Prairie Park Elementary School

2711 Kensington Road

School District

Lawrence
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:5
Type

public

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 June 05, 2024

Run,as fast as you can. School wouldn't give my son his accommodations, didn't follow the iep. I received a threat from the school psychologist, that if I moved in a different boundry she would send a refferal to the district to have him sent back to this school, that I want him out of and have him place in a special education Classroom That is restricted. I told the district about it and they weren't very helpful. I sent proof of the school staff not following the iep and not giving my son his accommodations to help him be successful. Only then did they say okay we will go with you to the iep meetings and ensure he is getting his needs met. I will home school next year to ensure he is safe. He became aggressive and that prompted me to check in. Only to find he wasn't getting his needs met. I am reporting staff to the department of education. I can't image what anyone else is going through. The school trying to strong arm people to stay all the while they are complaining enrollment is down and they are closing Schools and selling properties to stay afloat. It's a sad experience we had. If you see this and are trying to decide what's best for your kid. Trust me this isn't the place for any child.
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2022

If your child needs an IEP for any reason, you'll have to fight for it. A student could be struggling in school in certain areas but not enough to actually need help through an IEP. I'm sorry but I don't think a school should wait until the student is completely falling behind before they actually try to get them help. That seems pretty ridiculous to me.I feel like some teachers are not cable of being patient with students who have ADHD. They take longer to learn and understand things and I feel like certain teachers don't get that. They automatically want to push the idea of getting the students put on medication because they are a bit hyper and aren't focusing all day long.Certain teachers are awesome and are really good at their jobs. Others, not so much. I would definitely recommend keeping tabs on how your kids day went and keep on touch with teachers on a daily or weekly basis. We've had some issues with bullying at this school as well and it seems to go unnoticed alot. Especially at recess.I have 2 kids that go here.Child #1, out of the 4 years that he's been here... 3 teachers we didn't have good experiences with and the other 2, we had a fantastic experience with.Child #2, out of the 2 years that she's been here... 1 teacher we had a semi good experience with and we had 1 teacher that I would say we had a pretty good experience with.I also wish there were more after school clubs that the students could do. They have chess club, run club, and garden club.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2018

This school is awful. I'm so thankful we moved. If you notice a negative change in your child's behavior, don't hesitate to drop by unannounced. The district needs to intervene and clean house.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2017

Prairie Park Elementary has been great experience for our family. We walk to school in the morning, and I enjoy seeing the principal and other staff welcome the students by name as they start the day. In my experience the staff has worked together as a team to provide experience and opportunities to the children across classrooms. My daughter loves the reading competitions (and associated prizes) that are organized each semester. They really make it fun for the kids even though they are packing in so many complicated concepts across the subjects. It is always interesting during parent/teacher conferences to see the hidden goals of classroom activities and everything that the teachers are tracking. The staff also arranges for special events after hours throughout the year. We recently went to a family reading night with hot chocolate social afterwards. It was a blast. Not only do these events give a chance to socialize with the teachers, but they also develop some community among parents in the neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on August 06, 2016

The teacher my son had for second grade was just horrible. All year she treated him in the worst way. Working with her and my son, her behavior only got worse; to the point of bullying. The principle wasn't willing to make adjustments for the benefit of my son/students. All year my sons self esteem and outgoing personality steadily declined. By the end of the year, he could do no right and somehow it was my fault. It was the worst experience of our lives. That year also has given my child reason to dread this upcoming school year. It's sad that the staff preach about peer to peer bully behavior, but what can be done if the bully is the teacher????