Brookside Elementary School

165 Satinwood Avenue

School District

Oak Park Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for Oak Park 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 January 12, 2024

My daughter has attended for 4 grades. She's had excellent teachers that have been very aware of her strengths and growth areas. They've all been very invested in growing the kids and supporting them in the ways they need.From the issues I've observed with other kids (managing behavior problems, emotional support for kids whose parents have divorced, etc) I've been super impressed with how the staff handles issues to get to good outcomes.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2020

We moved from LAUSD just for this school...and it was worth it. Some of the so-so reviews here have me scratching my head because Brookside (and Oak Park Unified in general) work really well. Listen, no school is perfect: The number of kids per class is high. But coming from Valley publics, this place is a palace: clean, organized, lovely teachers, a nice community, an active PTA, a caring principal. Don't kid yourself that you can't do better, LA moms.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2019

My kids were well prepared for middle school with great study habits. We had a terrific experience at Brookside.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2018

There are a lot of educational best practices in play that we appreciate: flexible seating in the upper grades, growth mindset, counselors visiting the classrooms, district and community investment in technology mixed in with digital citizenship lessons, and a strong PTA to provide great programs for the kids and families. They do a really good job of placing kids in a thoughtful manner. We are really happy here and the teachers work really hard to integrate best practices with new curriculum.
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2017

Brookside isn’t as fabulous as some of the reviews I have read here. I think the school has lost its way by focusing on the excitement of technology as opposed to teaching fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic. There was minimal if any teacher-family communication, and the principal seems to only posted news about the upcoming fundraising events or tweeted pictures. Although there is nothing wrong with keeping parents informed about donation opportunities, any information about classroom happening and students’ progress would’ve been so much more appreciated. The other issue is that this school is over capacity. There were just too many kids, so the staff seemed to be more focused on crowd control than giving necessary attention to the kids. We left for a school that has more reasonable class sizes, doesn’t seem to be as bedazzled by the latest and greatest technological gadgets, and that, unlike Brookside, actually teaches.
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2017

My last child just graduated from 5th grade at Brookside. We are longtime residents and all four of our children attended Brookside. We could not have been more pleased with our experience. With all the challenges that public schools face today, Brookside does an incredible job meeting the needs of all its students. Differentiated instruction in math, the workshop approach in reading and writing, NGSS based science instruction, art docents, lunchtime enrichments, musical productions, the latest technology in students' hands with smartboards in every classroom, amazing! Recognizing the importance of family time and the unproven benefits to large amounts of homework, we found our teachers to have a realistic expectation of what time at home should be invested in. Many minutes devoted to weekly reading and an adequate time devoted to math practice, has allowed my daughter to thrive as a student and as a healthy individual with time for friends and hobbies. I have also been so pleased with the emphasis on character development over the years. Devoting classroom time each month to focus on a specific character trait, role playing different situations, thinking about what you say/do affects others, gives me confidence that my child is ready for middle school next Fall. Watching students interact on campus, you are quick to realize that all students, including ones with special needs, are treasured and are a part of whatever is going on. I feel this is an important aspect of rounding out the whole child that is often overlooked- but not at Brookside. The students are kind, the teachers devoted and the principal supportive. While we are sad to see our time at this great school come to an end, we are so grateful for the many years that we were able to call Brookside our home!
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2016

We're relatively new to this school and the district and I couldn't be more disappointed. First of all, class sizes at Brookside are HUGE. 4th grade grade class has 32 students. Our skinny child can barely squeeze between the chair and the desk as the classroom is simply jammed. Second of all, there is no homework except for 1/2 page of math 3 days a week. Per school policy there is no English or science homework in our 4th grade class. A convenient policy to have for the teachers I suppose. Although I was mentally prepared for fundraisers and requests to pay for everything including textbooks, I was not ready to receive teacher's wishlist for personal holiday gift in the mail. That's what we got several days ago. "Our class will be giving teacher a group gift using funds that were collected at the beginning of the year. Some ideas from the teacher for personal holiday gifts are below. * Stores: Nordstroms (my fave), Bloomingdales, Lululemon, Anthropologie (basically westfield except Lulu)...gift cards are awesome.* Restaurants: Sugarfish, Italia Deli". Can anyone imagine receiving letter like this from their child doctor practice? The next logical step for the school would be to put Tips jars on the teachers' desks. Sadly, some public elementary schools in good neighborhoods aren't schools anymore, but rather for-profit places with teachers and admin far too focused on money and luxury gifts versus actually teaching and nurturing children.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2016

I would be happy to give this school 5 stars but I can't. I'm sure that some of the issues we see are partly societal and that many schools are struggling with, but regardless we pay a lot of money in taxes to live in Oak Park and I expect the quality of education to reflect that. Teaching to the test is a real issue, my son is in 4th grade and it is all about the testing for the past 2 years. Using loss of recess as a punishment when kids only get very little recess time is inappropriate, counterintuitive and unhealthy. Kids don't work better and faster when they sit all day. Classroom overcrowding is a big problem. Brookside is clearly over capacity. "Individual attention" and "personalized learning", although talked about quite a lot, are more of a wishful thinking than a reality. Wasting such a large portion of instructional time on movie watching, computer games, and various fundraising campaigns feels very wrong, particularly for a school where every 4th student had failed state English test and almost every 3rd had failed state math test. The school runs too many fundraisers, just because we live in a nice neighborhood doesn't mean that we should be treated as ATM machines. And I think it's completely unethical that the school uses the children to try to guilt parents into the fundraisers. Although all donation requests come with a disclaimer, children feel like they'll be ostracized if parents don't donate enough. Not sure but to me, some of the fundraisers are inappropriately extravagant, but probably they are just a reflection of new Brookside principal vision of the school and local community. The situation is rather unfortunate because I was always a believer in public school. Not so much anymore.
Submitted by other on March 04, 2016

I feel very fortunate to have found this warm, welcoming community at Brookside. Having moved from LA USD (where the annual "give" was $975/kid on top of the endless donations for school and classroom supplies), we have no question that this was the best move for our family.The teachers are caring and loving and extremely involved, both in and out of the classroom. They also welcome the support that parents want to give which is very different from our experience in LA USD. I love that they are helping to prepare our kids for jobs that don't yet exist and embrace technology. In our previous school, resources were so scarce that they didn't always have the ability to provide our kids with the latest technology.The PTA is extremely professional and very well run and are transparent about where our contributions are being spent. They have embraced our family and have numerous opportunities for parents to get involved; it doesn't have to be project managing an entire event, it could simply be donating a few hours of time in the evening. The families we encounter through school and sports are loving and involved parents, with the shared goal of giving our kids a happy and positive upbringing with a strong emphasis on education.
Submitted by other on February 27, 2016

We are a family who moved to Oak Park a couple of years ago, and our kids have been to private and Magnet schools before coming to Brookside. I am continuously impressed with the amount of time and energy our principal and staff put into making sure all students are successful! We have an incredibly talented group of teachers who want nothing but the best for our students and families. Our PTA President and committee members have provided an atmosphere where my family and I have been able to feel welcomed, and has touched the lives of our kids one way or another by providing a fabulous variety of programs to help make my kids' learning journey enjoyable. The amount of dedication that these individuals are showing is truly amazing, and it has been what has set our school apart from others.
Submitted by parent on February 24, 2016

Brookside asks for hefty donations, but honestly I would be willing to pay every year 3X as much as the current requested amount for the school to limit the use of computers in the classrooms. Brookside classrooms are literally overflowing with all the latest gadgets and "educational software". The kids are constantly swiping, pressing, checking, clicking, dragging, you name it. Even normal classical language arts work was replaced with some spellingcity junk. And I've already lost the count of how many "education math software" we have used the past years, ixl, coolmath-games, coolmath4kids, and so on and so on. It feels like every year the school administration hopes to find some new magical software that would instantly turn each student into a little math genius. Technology doesn't teach, it is just an instrument. And improperly used technology, overuse of technology in elementary school setting becomes a major distraction or even detriment to meaningful education. It is February now and my daughter didn't have a single homework this year asking to write at least a sentence, not even speaking about an essay. She is doing lots of game playing on spellingcity as homework though. I have a high tech job, and can tell for sure that the software Brookside students are learning now will be outdated in 2 - 3 years. Ability to click on a link or navigate between the screens on a tablet is not something students should be focusing on. Spending hours on mastering these skills doesn't guarantee that a kid will grow up tech savvy and will pursue a STEM career. It can only increase his chances of game addition and vision and neck problems later in life. An elementary school should be teaching students how to approach a problem, how to concentrate on one, how to provide logical arguments (and how to write them down), how to listen to others, how to express own thought on paper; should encourage kids not to be afraid to have own thought, should encourage critical thinking, should teach how to interact with teachers and peers, should provide plenty of hands on experience. Kids should learn to see the beauty, the complexity and the interconnections of the things in the real world around them, not have their minds locked in a primitive virtual reality.
Submitted by other on February 13, 2016

My husband and I have very mixed feelings about Brookside. We were excited for our son to attend this school as we had heard many good things about it, but what was communicated to us is very different from our experience and observations.Another person noted a high level of computer and "TV time". This is true. On rainy days, that is what the children do. Nice for teachers, I suppose. I would love to see them engaged in an art project instead.The PTA is very exclusive and a number of the members are pretty aloof. A couple of reviewers mentioned that the school is expensive. This is also true if you are giving at the level the school and PTA want. The supplies alone that families have to provide every year are ridiculous. There's no other way to put it.There is a new enrichment company providing after school classes. My son's taken a couple and had a good experience. These classes are also not cheap.The teachers do their best. I couldn't say any are exceptional. My son has liked most of the teachers he has had so far. He particularly likes the music teacher, Mrs. Benjamin, and the librarian, Mrs. Shaver.Honestly, I don't believe Brookside is anything out of the ordinary. My son has felt pressure to perform which caused some anxiety. We are considering switching districts before 5th grade as I have friends in the Oak Park Middle and High school that are not having a good experience for very similar reasons, only the pressure is substantially greater and the students just don't have the skills to deal with it.
Submitted by parent on January 10, 2016

Despite quite a few good things that can be said about Brookside, such as uniform student demographics, parental involvement, some lunch time programs, OK test scores (although on 2015 Common Core BES performed the worst of all OP schools and much worse than Willow and Woodland Hills Elem.), we feel that disadvantages outweigh all the advantages and will be leaving the district after this year. The disadvantages I consider worth mentioning. 1. Amount of TV watching and computer time in the classrooms. Students are shown a full sized animation every 2-3 weeks and get daily TV time on rainy days and the week before holidays. Students are rewarded with an hour of computer game time on Chromebooks 2-3 times a week. For parents not keen on the idea of daily TV/computer game time that is something to be aware of. 2. So called "customized Common Core program". Customized CC program created by the district and adopted by BES has all challenging assignments removed from the workbooks. Students are reminded every week not to do problems marked as challenging as part of homework. Customized math program with more difficult topics removed (i.e. topic on the order of operations, including parenthesis, is removed so students are ask to memorize distributive property without understanding its meaning) results in big gaps in the flow of logic and makes homeschooling/tutoring mandatory. 3. New district schedule. Starting this year OPUSD school year runs mid august - mid may (Aug, 11 2015 - May, 27 2016) and is not synch'ed with any of the local summer camp programs. The new schedule combined with the total absence of school-run afterschool/summer program creates a real problem for families with working parents. Afterschool care in Mae Boyar Park already has a long waiting list. 4. Campus safety. As BES doesn't have a fence around the perimeter and doesn't keep the gate on Conifer locked, the sports/PE field and upper grade playground are used by local dog owners as an off-leash dog park. This situation alone was somewhat unsanitary and caused damaged to the sports field, but was never taken seriously. After several students were attacked by dogs (thankfully no bad injuries) last week during the lunch break, we longer feel that our child is safe at school. Considering the amount of wildlife in the area, and number of coyotes seen on the streets I'm even more concerned.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2015

This school is probably no worse than any other school in the area if your child does not have a learning disability. However, it can turn into a true nightmare for families of kids having any kind of learning disorder. Be prepared to be the one to bring issues regarding your child's academic performance to the attention of the teachers and administration, and not vice-versa. Don't anticipate teachers to have proper experience and qualification, my child's teacher actually expected me to tell her how my child should be taught. The school doesn't have a full time diagnostician, neither they have a plan in place on how to work with students with learning disorders or how to integrate them into a regular classroom. Despite being long time Oak Park residents we had to transferred our child into a neighboring district. I have met several other local families that had to leave OPUSD because of lack of interest and resources to work with their kids with learning disabilities. Although the review below praising BES of 10-12 years ago is very touching, one need to understand that the district and the school are not at all what they used to be 10-12 years ago. A decade ago the school used to hold on to every student to keep the funds, classes were small and teachers had time and incentive to work with each child individually. Now with dozens of out-of-the-district families on the waiting list and classrooms filled above the physical capacity the district neither wants to waste time and resources on educating "second class" students, nor they want to put their testscores at risk. Today's Oak Park district prefers to deal only with regular students, they no longer have any interest in working with children above or below the norm. Parents of children with learning disorders are getting told to either transfer to OP Independent school or leave the district altogether. It's too bad that when selecting a school most people are only comparing testcores without understanding how OP schools demographics is different from that of other local schools, and that high testcores at OP schools are not the result of having highly skilled and enthusiastic staff, smaller classes and better programs, but a result of removing not performing children from the classrooms and filtering out potentially problematic children and families when considering out-of-district applicants.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2015

We also have had positive experiences at Brookside so I am surprised to read these negative reviews; we spent a lot of time researching schools before selecting Brookside as our elementary school and have been here now for almost four years and don't regret our decision to move here. Of course there are things that could be done better, as at any school, but it's a wonderful community of parents and teachers. As for the donations, having come from another district and having read up on the economics of California school funding, they really should look at other schools in detail. Title I Schools like Sumac receive a lot more funding from the state than OPUSD schools and are able to offer certain programs as a result. Donations are exactly that-just donations, not a cost of schooling--they are not mandatory. The programs are funded for the benefit of all children. If one cannot afford to donate, there are so many other ways to contribute to the community, but one would be hard pressed to find one elementary school that doesn't have a foundation or parent organization in place to help support music, computers, art, and more. The education is free, but the extra programs are made possible by those investing for the benefit of ALL students. Computer teacher time, Music teacher time, performances, Garden program, lunchtime enrichment programs, including a library book cart rolled out twice a week during lunch, LEGOs run by parent volunteers, CREATE Art on Your Campus, parent education, community events, and so many other programs offered. It's a wonderful community that supports a vast array of programs for our students to expand on their interests outside of the classroom. We feel very fortunate to be a part of this community.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2015

It is very hard to rate Brookside. There are some things I would give a 4-5 and others I'd give a 1-2. I have two children at Brookside and have been here for a full five years. Some teachers are fantastic. There are a few that are much below fantastic. The school has cliches a plenty. Some of which are very aloof and entitled. The two principals at the school were/are nothing to write home about. There is significant parent participation which helps with the overcrowded classrooms.This school (and probably the district) has been resting on their laurels. The enrichment opportunities, curriculum, teaching methods, ability to listen and respond, inclusivity, and many other nationally embraced aspects of excellence in schooling are not found here. I would say they are in fact behind the times and seem pretty set in their ways.The school is expensive for a public school - classes and their "requests for donations". It is a school for entitled and affluent families.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2015

Brookside is an insanely expensive school (feels a bit odd to say so about a public school). Had recently mentioned the cost of the afterschool classes run by Brookside to another parent with a child attending one of the Conejo elementaries and was shocked to learn that they pay 1/3 of the amount Brookside charges and have 4 times more different classes plus the school band and instrument classes. 2015 Fall semester prices for 1 hour/week classes for comparison. **Homework club** Brookside $135/Conejo school $49-$65, **Chess** Brookside $135/Conejo $65, **Briks4Kidz** Brookside $145/$Conejo $65, **Art classes** Brookside $135/Conejo $65. Plus Conejo school has Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Martial Art, and Theater for around the same $65-70 per semester. Clearly Brookside principal has her point when she often reminds Brookside families that attending a school in such an affluent neighborhood as Oak Park comes with the price, but it is still not clear to me why everything has to be 2-3 times more expensive at Brookside than at Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks schools. Another thing I don't understand is why when it comes to cost comparison our school principal always compares prices at Brookside to that at schools located in much more expensive neighborhoods like Hidden Hills, Calabasas and Morrison Ranch of Agoura Hills, but when it comes to reporting test results Brookside is ranked against Ventura county schools that on average have much higher % of socially disadvantaged families and non-English speakers.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2015

I still remember how during the school tour the principal bragged extremely proudly about the things the school does to foster the love for reading. I was completely sold on all the opportunities. Now I can tell that none of the things mentioned turned out to be true. First my perfectly fluently reading first grader was told to stop asking for more advanced texts and just keep on reading "cat sat on a mat". I thought to myself, 'OK, we must have got not such a good teacher, looking at what other people are saying we are not the only one'. Nevertheless I was telling my child to stay positive. Now is the worst part. As it turned out Brookside students are allowed to visit the school library ONLY 30 MINUTES a WEEK during the library class. That's all, people!!! Kids are NOT allowed to enter the library during the lunch break or after school. This rule means no quiet relaxing 20 minutes at lunch with a book at a cozy and cool corner in the library, no chance to meet another booklover from a different grade or class. I'm devastated to say the least. As I was explained Brookside library is used exclusively during once a week class, during the school board members visits when these people decide to read kids a book and during the school tour. On the school days the library is totally out of reach for the students. That's complete nonsense. For my older child, for my friends' kids in every districts from LAUSD to Burbank, Anaheim and Irvine the school library was and IS always the CENTER of the school life. Library is the place where kid having a bad day can rewind a bit, a place to escape the heat, a place to meet another Harry Potter fan, a place for reading club meetings, a place to do homework after school and many many more. Brookside kids are deprive from these wonderful experiences and parents are misled. If your child is a little bookworm or you want him to develop the love for reading and meet friends sharing the same passion, please do your child a favor, stay away from this school. Reading is not a part of this school's daily life.
Submitted by parent on August 03, 2015

Below is the breakdown of the cost of sending my 2 kids to Brookside this year.Minimal annual school donation $700=$350x2 (recommend amount is $840=$420x2). That's 100% increase from $180 BES was asking last year.District annual donation $300=$150x2Workbook cost $170=$100+$70Supplies cost (items from required supplies list bought at Staples ) $210Classroom supplies cash donation $50=$25X2Birthday book club $40=$20x2TOTAL is $1,430 minimal or $1,570 recommended by the first week of school. This sum comes on top of OPUSD taxes we've been paying for the past 10 years & will be followed by an endless flow of supplies wish-lists & cash donation requests coming from the classroom teachers & the school throughout the year. Two other OPUSD elementaries did not raise their donation amounts. Oak Hills & Red Oaks still ask for $250 & $225 respectively. Unlike BES they both remind that any donation amount will be appreciated.BES PFA put efforts into compiling a document comparing annual donations at some of the local schools. The doc is created with so many omissions and misinformation that it is almost useless. To list just a few1. 2 other OPUSD elementaries are not included into the comparison.2. The doc doesn't account for multiple other fees BES parents are requested to pay.3. The doc doesn't mention school taxes OP residents are already paying that don't exist in other districts.4. The numbers for other schools in the doc are not minimal or even average donations. When I've asked a friend with kids in Willow if she is really paying $2,000 per child in yearly donations her jaw dropped to the floor.5. The doc doesn't tell that out of all schools compared BES has the LARGEST class size (BES avg. class is 30 vs. 23 at Sumac).That alone is one of the major reasons why lion share of donated money has to be spent on teachers aids. The district keeps packing kids like sardines & parents keep paying for aids so thier child can get a glimpse of personal attention. Teacher aids for a few hours a week is nothing but a band-aid solution & doesn't help with overcrowded classrooms.6. New 30 minute afterschool supervision programs created by the principal benefits only a small group of parents & can NOT be used by any of the working families. And the list goes on...
Submitted by other on May 21, 2015

To be honest Brookside is dull as ditchwater. I understand that part of the problem is lack of money. Although I'm still finding it difficult to comprehend why the district, where residents pay more in school taxes than Agoura Hills and Westlake residents combined, is in such a desperate state. Anyway as our principal tirelessly reminds us money or the lack thereof is a big issue and soon BES parents will be required to bring in toilet paper (just kidding, but we are already bringing in soap...). Lack of funds is probably the reason why school library is open only 3 days a week, and is closed after school hours; school has no art program; kids don't have textbooks and single sheets copied homework papers are of poor quality and barely readable; PE classes are only twice a week and PE field had seen better days. All these are easy to understand. However lack of money doesn't explain what happened to free-of-charge long-time-favorite elementary school activities. Where did Crazy Head/Socks/Hair go? Why there is no colonial days, concerts or father-daughter dances? At the same time every week I receive 5-10 papers (some of them are expensive fancy neon orange and pink type) stating "Dear Parents..". I'm absolutely sure that majority of "Dear Parents" will agree to receive all school communication via email. This will allow the school to save 600 X 200 X 1.5 (number of kids X number of school days X avg. papers per day) = 180,000 sheets of paper + the cost of toner + the cost of electricity + cost copy machine maintenance. Sounds like a lot of money. Also this will show BES kids a real example of "being green". Somehow I find it difficult to share district's idea that "being green" means putting trash into 5 different bins without reducing the consumption.