Hardy Elementary School

5420 Montezuma Road

School District

San Diego Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
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 January 15, 2024

I like this school .Mrs. Byers is a great teacher .
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2023

Hardy is a hidden gem! There is a very strong sense of community here and I really feel like we have joined a family. I love the principal and our UTK teacher was phenomenal. PTA and dad's club is very active. I also love the staff and program design at the aftercare program (Klassic Kids).The biggest downside of this school is that the drop off/pick up is hectic because of the street design. It was crazy the first few weeks, then it seemed to normalize once everyone figured out the system.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2023

My son did UTK at Hardy this year and it stole our hearts! The teachers, the principal, the community are all amazing. We moved to SD from another state and were so nervous about finding a good school. We hit the jackpot with Hardy and would recommend it to anyone looking for a safe, family friendly, fun, and overall wonderful school. It has truly been such a sweet start to our child's path in education. 10/10 school.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2019

Weve only been here at Hardy for Kindergarten so far but were very impressed with the school and staff.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2019

Great teachers at all levels we have had all of our kids attend this school and have found it to be a wonderful close knit group of parents, teachers and staff that care about the students.
Submitted by other on October 10, 2017

When I used to attend this school, I had an amazing time. Teachers were the highlight of my time there. It was amazing!
Submitted by other on September 16, 2016

My children have all attended and are currently attending Hardy. Hardy was great staff, teachers, and PTA involvement. It also has great support from the SDSU community.
Submitted by principal on May 12, 2016

A great teaching staff overall, and wonderful parent involvement. The school has a family feeling to it.
Submitted by other on April 21, 2016

I've been at this school off and on the past 13 years. I have seen the parents interpretation of the school change, not the teachers. This is a great school with dedicated teachers that want to make our future better. Unfortunately some parents are too weak to be parents and letting their kids decide what they need, therefore, no parenting. I see such good teachers in tears because of you parents. Your children have to be accountable for their own actions. Quit making excuses and be a freaking parent. It's the most important job you have.
Submitted by parent on February 29, 2016

My child was a student at Hardy Elementary from Kindergarten to 4th grade. Our early experience there was great, my child had some excellent teachers and developed some great friendships. A change in leadership has changed the general tone of the school, which has progressively gone downhill. Now there is too much emphasis on standardized testing. The administration does a poor job handing bullies and "behaviorally challenged" children. Not only have they allowed routine violence and unfettered bullying to go on, escalations to try to resolve the issues fall on deaf ears. Escalations to the district, garner the involvement of a QA parent liaison department who barely read your compliant and their only level of investigating is publishing the administrations excuses and inaccurate defense, never interviewing the victim, witnesses, etc (taxpayer dollars hard at work). If you don't mind being in a class where bullies are not only free to act aggressively, but if you complain they are given more access to your child, this is the place for you. If you understand that not all published policies such as bullying and zero tolerance policies are followed, and you don't mind the random application of these policies, you will be fine here. If your child is distracted by, or bothered by constant violent outbursts including regular use of profanity, disrespectful yelling, kicking of doors and furniture, and actual fights in the classroom and on campus this setting would NOT be a good choice for you. On the other hand, If your child happens to have behavior challenges and you have given up and just wish the school would quit calling you and scheduling meetings that interrupt your workday, this is an ideal placement for you! It's too bad that the excellent teachers and good community of involved parents are overshadowed by poor administration, who are more interested in ignoring bullying and protecting their bureaucratic status quo, than providing a safe learning environment for the majority of children that come to school eager to learn! Not to mention, the disservice they are doing to the bullies by not providing a more appropriate learning environment that might provide for some academic progression, something currently missing.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2015

My oldest son who is now in Middle school went there and had a fine experience up until he was in 5th grade. Rather than teaching the class important lessons, or preparing the kids for Middle school each student had an iPad which they would play games on, watch videos, and listen to Pandora. Often times the students just did what they wanted. Shortly after the teacher started having "health" issues and one day decided to walk out on the class leaving the students unsupervised for the last few minutes of school. This happened in February of 2014 and I never found out about it up until mid April 2014, when I overheard my son and another student talking about it. Then I noticed that there were several substitute teachers changing throughout and then finally about 2 months before the school year ended there was a letter sent home from the principle, telling me that the teacher had been on medical leave and that they finally have a steady sub for the remainder of the school year. The PTA is great, Parent involvement is great, most of the teacher are great, the principle is unapproachable and not a good communicator.
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2014

My older son started Kindergarten at Hardy Elementary last year. He did the TK program at a scool in C.V. the year before and was so stressed that he had night terrors every night. The teachers there were always late and there was no supervision of the children before or after school. When we started at Hardy, I was immediately impressed by the parent and teacher involvement. My son's night terrors stopped completely. My youngers son is now in Kinder and I am now a board member on the PTA. For parents who feel their work schedule is not accommodated, I invite and encourage you to send a note in your child's folder addressed to the PTA because we listen. We're here to serve you. Our meetings are now at 7:50 or 8:15 in the morning. We don't exclude and we certainly are not here to judge. The teachers are caring and respond to any concerns a parent expresses. The staff knows all the children by name. Academically, our students are doing very well. We have a PrimeTime afterschool program that helps children with homework. If tutoring is necessary, I encourage parents to speak up at a PTA meeting to see if we can start a tutoring system. Let's work together for our kids!
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2014

I wanted to love it. My child attended his first few years of school here. I found this past year to be an improvement over prior; the new principal is much more approachable and brought fresh perspective. My child's teacher was GREAT, but understandably overwhelmed by the large class size,which makes it hard to give some students the extra help they need. I didn't think there was enough supervision on the playground, especially among the younger kids, some who still need guidance and help making friends. A few incidents occured that I found somewhat alarming and preventable. Sadly, my other issue was that the school does not accommodate the schedule of a working parent, should we wish to volunteer or join PTA. The weekly meetings were at 5 or 6 making it impossible to attend. I helped when I could but often felt judged by PTA moms and staff. More than once, a certain office staff member made hurtful, inappropriate remarks to me like "Oh I expected dad to pick up (my child). I NEVER see mom." I struggle with working moms guilt as it is and for some of us working is a necessity, not a choice. Bottom line: good school academically, but my child never really felt welcome nor did I.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2014

I have 2 children at Hardy- we have been there for 5 yrs now & have been very happy with our children's experiences there! They both love school & have loved their teachers and the school overall. It is a small, diverse school with a wonderful school community and fantastic caring teachers. I am impressed with the testing scores given the number of children with ESL students they are still very competitive. There are many after school activities available mileage club (a running/walking program) before school and a school garden program. They also have 2 different after school care programs. It is not perfect, but no school is and I think they work hard to create a safe, nurturing, environment that fosters learning for children.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2014

We have had great experiences over the years at Hardy and are looking forward to another wonderful year. We have repeatedly seen Hardy parents get involved and work with our dedicated staff to make Hardy a warm, safe place for the children as well as a rigorous learning environment.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2014

I LOVE this school. I moved my oldest son to Hardy from another local school where he was not doing well. The teachers and staff at Hardy did a wonderful job working with us and my son. My youngest son is still a Hardy student and we will miss the school, teachers and staff when he moves on after this year to middle school. I have especially enjoyed being apart of the Mileage Club program and am thrilled to be running it this coming school year. I had not seen a program like this before coming to Hardy.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2014

I have 2 children in Hardy. We started 5 years ago and have been extremely happy ever since. The staff is caring and amazing with kids. It's nice to go to a school where most of thel adults know your child's name (it makes them feel accountable for their actions and a sense of community, knowing that they are noticed and looked after). I come from a small town and this is how it feels! This is a very kind, considerate and dedicated staff, intent on educating world citizens of many different cultures. Hardy is in the process of upgrading all of the school equipment so it might look a little dusty at the moment. But look beyond the dust and you will find a little gem of a school!
Submitted by parent on February 16, 2012

I have read some of these reviews and they are quite scathing. There are a lot of buzz words such as "mean" and "bullying" etc. I didn't see anything specific that would cause me to be alarmed. One comment in particular that caught my attention was that the principal was "unethical." That is a huge accusation to say about someone. I don't know the principal very well but she seems very sincere and eager to hear what parents have to say. I wonder if any of these unhappy parents dealt directly with the "problem" teachers? My son got off on the wrong foot with a teacher in middle school. He got stomach aches and didn't want to go to school. We met with the teacher and i helped facilitate the breakdown in communication between them. He gained a better understanding of what was expected for this class. I gave my son the opportunity and skills to take charge of a situation. I didn't fight his battle for him. Now my son is doing great in his class and he has found they have a common interest in Aztec basketball. Many parents think this would make it worse for the child but what message are we sending our kids if we don't first start with the problem head-on?
Submitted by other on January 20, 2012

I was a student at this school and was bullied by a TEACHER who screamed at kids, told our class to shut up, threw things across the room, and humiliated kids for not knowing things or forgetting their homework. Most of my teachers were great but this one was really, really, really bad. I can't believe that adults won't do something about it! I can't believe that the adults think nothing bad is going on.
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2012

First hand knowledge of the wonderful staff at this school has led me to write this review. The children in my family have all had a wonderful experiences here that are reflected in their success in later years. Last weeks editorial sums it all up. Good teachers help our children thrive. How lucky any child is to spend their elementary years at Hardy. Kudos to this wonderful little school.