301 College

School District

Des Moines Independent Community
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Des Moines Independent Community School District

GreatSchools Rating

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Reviews

Submitted by other on May 23, 2023

As a past student, this is by far the worst school I’ve ever been to. Teachers didn’t know how to handle students, and nothing was learned. One fourth grade teacher was known for weight shaming students, and in fifth grade students were assigned to come up with a dieting plan as part of a “health and math related assignment.” Students were told to count calories and encouraged to loose weight by the end of the assignment. Bullying was not dealt with, and from what I remember there were several allegations against teachers for inappropriate behavior towards students. Don’t send your kids here.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2017

I open enrolled my kindergartner here this year. He can already READ sight words, do basic math problems, and overall has a thirst for learning because of Perkins! His teacher is amazing. She is fun yet the kids know when she means business! The overall atmosphere of the school is fantastic. I plan on open enrolling all of my children to Perkins. DMPS's hidden gem, in my opinion! (If you're familiar with DMPS you'll get why I say this! I was and still am vehemently against my kids going to their assigned school because the quality is questionable compared to Perkins.)
Submitted by parent on March 03, 2015

I have two children currently attending Perkins Academy. When looking for a home in the Des Moines area, my wife and I were told the only "good" education would be outside of the DMPS district. I knew those people were wrong, and Perkins Academy is the proof. Both of my children thrive at Perkins. They are excited about reading, math, and many other subjects. They have an extremely diverse group of friends. The teachers are phenomenal, as well as the administrative staff lead by Principal Dan Koss. I feel that my children are appropriately challenged academically. There are many levels of learners in any class, and our experience has been that the dedicated and caring teachers at Perkins work hard to adjust to the individual needs of the students. Education is highly important to our family ethos, and Perkins is meeting our high expectations.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2014

This school doesn't contact parents when they are put into different classes, you have to approach the teacher to get any information about your child. They don't send anything specific home about your child. The principal isn't present much, they are suppose to be a high quality school and my daughter is back tracking with everything she learned prior to going to this school and even writing numbers backwards that she wrote fine before. They also lump my daughter in with English language learners. She is 1 of 2 African American kids in the class and they both get put in with ELL students because of there color not there knowledge level. This is the worst school for children. I continue to talk to the teacher about why she is in these types of classes and I get the answer of well that is just what classes they need, she didn't need it prior to going to your school.