Birney Elementary School

4345 Campus Avenue

School District

San Diego Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for San Diego 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 18, 2024

My family struggled when Ms.Amanda was running the school. She has thankfully retired, giving Birney a new start to become the school it's students deserve. We are hopeful for positive changes and collaborative problem solving going forward. Our teacher this year is outstanding. We loved our teacher last year and we adored our kindergarten teacher as well.
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2024

Ms. Amanda’s leadership leaves much to be desired. The school suffers from a lack of trust, ineffective meetings, and complacency. Parents are dissatisfied, and students deserve better. A change in leadership is overdue.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2020

We have been thoroughly impressed by Birney, it's curriculum, teachers and leadership. Principal Amanda has always been quick to respond. In my last 3 emails to her, she has replied back within the hour. I am not on the PTA, we do not have a special relationship with her. We are just parents with a Birney Bee. Keep up the great work!
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2019

Birney is a unique school with its IB curriculum and its wide array of students from various backgrounds. There are many ways to connect with other parents through school festivals and fundraisers. Wish the principal was friendlier. Overall, a great school.
Submitted by parent on November 08, 2019

There are so many great things about this school--the community-building events, the specials teachers, the dedicated classroom teachers. However, our experience with the leadership was just too stressful. Ms. Amanda was not helpful or a problem-solver when we needed her to be, and we couldn't deal with her rude behavior anymore, so we left.
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2019

Our experience at Birney Elementary has been outstanding! We transferred our older child from a charter school and are kicking ourselves for not choosing a neighborhood school from the start. The high standards of education and the level of rigor are superb, yet the staff are also caring and understanding. The IB Program is phenomenal and we will continue on in the IB tract through middle school and high school. Our older child is now excelling in IB Middle School and that's because of the preparation and high standard of education received at Birney. And our younger child is THRIVING at Birney! We love the IB curriculum, the specials - garden, spanish, art, and PE, the teachers, staff, and administration. We also love the community that is formed by the parents, families, neighbors, and community partners who all work together to make this school a true gem. Putting my children in Alice Birney Elementary was the BEST decision I ever made for my children's future!
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2018

Amazing! Great community of parents, of educators... everything here is lovely. This school is so good that people come in on year 1 by renting in the neighborhood, move out after a year and then lie about their residency to stay at the school. If they did a sweep I'm sure at least 40% of these kids would be pushed out. The principal refuses to have parents prove their residency so the school has a problem with over enrollment.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2018

My daughter has attended since Kindergarten and is now in 3rd grade. I would never go anywhere else. Once you find it all you dont need to search any longer! The staff, the teachers, the PTA , the programs SAY and PRIMETIME, they are all wonderful! We love the principal, she is involved, caring and attentive to everyone's needs. A 5 star all around!
Submitted by parent on April 05, 2018

We love birney and all the staff!
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2017

My daughter has attended this school since Kindergarten, and has thrived. It's an excellent, usually well organized school, with teachers that are attentive and knowledgeable.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2017

Best school we've ever attended. We hope all of their schools into the future will have this level of commitment to the children and the community.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2016

My children are going into 4th and 2nd graded this year. I love this school. The IB emphasis helps create well rounded people. It also has a great breadth and depth of learning. I love that the children ate taught to be problem solvers, creative and empathetic. I love the diversity of the families at the school and the way the school celebrates and honors multiple ways of learning. The science scores are very high and the specials make for more fun learning. The organic garden is award winning and provides the children opportunity to connect with the earth that is hard to do in a multi unit dwelling. The staff is responsive and caring. With the drop off situation, after the accident, the school solicited imput from parents and created a drop off zone protected by cones and staffed by parent volunteers who monitor traffic and greet the children at the car door. You have to drop your child off before school to use it. I have used it and it is very convient. The school was built prior the use of the drive through parking lots. There is a strong sense of community and investment in the children at Birney.
Submitted by other on August 25, 2016

I have loved Birney for the first 2 years, but for us, it's time to go. The extra programs are excellent, but last year, I had several issues with our teacher, and after emails to the principle, nothing was addressed or resolved. The homework load is WAY too much, and very little is done to manage students as individuals. Mostly though, I'm really concerned with the safety of the pickup procedure. It's a complete mess - parents drive up, have to basically abandon their cars in front of the school, run in to the classroom, run out, to put their kids in the car and drive away. There is no pickup line or orderly fashion - cars are driving every which way with kids running between them. There was a woman hit by a car during this procedure last year, and it's only a matter of time before there is a bigger tragedy. Yet the school refuses to fix it.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2016

I chose this school for my daughters after touring the facility and being blown away by the principal's leadership and the implementation of the International Baccalaureate curriculum. So far I have not been disappointed. The quality of the teachers is top-notch, the level of passion from the principal extends down into all the staff and I have been very pleased with the well-rounded education my daughters have been getting. I can't recommend this school enough!
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2016

The leaders and parents at the school think that getting involved in the community and doing everything they can to engage and educate the students is of the utmost importance. My child is always coming home with positive things to say about his teacher, his classmates, and the interesting things they have done in class and in the "specials" program. He is getting a well-rounded education and is also learning about helping others, respect, and how to be a good citizen of the world. We love Birney Elementary!
Submitted by teacher on November 19, 2015

I am the principal at Birney! I see a lot of 5 star ratings, but there is not an overall rating for my school - can you explain why? I appreciate all the comments from our parents. I am baffled by the most recent comment about not being friendly to children with special needs. We have just over ten percent of our population with IEPs and 504s, we have an excellent team of professionals who go above and beyond for our special needs students. I hope the parent who posted this feels he or she can come talk to me about what is needed for his or her child. Our team includes a half-time school psychologist, 4 education specialists, 4 special education assistants, 2 speech language pathologists, adaptive PE, physical therapy and occupational therapy time and a school counselor 2 days a week.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2015

The teachers are serious about their purpose to enrich the children with the best learning experience. The principal has the school in wonderful shape and with all of their wonderful activities such as gardening, art and Spanish, it's just all the better.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2015

It is a wonderful, warm environment that is very conducive to learning. Also, the parent involvement makes so many extra programs possible.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2015

Great parent involvement. Very hands-on caring principal, great teachers that are very caring and are on the ball with cutting edge teaching techniques. Love the variety of classes the kids have during the school day and after school. The fact it is very diverse and they have a high score says a lot about the teachers. I like the structure and how they teach the kids about principles and values.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2015

This is a great school for kids with special needs! The school actively practices inclusion that is tailored to each child's ability. The SN team is awesome and caring, very professional! The principal is involved and proactive in making sure that all kids in the school are treated equally. My son has blossomed in this environment, he is involved in the drama club, running club, and Spanish ! He has more friends than his twin since we made the move to choice to Birney! It is an amazing school with involved parents and wonderful caring kids. The IB teachings create compassionate kids by encouraging their natural inclination to be awesome. I would recommend this school to every parent regardless if you have a GATE kiddo or an IEP kiddo, they will both do well here. My kids have a countdown to school calendar, they cannot wait to return to school!