Irving L. Branch Elementary School

1577 Payne Ave.

School District

Muroc Joint Unified
Grade

3-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Muroc Joint 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 May 30, 2024

There's a great deal of bullying that occurs, and the staff, teachers, and principal do not seem to be able to manage it. There have been reports of bullying, fighting, and racially charged situations all throughout the year. Reports were made to the school district. Kids come home crying and in fear of going to school. The principal says she will look into it, but nothing happens. The same students involved in these incidents don't receive any consequences and the other kids remain unsafe. Weapons, death threats, etc.
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2018

I love being at Branch and have been very happy with this school for years!
Submitted by teacher on May 13, 2018

As a teacher, I would rate this school as bad. For the singular reason of a terrible administration. The students are awesome and so are my fellow teachers with the exception of two.
Submitted by student on August 01, 2017

awesome and you could make a lot of new friends there
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2017

Overall, I believe the school is average. It seems that there are not enough good teachers who feel strongly about their jobs and the students to ensure they are getting what they need out of it. It's truly sad.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2017

Problems are top down. This year's principal (2017) is the worst yet. A principal who has NEVER worked in a classroom cannot be remotely effective in a school. A new principal each year is not really an effective method of leadership. Now, with that said, the office staff is worse. They DO NOT care about you or your children. The teachers are a mixed bag. Some are AMAZING and some are flat terrible. Some refuse to be the least bit flexible. The worst part is that they beg for parent volunteers and love the stay-at-home moms who can be in the classroom every day... but if you have an issue, ask a question, or God forbid, request a parent meeting with you child's teacher, you will rue the day! Beware the experienced parents though... they know which teachers they want and they will fight tooth and nail. And with good reason. There are some teachers you NEED to avoid for your kid's sake. It's a tough school district. Very divided. Two "sides" of the district and they are very at odds.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2015

It's the wonderful school environment that is been provided to each single kid. Teachers are so caring and great
Submitted by parent on August 04, 2015

My 2 children attended for two years. Teachers refused to follow the district-approved curriculum, just printed off worksheets from free teacher websites. When I raised concerns with the principal, I was told I would have to support science, social studies, and MATH standards at home because his teachers couldn't be expected to teach all that. He put this in an email to me! I won't allow my kids back there this fall. I volunteered in their classrooms and was amazed at the amount of wasted school time that occurred.
Submitted by other on July 14, 2015

This school has a lot of heart, and great teachers to boot. While things have changed significantly since I last attended, I am still in contact with and have volunteered amongst the teachers at Branch and Bailey, and you honestly could not find a more caring and experienced staff. My sister, brother and I all attended Bailey, Branch, Forbes, Edwards Middle School, and Desert High, and attribute their high standards (behavioral and academic) and melting pot-like culture to our college success. I know in recent years the school (and district) have suffered financially, but what always kept the environment welcoming and steadfast was the overwhelming support from parents-- PTA/Booster Club, classroom volunteering, Field Day volunteers, parent visitors, etc. As someone who has worked in school districts off-base, I have yet to see any other public schools that can match the amount of parental support and interest the base schools thrive on. With that said, if you know you can carve out some time to visit or volunteer, this school will become your second home. If you are more interested in treating it like a daycare... This may not be the school for you.
Submitted by parent on July 25, 2014

My children have attended this school for 2 years. There are some incredibly frustrating things that occur here. For example, after the 1st 2 weeks of school, administration pretends they "didn't know how to predict the number of children that would be attending school because of PCSing". That's what they tell upset parents. They proceed to pull teachers from some established classes & have them teach a diff. grade or combine 2 grades into 1 class. Example: a class will have both 1st and 2nd graders in it. They also end up with a high number of children in class. Example: this year's 6th grade had 27-37 students per class. The school has a sub problem wherein they frequently don't have enough subs to cover classes so they split up a class & send them to various rooms. Example: they split up a 2nd grade class & send them to 4 diff. 2nd grade rooms. The children don't have music or art class and PE consists mainly of running laps. Parents are permitted to volunteer for art. Special needs children receive appropriate attention but gifted and talented rely solely on the luck of having a teacher willing to help them. And we've seen 2 principals in 2 yrs, & will have a 3rd this year :-(
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2014

The Kindergarten teachers are great. They are very involved and truly care about their students success. At the beginning of the year all 3 of my kids were in speach and now 2 have completed the requirements to be done and we are very excited about this. The speach pathologist is wonderful and knowledgeable. This year the school went from the color card system to a check mark system for misbehavior. I feel the new system is similar to the other, but instead of sending children home with a card, it was notated on their calendar. All in all, both systems work. I definitely recommend this school and hope the school gets more funding for building upgrades and technology modernization for the students. The building is old and needs some work, but the teachers are great. California needs to step up and pay for music and art.
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2014

2011-2013 When we first moved there my daughter was so excited to go,every day was the same thing "I love this school and my new friends!"she says.But in 4th grade she had learned so many things so I thought it was good I was wrong.When I went to ask why she was so angry I heard her in her room talking to herself"stupid teacher,I don't even talk then bam you lose recess for the morning or go sit in that corner,What did I do nothing and all you ever do is yell at people for no reason!!!" For one thing I hate the gates I hope they take them down people climb on those when knowone is there,they could hurt themselves
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2014

My son attended Branch Elementary School from 2004-2006. His 4th and 5th grade teachers were hands-on instructors and they were able to demonstrate a good working knowledge base about subjects. Both teachers seemed invested in my child's success. I think the school will be better if it keeps experienced teachers on board, and that the experienced teachers out balance the number of inexperienced or new teachers to the profession.
Submitted by parent on December 28, 2012

My son attended for almost 2 years. He attended private pre-schools that all recommended him for gifted programs. Kindergarten - disaster! "Color cards" nearly every day. It was ridiculous. The teacher was so set in her ways and allowed very little varients. He barely made it to 1st grade (mind you he had already accomplished kindergarten during pre-school) 1st grade - AMAZING teacher. But again, school would not acknowledge his learning curve. Again, constantly in trouble. This year it got worse as he was even more bored than last. He hated going to school. With 10 days left of the school year, they expelled him and I had to find a new school for those last 10 days. RIDICULOUS!! The vice-principal (now principal) is not willing to accomodate or assist. The only thing they did to try to help out was suspend him. An example? 5 days suspension for refusing to pick up his pencil... Mind you he is 6 yrs old... It would be a cold day in hell before I allow him back to that school. Sadly, this is also the highest rated school within like a 50 mile radius. I have heard lots of parent complaints about that principal. Also- no art or music programs unless parents volunteer to teach it.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2012

Love this school! My daughter has attended this school for three years and I have been pleased with her wonderful supportive teachers each year. My son is now in kindergarten and we feel the same way about his teacher. Everyone from the receptionist to the principal seem to not only love what they are doing but actually care about each and every student. We are so blessed to have the entire staff helping us mold our children into wonderful people.
Submitted by parent on May 14, 2012

I'm a parent of 3 kids that currently attend this school. Our teachers, staff, and principal go above and beyond with limited funding/budget. I think the parents that have rated this school low are the same ones we (active parents) are trying to get involved in the school. We need more volunteers to help the PTO, people to help the teachers and to make their voices heard at the school board meetings. Please take these complaints with a grain of salt. I hear people complain about the school every so often but the minute they are asked how they are helping to improve things they shut down.
Submitted by parent on February 21, 2012

Very disappointed with the school. Staff is unfriendly. I completely agree with the other parents that say this school needs a lot of help
Submitted by parent on December 08, 2011

Love, love, love this school! I am an educator myself in Lancaster, but my children attend this school! Excellent speech therapist who not only provides me updates on my son's progress, but provides him with focused nightly practice and actually has him catching his own mis-pronunciations now as a third grader! Excellent principal and assistant principal who are understanding, kind, patient, yet firm with expectations! Multiple opportunities for parent involvement and easy access to all staff. Well organized teachers with true highly effective good first instruction with provisions of multiple opportunities to demonstrate their mastery! Spectacular test scores too!!!
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2011

This is one of the worst schools my children have ever attended. I am all for working with the teacher and reinforcing what my child has learned each day, but that's not the case here. I have pretty much been the educator, homeschooling my son when he gets home from school. The teachers he's had do not teach. I can now see why many of my neighbors homeschool. The people there have been there too long. It's so hard to believe many are considered "educators." Classes are crowded. My son was a pretty good student prior to moving here. Straight-A's to As & Bs for the most part. Branch teachers do not do a good job of preparing students for the next grade. I don't feel my son has truly learned much from going to school at Branch. I've had to supplement his learning with after school homeschooling which is time consuming. When I was in Grad school, my professor told us, "When a student fails to learn, the teacher failed to teach." The only bright spot at Branch, and I do mean ONLY, is Mrs. McCormack. They could all use a page out of her playbook! Extremely happy we will not endure another year at Branch and even more happy about going to a place with wonderful schools!
Submitted by parent on October 31, 2011

Our students have been straight A students for the past 4 yrs at the local private school, we decided to try public school...that lasted 3 weeks before we transferred them OUT of Branch. Denied special accommodations for our wheelchair-bound son (who is a student there!) so he could get through the doors and also for his heat-sensitive issues. The doors used to have wheelchair accessibility but have been disabled and the administration was unwilling to put them back into service. Our two other typical students there came home with nearly NIGHTLY tales of bullying in their classrooms and on the playgrounds. Extremely crowded classrooms. Admin told us 25 pupils cap per classroom, but one of our children had 36 kids in their classroom. Pretty campus but disappointing and unaccommodating, exactly the same experience another parent reviewer commented on.