Lincoln Elementary School

705 California Street

School District

Salinas City Elementary
Grade

K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:25
Type

public

School Map for Salinas City Elementary 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 February 03, 2024

I have nothing but positive things to say about this school. Both my girls go here and have been since preschool. The PTO involvement is heavy and i love that parents and teachers and administration work together for the betterment of the students. The teachers have all been super great and warm and knowledgeable. I love that my girls will have their biliteracy seal for spanish speakers. There is a lot of fundraising that happens at this school but because parents know this is for student fieldtrips and extracurriculars there is no hesitation to help; therefore the students get to enjoy many fieldtrips for each grade level. So sad my daughter will be leaving this year to middle school!
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2017

Highlights include - Parents. Teachers. PTO. Communication home about school events. Our new administration (please stay). Well maintained school. Dual immersion program. Nice office staff. Parent involvement is very high. After school band program. Sports programs. Weekly art program. NASA program. Technology. African drumming. Before and after school care. Epic school garden. Beautiful old school building. Security is important to the administration. This school has a lot of volunteers supporting it. Parents, you get out what you put in!Downsides - The changing of the administration over the last three years was tough. In my opinion, the school could be better about teaching multiculturalism and diversity. Some of the language content that was taught in the 1st grade classroom was not engaging enough for my new Spanish language learner. More picture books and less black and white informative text worksheets please.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2016

Love this school! Been a parent at Lincoln for the past 6 years!Lincoln is a wonderful elementary school in a quiet safe neighborhood with caring involved parents and teachers who go the extra mile to make sure their children/students get more than just a standardized education.Lincoln boasts a unique school garden with classroom beds for planting veggies, fruits and flowers and we have garden/science education! The students LOVE growing, harvesting and EATING the foods they farm!Lincoln has a FREE music program both during school every other week (singing and music education) and after school weekly (instrument lessons) for those who choose to participate.Lincoln has an amazing PTO where parents and teachers (and administrators!) come together to raise funds for our school and put on wonderful events as well as support our school financially.-Spring Carnival-Father/Daughter Dance-Mother/Son Bowling-Dinner Dance & Auction for parents and community-Movie Nights-Parent Date Nights! Yes, PTO does the child care!-and more!Lincoln's Healthy Kids Club is quite impressive as well! Salad Bar daily in the cafeteria with education, water bottle fill-up stations and filtered water fountains on campus, science/garden education, Just Run and Play Works at recess and PE are organized daily. Lincoln adopted Olweus, (pronounced Olveus) anti-bullying program to help encourage and inspire students (and adults) to treat others they way they would want to be treated. Build people up, fill others buckets, do good, feel good! Lincoln is one of the only schools in our county to be an officially granted Ocean Guardian School! What does it mean to be an Ocean Guardian School?-provides project(s) for students related to the conservation of local watersheds, the world's ocean, and/or special ocean areas, like national marine sanctuaries.-provides opportunities for students, teachers, parents and friends to participate in a range of environmental and sustainable activities.-provides learning programs and opportunities that reflect environmentally sustainable practices that enable all students to be environmentally active and committed "Ocean Guardians."-provides ways for classrooms to promote best environmental practices within local communities, while at the same time projecting a positive image of the school itself.I am very impressed with Lincoln as a parent.
Submitted by other on April 30, 2016

This school has been through numerous principals in the last several years. There is a high level of dysfunction at this school that has not been resolved. I would unfortunately not recommend exposing children to the inequality that exists here.
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2015

Lincoln School has one of the best spanish emersion programs throughout all of California! I am pleased that my youngest daughter is attending Lincoln school and striving as a fourth grader. Lincoln School is also a very desirable school here in Salinas. I definitely recommend this for various parents who are looking for a great education!
Submitted by parent on October 01, 2014

I currently have a second grader at this school. The teachers are great but the class sizes are WAY TO BIG! The school staff does try it's best to be inclusive with the parents. They invest a lot in technology. I'm 100% positive that if it weren't for the HUGE CLASS SIZES, it would be one of the best schools in the county. The dual immersion curriculum is outdated (compared to other districts in California), but it's "ok". The diversity in the school is good. It appears to be almost half White and half Hispanic, and some "other". One thing that I don't like either is that they have mixed grades classes. They have a 1st/2nd grade class; and a 2nd/3rd grade class. The reason is that there supposedly isn't enough students to complete a class. Most of the students there are out of district so I don't understand why they just stop excepting out of district kids. IN SUM: My recommendations for this school is 1. REDUCE THE CLASS SIZES and 2. update the dual immersion curriculum. Other than that, good school; great staff!
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2014

I have only one child attending this school so far. The principal is excellent and the teachers I know care about the students and their success. I think the Dual-immersion program is great, it provides students with the opportunity to become bi-lingual and bi-literate, which will surely help them succeed later in life. I'm sure the English only program is good too, I just don't have any experience with it. The school takes bullying very seriously, and addresses behavior problems with the children. We are very happy at Lincoln, and choose to attend this school over other schools with a higher test score rating, because of the Dual-immersion program.
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2013

Sweet school with lots of charm and character. The principal is very kind and warm. The best part is the dual immersion program. There are lots of after school activities for the kids: Spanish club, NASA, boys/girls scouts, NASA, and Mandarin club. It has before and afterschool childcare and a preschool (Spanish and English).
Submitted by parent on August 29, 2012

Objectively viewed, Lincoln School is a phenomenal school. Before enrolling our son In Kindergarten here, we thoroughly researched the educational options in Salinas for him. We both have graduate degrees, value education, and wanted to locate the best possible educational opportunity, private or public, available to our son. We were cautiously optomistic as the 2011-2012 school year began, as I had observed inimical views of the Dual Immersion pedagogical model from some in the school community, and because we sent our older son to private school. However, looking at all the factors, objectively, we were extremely impressed with the following at Lincoln School: the principal, teachers and staff; the innovation and commitment; the Dual Language Program; the parent involvement; the personal time, energy and financial resources that parents generously donate; the sheer number of hours the principal, teachers, and school volunteers dedicate to the school. We still cannot believe that we are not paying extra tuition for all of the educational value we are getting at Lincoln School. Lincoln School has renewed my vision of what a stellar public education can provide.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2012

My wife and I chose for our child to attend Lincoln last year so that he could learn Spanish in the Dual Immersion Program. We are one of the many English speaking families taking part in this program. It's a little unclear where other reviewers are getting their information, not to mention how they are obtaining it. Our son is thriving in his Spanish/English studies and we excited for the new year. The enrollment in Dual Immersion has actually gone up with some existing families who were in English kindergarten actually making the switch to Immersion after seeing so many families pleased with the outcomes. We had friends on a wait list trying to enroll their child in Dual Immersion and thanks to all of the interest in the program and success after its first year, the school has added two new Immersion teachers. Even with taking families off the wait list, I understand all the classes are full again with a new list forming. I invite anyone who is genuinely interested in Lincoln to come tour the school. Even if you are not interested in Immersion, Lincoln has a great diverse staff dedicated to helping our youth grow and learn. We are proud to be part of the Lincoln Family.
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2012

We absolutely LOVE this school!!! We toured schools (private and public) throughout the county, but once we found Lincoln, we knew this was the place to be. It's a wonderful old building filled with dedicated teachers and an amazing principal. There are tons of enrichment opportunities...something for every child! We are extremely happy with our decision to attend Lincoln.
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2012

I think it's very important that this website provide information that is accurate, so that parents can make informed decisions based on facts. Lincoln is a great school that is comprised of an English strand and dual immersion strand. Both are thriving and doing well. The administration and teaching staff are considered to be one of the best in our area. The dual immersion program is new and faced some opposition from a few parents that perhaps were not open to the concept and it's benefits. However, the current environment is very positive and cooperative. The dual immersion program is made up of a few Spanish Speaking families, bilingual families and a majority of English speaking families. Most of the English speaking families that have chosen the dual immersion program have little or NO Spanish backgrounds. I would recommend that parents visit the school to see classrooms for English only and dual immersion and make their own decisions based on their impressions and feelings. I'm confident that regardless of the program (English or Dual Immersion), parents will not be disappointed. Lincoln has an old neighborhood charm, small community feel with a welcoming spirit.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2012

Not sure why my review was removed...but here it is again. When is first re-opened, it was a great school. Unfortunately, it has declined to the low standards of the community and the culture in Salinas. The school has made the decision to turn 1/2 of the school into a spanish only school. They used the excuse of calling it an "IMMERSION" program...but the majority of kids in the spanish only classes cannot speak English, nor can their parents...so where is the IMMERSION when you already speak the language...and ONLY that language. The parents were lied to and sold a bill of goods. This school has a 4/10 ranking for a reason. I value my kid's education above all else, and if you care at least a little bit about your children...you will send them elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2012

I am very pleased that we discovered the Dual Immersion program at Lincoln. For parents that feel his/her child needs a challenge in school, learning a second language is definitely the way to go. I can't speak about the non-Dual Immersion side of this school as I have no experience with it except that I have seen the entire staff including the principal be very involved with school wide fundraising and events. I'm told from other parents at other schools how rare this is. I feel my child is being challenged and is being exposed to science. This year they had chicks hatch in their class and have learned about insects, taken field trips related to science and agriculture, marine biology, and so on. I'm not sure what goes on in other classrooms, but I've been overwhelmingly happy. I invited a guest to one of our parent meetings and she kept commenting on how amazing the parent involvement was and that she is considering having her youngest child attend Lincoln for the DI program even though her older children are at other schools and are too old to enter DI. If you are unclear about DI, I suggest visiting the classrooms and see for yourself.
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2012

I absolutely love Lincoln! This is my daughters first year at Lincoln and it is such a wonderful caring,supportive and growing school. The teachers are the best, very creative in their teaching methods. I wouldn't want my daughter to go anywhere else. Also the extra activities the school does is so sweet and fun!
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2012

Great Schools rating 4 out of 10 is "AMAZING"? "ALL children are thriving"?!? That's just crazy. If school and parent leaders spent less time cat-fighting and more time on educating the children then our son wouldn't be falling behind. He and a ton of kids are in afterschool programs because there are SO MANY KIDS struggling. The scores don't lie.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2012

We began looking to other schools when we felt our son was academically stymied this year, & came to realize the academics aren't what we want for our kids. I cannot state clearly enough that the teachers ARE fantastic (5-star), but the overall priorities at the school are not ones we share-specifically we don't feel the school goes far enough in math, science & technology. Having said that, I believe I am one of the "bad apples" that have been referred to. I quietly resigned my position on the PTO Board 5 months ago, have not attended a single meeting, nor attempted to interject in any PTO-related business. I haven't engaged in any conflict to speak of and have instead focused on things I find more pressing. I was surprised to hear that I was being "called out" on Greatschools.org of all places. I can only assume that it means either the "good apples" think I am the parent who wrote the one negative comment about the school or it was too irresistible not to sling mud. In either case, I think negative comments about specific people on a school rating site speaks to the current state of affairs and atmosphere one can expect if "good apple" authority looks unfavorably on you.
Submitted by teacher on April 29, 2012

I am the very fortunate principal of Lincoln Elementary, "The greatest little school in all of the world." This is what welcomes you when you come into our nearly 100 year old building. We reopened 4 years ago with only 85 Kinder and First Grade children. Our Smart Start Preschool added another 50 students and both continue to bring us some extremely devoted and supportive families. The plan was to "grow a school"...and we have! We have grown to 300 in our Kinder through 4th grades and 85 in our preschools. We have 3 Dual Immersion Classes, 10 Structured English Classes and an English only and Spanish Immersion Preschool. Our staff works long hours and weekends to provide the very best education they possibly can for our students. In 2012-2013, we will top over 400 and continue to grow each year. Our hard-working parent group has provided us with field trips, classroom supplies, computers, printers, playground equipment and a beautiful library that we love to show off! In my 30 years in the field of education, I have never been surrounded by more devoted teachers, staff, and especially, families. I am so proud to be a Lincoln Leopard!
Submitted by other on April 29, 2012

My granddaughter attends Lincoln Elementary. This is her second year going there, and she's enrolled in the Spanish immersion program. I'm thankful that she lives in a community that affords her this opportunity, and that the school has been receptive to my daughter's involvement in the various programs and responds to her suggestions. The School teachers are strong and the principal is a good leader. They appear dedicated to providing a loving respectful environment for students to further their education and meet or exceed state and national educational standards.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2012

We made a decision to put our youngest child at Lincoln when it re-opened , after sending our eldest to private school. We have been completely impressed with the faculty, leadership and innovation of the school and school community. Our Lincoln child exited kindergarten ahead of our oldest, exceeding all of the Kindergarten standards. The growth of the school has been steady and strong, as was hoped. As new families join the school community energy enthusiasm and excitement grows. The only negative at the school has been those who are fearful of the growth and are intimidated by intelligence and change. In our opinion Lincoln School is the best possible option for a Salinas child, and it is free! Our hope is that the District, overall, will get fiscal relief in the upcoming years to make striving toward the overall Lincoln School vision attainable for our children.