Gregory Gardens Elementary School

1 Corritone Court

School District

Mt. Diablo Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for Mt. Diablo 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 other on October 26, 2024

Thank you for being a great school.
Submitted by parent on September 17, 2024

This is my 8th year here. We have been through 2 principals. We are still liking this school.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2024

My daughter is thriving at GGE. After a hard year in a private school for kindergarten, we moved her to GGE and have absolutely seen her blossom both academically and socially. She feels connected to the staff, has made wonderful friends, and gained more than a year of reading skills in her 1st grade year. 2nd grade has started out wonderfully, and she is excited to tell me what she did every day, and proud to show off her work. As a woman of color I have felt welcomed by staff and other parents, which was not true at the previous school. We’re so much happier with GGE than we ever expected to be
Submitted by parent on July 19, 2024

We love Gregory Gardens! It is a small school with a family feel where teachers and staff get to know all of the students and work hard to support them all. They go out of their way to provide support and fun experiences for the children and work closely with families to provide for needs not met by the district. There is always something fun going on at the school! When we first moved here, I was nervous about the scores I saw on this site, but now I realize that the scores do not accurately reflect the special community Gregory Gardens has created. I'm so glad we ended up here!
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2024

My family is going into our 5th year at Gregory Gardens and I'm so grateful for our experience. GGE is a wonderful community that feels more like a family than a public school. Teachers and Staff care about every student and get to know them. They go out of their way to celebrate the school's diversity and ensure that all students feel welcome. They offer lots of fun experiences for children and families both during the school day and beyond. We started elementary school hoping to get into Sequoia but I am SO grateful that we didn't. Gregory Gardens is exactly where I want my children to be!
Submitted by parent on July 16, 2024

My daughter went to GG her TK year, we really loved the school at first and her teacher was amazing. Only issues is Admin. To start it all started when The office Secretary told me that she completely understood my struggle as a mother working grave yard shift, that her TEENAGE children algo give hard in the morning that I needed to get on time then go on with that ever I had to do. Then I got harassed in the school parking lot twice by a PTA member who told me she would fight me over a parking spot in front of my kids. I spoke up with the principal about this and off the bat she told me she won’t do anything and to call the police which I did, even tho I told her this happened in her school parking lot in front of my kids!!! After that incident I noticed the change toward us yes including my daughter. On the last day of school I was 4 min late to my daughter lunch, once I was able to give her her food the principal rushed over took my daughter from me and said she can’t eat anymore and will have to shove her happy meal in her backpack. Keep in mind there was a child eating next to my daughter who they let finish her food this was ONLY to my daughter while EVERYONE ELSE WAS STILL EATING. I took my daughter back and told her no that she would be going home with me TO eat, the principal did not want to let her go until she made it clear she wanted to leave. I’m not sure if it was that I’m not in their PTA click ??? Because it seems like they only care about their PTA moms and their kids. Anyways beware of this school they’ll profile you if you’re not white (:
Submitted by other on December 21, 2023

i was once out of school for my mother's wedding when i was younger, they kept calling my MOM and she wouldn't pick up cause it was her wedding. took SEVEN DAYS to finally call my dad and tell him i'd been missing for a week, and he knew what was going on but WHAT IF I WAS KIDNAPPED SOMEWHERE AND IT TOOK SEVEN DAYS TO CALL MY DAD?? honestly appalling. secretary is classist, and was rude to my father, making extremely snide classist comments.
Submitted by other on October 25, 2023

Thank you very much. I appreciate the Care from the Staff. Good Job ! ! !
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2023

We love GGES. The staff (admin, teachers, and classified) are all very supportive and respectful. We love the message of inclusion, equity, and unity promoted by the principal and her staff. This school prioritizes being a safe space for every student, and their families.
Submitted by parent on July 19, 2023

We are actually zoned for another PH elementary school but moved into the area after our neighborhood school TK was full and we were routed to GG as the overflow school for TK. I was initially nervous because we didn’t know anything about the school and the test scores were well below the other PH schools but this ended up being a blessing in disguise. Logistically - Our neighborhood school only did half day TK; GG has full day TK. The aftercare programs at GG are much easier to get into than what I experienced at other PH elementary schools for my older kiddo. This was a huge benefit for me as well as my daughter, who loves to be social and in an interactive environment. The CARES and KidStop programs are great - both directors are very communicative and organized. School quality - really wonderful community. It’s a smaller school than the others in PH, the families are really engaged, and the school support is great (although I can’t speak for families needing IEPs or more specialized support). There are lots of community and parent led events. As a biracial family, I loved how diverse and inclusive it is. Ms Koontz is an amazing principal- she wants the school and the kids to succeed, and takes discipline and routine seriously (but is also very compassionate). I appreciate that she doesn’t shy away from conflict, and you can tell she’s respected by parents and kids.Ms Medeiros, the TK teacher, is one of the best teachers my kids have experienced and my daughter learned so much while with her as well as absolutely loved being in class with her. She really knows her students (she had such insightful things to say about my daughter each time we met), and the kids felt special and respected in class. I volunteered frequently in class, and her classroom management skills amazed me each time, especially considering the wide range of kids in her class. The kids were engaged, happy, cared for, and learning skills to prepare them for kindergarten. We are leaving the school to return to our home school since my older kiddo is already settled there, but I would have been happy to continue on at GG. We’ll miss being at the school - it really is a fantastic community.
Submitted by parent on July 11, 2023

My daughter went here for two years and it took them 2 years to get her on an education plan after me telling them she’s behind every year asking for help. When we left we went to a new school and they gave her an education plan within a week or two.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2023

Gregory Gardens is a wonderful school. Parents are very involved and it has a great community environment. The school celebrates diversity and inclusivity. I hear people who are thinking about sending their children here worried about test scores, but we feel students are getting a really great education. I don’t think test scores show what a quality school this is. We are always telling everyone we know how lucky we feel to be at Gregory Gardens.
Submitted by other on June 15, 2023

This school provides safety, encouragement, and good education. It also prepares students for middle school or higher grade levels. Gregory Gardens also provides a good motto. ( Be safe, responsible, respectful, and kind. ) The teachers also respect other beliefs and differences. They also respect special education as much as they do other-level learners.
Submitted by other on June 07, 2023

This is a wonderful school that prizes the diversity of our kiddos. My 3rd and 5th graders have been supported, challenged, and loved by the whole community throughout their time at GGES. We have a size-able immigrant community in our neighborhood, which makes for a wonderful rich community, but the large number of ESL learners does impact our test scores a bit. Don’t let that deter you! All of our kids are learning whatever is best for them and making great progress.
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2023

I strongly feel that Ms. Koontz prioritizes student learning, safety and SEL (social/emotional learning) skills. She strives to build a community within the school that is respectful, accepting and celebrates differences in cultures, races, personal orientations, income levels and various family dynamics. Ms. Koontz is keenly aware that there is no one size fits all way to learn. She truly cares about students and families and that is shown in her actions of welcoming all students in the bus circle each morning, knowing all the student's names, and holding students accountable for being responsible and respectful of one another. She has high expectations for her Gators and the students are rising to the challenge. We get a weekly newsletter via email, & parent square that keeps us updated on events, issues, and successes all with an open door policy to contact her any time. I would highly recommend this school, the teachers and our Principal.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2023

Excellent safety good teachers too many activities
Submitted by teacher on May 23, 2023

Gregory Gardens has an amazing community.Many parents are enthusiastic and GG has an active PTA who put on many fun events. The teachers are compassionate and try to reach all of their students. The garden and garden program are also outstanding.Class sizes are too large.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2023

Good school I recommend this school, helpful and top
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2023

We love our students teachers and the amazing office and support staff.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2023

I am a parent of a kinder and first grader at Gregory Gardens. I have nothing but positive thoughts about the school. The principal is very hands on. She knows all the kids’ names by heart, and also the parents! She is very involved and reachable. No appointment necessary, if you have a problem or issue, she will respond to an email almost immediately. My children love their school. They love their teachers, they love the yard duty staff, office staff, they love going to speech therapy, and they love the enrichment, such as music, gardening, and social justice. It’s a great little school and I couldn’t be happier. The one issue I have, which I understand is more of a funding hiccup through the district is that the gates are not very secure, and an intruder could possibly get in without being noticed. But I know the principal is actively working on this issue, and is working to achieve a solution. The reason for the low scores baffle me because I think the school is so high quality.