Burks Elementary School

1801 Hill Street

School District

Mckinney Independent
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Mckinney Independent 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 teacher on December 09, 2022

I came to teach for Burks after spending time at two other public schools and a local charter. After being at the charter for just over a year, I almost left the profession. It was a mess. My first day at Burks, I knew that I was had made the right choice to take the position. Teachers were all smiling, kids were happy & motivated, and the entire environment was safe and stress-free. To be honest, I didn't know that schools like this existed anymore. Over the years, I have read thousands of reviews where teachers feel like they have lost all control - of what they teach, what they say, how many hours into the night or weekend that they work, dealing with unhappy parents, undisciplined kids, and insensitive administrators. None of this is true at Burks. Once again, I got back that feeling of loving to go to work every single day, and I truly enjoy helping these students be all they can be. Burks is a school where teachers, students, and administrators are kind human beings that show respect and genuinely care about one another. I have found a gold mine here and I am eternally grateful for this opportunity to love teaching again. If you are fortunate enough to be able to work at this school, or have your child attend this school, you will absolutely not ever regret it. Burks is a place where everybody matters.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2018

I simply love Burks! I have a first grader and a third grader, and their experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Their teachers have been excellent both last year and this year. They are selfless and hard-working and really care about the children. This school has many outstanding resources and programs to assist lower-income families and support children with academic or social needs.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2018

Wonderful experience. Love all of the staff, the small class sizes. Everyone remembers my child's name, they're all very encouraging and kind. I feel like my daughter is getting challenged and encouraged to learn and grow every day.
Submitted by parent on June 18, 2018

We started at Burks this year with a first and a fourth grader. I have been so happy with this school. They meet each student where they are, and the teachers work extremely hard to challenge each student to be their best in every aspect of life- not just grades. The administration has changed a bit, and as a parent- our input/concerns/ideas have been heard and considered every time. We love Burks!
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2018

Dedicated teachers and staff. I have had a great experience so far with this school.
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2018

I've had a great experience with this school. The staff are all wonderful. The teachers reach out to me if they have any concerns. And are easy to get hold of. They also call me whenever my daughter has received or is being recognized for an award. They hold a lot of events and like to get students and their families involved. I'm very happy with Burks! The staff is also always very pleasant.
Submitted by parent on December 29, 2014

My child has been at Burks from Kindergarten to now 5th grade and it's been a terrible experience. The school is completely disorganized. I am almost never communicated with my any of my childs teachers or staff members. I don't get responses to any of my attempts to communicate with them on concerns and issues that I would like to be addressed. My child has complete days in class where the teachers cannot control the kids and there is very little to no lesson time. I cannot understand why the schools principle does not support the teachers more and pull these problem kids out of class so that the kids who behave can learn. I can name at least 10 occasions this year where a child in my daughters class has been very disruptive (fighting, swearing, talking about drugs, etc) and the teacher just had to deal with it because the administrative staff apparently doesn't want to deal with it. The principle Ms. Bendorf lacks professionalism and honestly does not fit the role of a principle. The staff clearly is not happy to be working there and it shows. I am glad my child is almost done with this school because this has been a less than stellar experience.
Submitted by parent on March 13, 2012

Our first child entered kindergarten this year. Before school started, there was very little communication or information from the school. They did not have a kindergarten round-up or placement testing that some of the other schools had. So we did not know what to expect and were also very concerned about the low ranking. But since school has started, we have been very happy with Burks. The staff are very caring and involved with the kids. And the communication has been very good. Our daughter loves her teachers and is so excited to go to school each day.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2012

My issues are with the parents who couldn't pour water out of a boot if the instructions where on the heel. And the fact the school head does nothing to stop it. The school says drive thru the drop off/pick up line but you can drive right up to the corner and let your kid out and they will stop the drive thru and hold up the line to cross your child. They say no child will be released after 2:30 but approx 5-10 parents walk in daily after 2:30 and pull their chid. I'm not happy with the time they give the kids to eat lunch. Once I seen a little girl sit down at 10:58 and by 11:03 they told her to "dump" her tray and they took back bananas the kids had bought but didn't eat - why to resell or to give to chrity?
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2012

Before I located a school for my child I had heard really great things about it. I must say they were all WRONG!!1My child attended this school for a school year, and I was really disaapointed with the overall school itself! Couldnt wait for the school year to be over.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2009

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