Van Hise Elementary School

4747 Waukesha Street

School District

Madison Metropolitan
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Madison Metropolitan 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 other on May 26, 2022

It is a good school. It is very small and so is the building but everyone there is welcoming and nice. I didn't dislike any of the teachers, they were all at least decent teachers. Overall a very good school, and I recommend
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2020

Van Hise is amazing. Not only are the academics excellent, but the culture that emphasizes community, belonging, empathy, and inclusion is really special. We wish every kid could have a public school like Van Hise.
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2017

It was very bad at this school. The teachers do not have any good enough discipline on the kids, they get very angry if kids aren't in a single file line, but they don't care when kids are punching each other hard like I've seen before.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2016

Fantastic staff and administration who see each child and what they need to be the best learner they an be. Racially, if not very economically diverse. Active PTO. Awesome families and students. Many opportunities to get involved. My kids love school here and we feel lucky they have VHE to help them navigate the social and academic challenges they sometimes face.
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2015

Teachers are burned out. The building is not conducive to learning. The principal is very defensive and unable to create a growth oriented environment. The student make-up has changed with school choice and there are students from bad areas that bring a very poor attitude to the school. VH used to be a good school, but things have changed for the worse.
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2015

Felt a sense of community at this school. The principal was very involved and teachers were compassionate. My children wanted to participate in school related events and when I attended school ice cream socials and school carnivals, I begin to appreciate the school. The only thing I wish they could change/improve is the drop-off, pick-up system. Before and after school can be a complete zoo! My children have a diverse group of friends and attending VHE has given them broad cultural knowledge. My sons and I are African American. I appreciated there being a wide range of races and backgrounds at this school. You won't find it at many schools in Madison.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2015

This school has a great reputation in the area; however, I was extremely disappointed with the low quality of teaching staff, low quality building, unprofessional staff and school bullying that was going unnoticed. Don't let the test scores of the school fool you. This school draws an academically inclined study body of local university professors, medical doctors, and other professionals that have children that are academically inclined. However, if your child has additional learning needs, this school is unable to provide a free and appropriate education. They have a "one size fits all" mentality that does not meet the needs of individual students. If you ask questions of staff or the leadership, they become extremely defensive and are unable to be objective about making changes. The staff personalize any type of feedback and are not able to use feedback as a learning opportunity to grow and change. They retaliate against your child if you disagree with their methods. I did a surprise visit one day and found that there was an extremely hostile environment towards certain kids and the teaching staff were "unaware" of the horrible environment. They did not address bullying nor find a way to keep all kids included. The grounds around the school are beautiful. However, the school is overcrowded. This school needs a complete overall.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2015

We have been a Van Hise family for years and have had a great experience. The teachers are incredible, dedicated people who I feel genuinely care about my children reaching their educational goals as well as their personal well being. The garden is amazing and my kids love learning about what is growing and being a part of the natural world. As a parent, there are so many opportunities to get involved and we have enjoyed that aspect as well. The school PTO is innovative and are very creative in the ways they raise funds for the extras the school needs. Not to mention that their events are so much fun for everyone in the family!
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2015

VHE has been a great place for all 3 of my children to learn. Before living in Madison we lived in a very large metropolitan coastal city, and raising children here in Madison has been a dream--we often comment that the Hill Farm neighborhood is like a Norman Rockwell painting. The diversity in the elementary school is nice, better than once the kids transfer to Hamilton and the schools split out a bit. The privilege in one of the comment about teachers being "lazy" and the neighborhood full of "vagrants" is disgusting and embarrassing. Parents are always welcome to volunteer at Van Hise and many of us do it on a regular basis--there are so many opportunities for community involvement that it is one's own fault if they do not take advantage or share the responsibility of continuing to make this a great school to learn at.
Submitted by parent on August 15, 2014

VHE was once a great school, not so anymore! The teachers are now all tenured, lazy and careless 'internal transfers', in other words, they got transferred to VHE because they think rich kids are easier to teach. They don't care about teaching, just drawing that paycheck until retirement. But worse yet are the parents, they lack any compassion or caring for the children, when 8am rolls around its time for state-sponsored-daycare, yippee, no need to contribute to their children's education--let the lazy teachers handle it. The community around VHE has taken a major nosedive, it is now crime ridden and crawling with vagrants--not safe for my children. We are considering a move out of the district because of how bad the school and neighborhood have gotten. The school could improve by bussing some of the local children to other schools, and opening up the school to a more diverse set of students. Try hiring outside teachers, not poaching them from failing school in the district.