Phoebe A. Hearst Elementary School

1410 60th Street

School District

Sacramento City Unified
Grade

K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:25
Type

public

School Map for Sacramento City 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 August 27, 2022

My daughter has been at Phoebe for 2 years. This is not a neighborhood school and a child has to be tested to be accepted into kindergarten. For this reason, it is not a school where there are many kids with learning disabilities or kids who are neuro-diverse. I don’t think the school emphasizes too much on academics and the only reason why the test scores are high is because the kids were screened before being admitted. There is no academic pressure from the teachers. It is quite the opposite. The curriculum seemed lax and only 2/3 if the math curriculum was covered during the school year. Although it is a GATE school, the GATE and non-GATE classes are essentially the same maybe with the exception of less behavioral problems in the GATE classes.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2022

My son attended K-3rd grade at Phoebe Hearst. It is a great school if you want a school that heavily focused on academics and high score in common core standards. My son is diagnosed with learning disability in 3rd grade and he has been struggling so much with the high academic expectations at this school. He had anxiety every night for the expectations to complete all his homework. I can't count how many times he cried each night working in his homework. He started blaming himself for "not being smart enough."After careful considerations, my son and I decided to transfer him to a school that does not emphasize so much with academic achievements. I felt that he will continue to be left behind if he continued at Phoebe. I am hoping that with the new school, my son would feel less insecure about his learning disability and will have less anxiety.I am sure he will miss his friends at Phoebe but I think, he will be in much better state of mental and emotional health with the new school.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2021

My kids are now older and in college. My oldest is graduating from Harvard and my youngest is at U of Notre Dame. Both my kids loved academics and were high achievers so this school was perfect for them. Make sure your kids' temperament for learning matches the school's philosophy though otherwise, you'll have a very unhappy kid. Art here is enhanced (at least back when my kids went here) and music is also enriched (again...at least when my kids went here). Teachers are amazing. They know how to teach high achieving kids. Parent engagement is sought out and encouraged. They have a strong school site council staffed of staff, teacher, parent, and principal. I highly recommend this school, esp if your kids are high achievers.
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2019

The Phoebe experience is far beyond an A+ or 5 stars-rating. Thriving for high achievement in all areas of the school environment has a profound effect on the mind, body, and spirit of each child at this school.
Submitted by parent on November 16, 2017

I loved it. I had a phenomenal experience
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2017

Our oldest is just going into 2nd grade this next year, and so far in our academic experience, I am pleased with the competitive nature of this school. I don't take the fast paced environment as a negative as I did during our first year at Phoebe. Instead, I see the positive effects it has on the students. Learning skills quickly is a great way to prepare for the future. The competitive environment is beneficial because it really does prepare the kids for real life, great way to push them to strive for more. If you are not the kind of parent who like to be closely involved with your kiddos education, then Phoebe isn't the place for you. Parent participation is big here, both during and after school. Overall, Phoebe is a fantastic school with wonderful staff.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2017

Communication between leadership and staff is weak. Teachers (not all) don't like any parent input. May be a good school for a vet confident mainstream student but horrible for the Special Needs student.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2016

We have been very happy at Phoebe. Great kids, great teachers, fantastic parent support. Best of all, our daughter loves it.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2015

Phoebe Hearst is an amazing school with fantastic teachers. As another review suggested, you SHOULD go observe the kids on the playground, but you won't see what that reviewer claimed at all. You'll see joyful kids behaving respectfully and kindly toward one another. The kids are NOT overburdened with homework as so many people claim (almost all of whom have never had a child attend the school). It is academically rigorous, but not overly demanding for the vast majority. My daughter attended PH from 1st - 6th grade and loved every minute of it, and she was better prepared for middle school than most of her friends who attended other schools - both private and public.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2015

I'm taking my kids out of Phoebe Hearst Elementary and placing them in a more diverse and supportive school. If your child is very competitive and confident they may thrive here. If you value lots of homework you may like this school. If you child is sensitive and may need additional help look elsewhere. The Principle at PH is not fair in his discipline and not understanding for kids that don't fit in the academically rigorist school. I did like all of the teachers my kids had but the office manager and principle were not flexible and the parent community seemed competitive.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2015

This is a very academic school. Because there is a GATE program, it obviously draws many competitive parents here. My son is doing well there and went to the GATE program after being identified at first grade. My daughter is in Kindergarten and hates school. The teachers at this school are NOT warm. You will not be rewarded by a 'warm community feel' here. A lot of 'tiger moms'. My wife and I wanted to give public school a try, and even though the school is strong academically, we fear they will beat the love of learning our of our children. They get excellent scores on their test scores, because that is all they do. Go to the playground and watch the kids. There is not a lot of what you would expect in a regular elementary school. Kids dragging around backpacks that are 3 times their size with a flat expression on their faces. As we believe education is a long road for our little ones, we felt this is not the most enriching environment. If you can afford a private education and are debating whether you should give the public system a chance, we did, we were not impressed. We are pulling our children out.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2014

My daughter enrolled at Phoebe Hearst mid year of 1st grade. Her teacher Ms. Auge is AMAZING! She really helped Madison acclimate to classroom and Madison was in full pace with her peers by 3rd quarter. The staff, principal, and teachers are truly a community. Not to mention the support that the fellow parents provide is unmeasured. I would highly recommend this school to any parents that values their child's education.
Submitted by parent on September 14, 2013

Phoebe Hearst has been a great fit for our diverse(2 inter-racial Dads with a bi-racial son) family. Aside from academics being a priority, we equally impressed knowing that the school was a big advocate and supporter of anti-bullying initiatives. Our son was one of the first Kindergarten classes in 2012 and he loved it. He is now in the first grade and loves it too. The Principal and school staff are very attentive and demonstrate genuine concern for the students. Parents are very involved as well which helps create a welcoming and supportive environment for everyone.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2013

Awesome school! Our son transferred to Phoebe Hearst (2nd grade) from a private school. Our worries were quickly put to rest when we found that parents are very involved in school activities and their students education. As a whole, the kids and their parents are respectful and considerate. The principal and teachers do a great job - especially considering the super high student:teacher ratio. Kids are eager to go to school and the environment encourages learning. Test scores are really good but this can be explained easily. Phoebe Hearst is a GATE feeder school so many of the top students in reading, math and science go to this school. There are a lot of ex-private school families. Most of the parents we talk to are really happy with PH. That said, each child has different needs and the classroom environment is largely influenced by the teacher, students, parents and overall tone set by the principal. The high student:teacher ratio means that parents have to really engage with their kids to make up for any lack of personalized attention that the teachers cannot provide. Looking forward to a great 3rd grade experience this school year.
Submitted by parent on July 29, 2013

PH is a good school and scores well in all the standardized tests; however, this shouldn't come to anyone's surprise mainly because PH is a non-neighborhood schools most of the kids entering kindergarten are assessed prior to the opportunity of participating in the lottery. This school can handpick individual students which isn't a good practice in any public school system. Other schools do not have that luxury and no school should be allowed to conduct any kind of assessment as this promotes an imbalance in education opportunity.
Submitted by parent on May 20, 2013

You get what you and your child put into this school. Yes, the teachers are strict and have high expectations. However, some parents expect the teachers to do all the work during school hours but does not provide any support after school. Don't blame the educational system if you're not helping your child by complementing the day's lessons.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2013

I cant see what everything about school is so great. as more students are joining the teachers cant prioritize their students. they are focused on high scores and good grades yet cant help them. its sad to see Phoebe becoming so arrogant and all.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2013

I switched my 3 children to this school, I have to say I'm very happy with all 3 teachers and the school in general. There is a lot of parent envolvement which is great. There are high expectations and it's "cool" to be smart at PH.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2013

In a climate of a public schooling crisis, I feel Phoebe Hearst is rising to the challenges and continues to provide high academic expectations for all students. As a parent of a child in both a "GATE" class and "non-GATE" class, I see equal expectations of both children. There is no doubt that this year has brought big changes in the forms of bigger class sizes and "new" teachers (aka experienced teachers at a new campus). However, this is a change that all schools in our district have faced. In looking at a couple negative reviews of Phoebe from this year, I feel compeled to remind people that we must not place blame on our local schools for large class sizes and experienced educators teaching grades they have not taught before; as these changes are district, state, and union mandated. The principal's leadership at Phoebe is strong and for those that are willing to be part of a solution, there is a solution to be had for most problems. It's no secret that positive behavior and academic rigor are basic expectations at Phoebe, and that may not be for everyone; but if you want peace of mind that high expectations will be held for your child's public education, this is your school.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2013

Everyone makes a big deal about Phoebe being the "top" school, but we don't see what all the hype is about. I would suggest parents sit and observe a few classes in action before putting their child here (don't just do the principal guided tour). The teachers are "handed" gifted students but some have become complacent and quite arrogant. There aren't any awards or kudos given to the kids for good attendance, improving academically or anything. They use negative reinforcement constantly by taking away recess. We can't understand why they don't use any positive reinforcement techniques to engage and reward the children. In addition, now that the lower grades are packed with 30 kids per classroom, my child's teacher is very overwhelmed and it's negatively impacting the students. Many of the parents feel that the principal needs to ease up on the constant "PR" and focus more on staff development INSIDE the classrooms. I would not recommend this school.