Harris Bilingual Elementary School

501 East Elizabeth Street

School District

Poudre R-1
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Poudre R-1 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 November 09, 2023

Harris Bilingual School's dual language approach does not work well to teach native English-speaking students to communicate in Spanish. From first grade through third grade, students focus mainly on their native language (English or Spanish) in two separate groups. Starting in fourth grade, there is an attempt to merge the two groups and increase the amount of Spanish instruction, however, at that point, native English-speaking students do not have the Spanish-language foundation necessary to understand the grade-level texts that continue to be used year after year. Students are not encouraged to make an effort when it comes to speaking in their non-native language. Teachers often translate texts into English to "help" students understand. This doesn't help students to step outside their comfort zone of their native language. Harris switches between English weeks and Spanish weeks, the goal being to speak the language of the week. However, there is very little Spanish spoken in either week by teachers - particularly to native English-speaking students.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2023

I wrote the last review & cannot change it. I wrote it during our first year here. Since this time, Harris has proved to be a school that is not meant for most. I do not recommend this school for English speaking students. You are there to help the Spanish speaking students, but will not leave being bilingual. There is also not a school after Harris that is bilingual (Boltz offers 1 more class in Spanish, but is not a bilingual school. Be careful of how they “market” this). The principal lacks the interpersonal skills to work alongside the teachers/staff & work with parents. The best teachers have left or are leaving under her leadership. There is very little support for kids with any sort of learning disability. They unfortunately don’t have the bandwidth, or the ability with the bilingual part. There is a lot of talk of equity, but the scoring on this speaks the truth. The communication to parents dose not exist. they do a monthly newsletter, but 1-on-1 doesn’t happen without the parent begging for information. This school is beautiful inside & touring it gives you all the feels of what you want for your child (bilingual, diversity, a sweet school). The idea of what this school is & the reality are just too far apart.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2017

The teachers at this school are good, and the students are supported. They learn the general elementary education. The problem with this school is that the promise is that ALL students will be bilingual in English AND Spanish. However, only the native Spanish-speaking students become bilingual. The English-speaking students ARE NOT taught to speak Spanish. They can read Spanish but at 2+ grade levels below their actual grade. They cannot communicate with Spanish speakers at all. They are the second class citizens of the school.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2013

Harris Bilingual is a great community of students, parents & teachers. Our child has thrived in the immersion program and enjoys learning in Spanish and English. Harris does an excellent job of balancing full immersion and core studies. We feel increadibly lucky to be a part of this community!
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2013

I like Harris Elementary because the teachers are highly educated and speak Spanish and English. The front desk secretaries, cafeteria ladies, and custodian, all take part in extra school activities and are wonderful to work with. In five years of attendance my son has not once complained about his teachers. The educational aspect of the school is excellent as my son is progressing through the school it is obvious that the teachers are effective at their trade. Class size is in the mid-twenties and the teachers often have student teachers, volunteers, or teacher aids to assist with the children. Harris has a great Parent/Teacher organization also.
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2013

Harris Bilingual is an amazing resource for our children! The exposure to culture and immersion in language has been such a positive experience for our daughter. I believe it will be a defining experience for the rest of her life.
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2013

Harris is a fantastic school with caring teachers, involved parents and a unique learning environment. It is amazing to see both of my children learning to read and to think in Spanish. At the same time, their reading and writing in English is progressing on track and they are both doing very well in math. They both enjoy school - their teachers, their friends and the curriculum. We are happy to be a part of Harris Bilingual.
Submitted by parent on October 28, 2013

We love the family and community at Harris Bilingual! Our children get to learn a second language while excelling in all their basic subjects as well. The teachers are knowledgeable and helpful always, and we have been very pleased. We have had one child already graduate from Harris, and two more there now. We love the opportunity of learning a second language on a daily basis!
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2013

Harris Bilingual Elementary offers an incredible program for students to learn English and Spanish through a dual language program model. Based on how the program is created it fosters deeper understanding of subject matters and more opportunities for diverse cultural application. The students who graduate from the program leave Harris bilingual and bi-literate in both English and Spanish. As a former bilingual teacher, there is no other program that I would choose for my children. Now having 3 of my children go through the Harris program I am very pleased with their abilities, not just in being bi-lingual but it has also fostered higher level learning and comprehension in other subject areas as well.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2013

We live in Fort Collins, Co, Poudre School District. This district is full of many great schools. You have the school of choice option, which is great, you really cant go wrong. The only school I would choice into was Harris. We got in and were excited to start the bilingual education for our children. Harris has a great approach to teach children in Spanish and English. The teachers, staff, students, PTO and parents come together as a great big family to support the education of our youth in the community. It takes a village, and we are so happy to be in the Harris "village". We are always looking for ways we can support the work being done in our classrooms, the growth of knowledge for each and every student. Your extra support would be graciously received and used to reach our goal! Thank you!
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2013

My son is a first grader at Harris Elementary. It is a wonderful opportunity for him: a truly bilingual immersion school that is also very strong in literacy and mathematics. Like all schools in the Poudre School District, all students have science, social studies, art, music, PE, computer literacy and instruction in use of the library. By the time the children native English speakers finish 5th grade they are fluent in Spanish. He's already learned to understand and speak a lot of Spanish. The school has great teachers and a lot of involvement by the parents. Because all students are admitted by a competitive lottery, all of the parents want their children in the school and are dedicated to the school's success.
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2013

Harris is a great school that teaches our kids to learn in two languages. The life long skill of a second language never leaves the students. The teachers are exceptional and the education is excellent.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2013

Harris Bilingual is an incredible school. My third grader has had excellent teachers who go above and beyond to ensure each students specific needs are addressed. Add to that that my child will be bilingual if she keeps up her Spanish in Middle and High School!! The teachers and staff work well with parents to create a community that feels like home. I cannot say enough about how much I love this school for my daughter.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2013

Harris is an excellent school. We have always found the teachers to be exceptional in engaging students in learning. Colorado State University completed research on Harris and found our students to have statistically highers scores on their ACT and SAT scores when they reached high school. As I parent I am thrilled about this.
Submitted by other on August 13, 2013

i had the worst experiance ever, they were way to strict on rules you couldn't hurt anyone even if your playing a sport and you accidentally hurt someone TO THE PRINCIPLE!!!!
Submitted by parent on January 10, 2013

Harris is a bilingual school, but there is very little support for English speakers learning Spanish. I had 2 kids go through K-5 and I saw a varied understanding among their classmates. Some were "fluent" and some "checked out" during Spanish week. The emphasis is on aural understanding and reading, with very little attention paid to speaking, and writing. The grammar of Spanish does not get introduced until 5th grade. So, essentially, my daughters could listen to NPR in Spanish, and read at close to grade level, but they can't write or speak grammatically correctly. That being said, the teachers are, for the most part, amazing. The culture of the school is very inclusive and diverse. I also love that it is a small school and run with a high expectation for behavior and respect. The only other part of being at Harris that was sometimes challenging was the imaginary line between the Spanish speaking parents and the English speaking parents. Parental involvement is HIGH, but it tends to be lop-sided.