McKinley Elementary School

1025 14th Street

School District

San Francisco Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for San Francisco 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 29, 2022

This school was great for my son's first few years but we eventually saw the principal's true colors. When things got difficult for our son (struggled after he was diagnosed with ADHD) she literally told we needed to find a different school for him. She doesn't care about the students, except for the privileged few, and things are run by a small segment of a highly privileged PTA group. I pulled my son out of here at the end of 4th grade and we didn't miss a thing.
Submitted by parent on January 05, 2022

This is a fantastic school and I would highly recommend it! We considered both private and public options when our kids were first entering schools in SF, and I'm so happy that we found such a great school. The community is amazing, the teachers are great, and our kids love the school and love learning. What else could we possibly hope for?
Submitted by other on December 30, 2021

There is so much to unpack about the Napa Review on here fro September 02, 2021 that I'm not even going to try.Let's just say that a group (we'll call them the Napa Group) is allowed by the principal to take up all the metaphorical air in any room. The principal's only investment in public schools is showing up for a pay check. Can't blame a person for cashing in on their multi-generational family wealth and connections but with all the district's talk of equity then we should do better but we won't because it works for the Napa Group. New leadership is needed if all voices are going to be given space to speak.The teachers are great and they bring the school up a lot. Without those teachers and just basing it on the leadership and PTA this school would be no star.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2021

We are a new family at McKinley this year. Our son is in kindergarten. We have been exceptionally pleased with the school. His teacher is dedicated, caring, and full of creative ways to inspire new learning. The school community has been warm and welcoming which has been particularly impressive during this era of COVID precautions! It feels good to be excited about school.
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2021

We recently moved from San Francisco to Napa where both our kids went to McKinley Elementary. We were there for 8 years and we can't say enough positive things about the school, its community, and its principal and staff. The community is tight knit - everyone knows everyone else - and the PTA is heavily involved in coordinating between parents and the school. The school is very good at communication, and we especially appreciated the focus on diversity, equity, and empathy. Now that we live in Napa, I'm seeing how well prepared my kids are around their academics - they are zipping through their classwork and getting 100% on their tests and quizzes. I know they are able to do this b/c of the foundation they got at McKinley. I only wish we could have taken the amazing team there with us when we moved, but we'll always cherish our memories there.
Submitted by parent on December 30, 2020

My child arrived in this school in 2nd grade from another public school and I have only really good things to say. I just think this school is doing an outstanding job for all the kids. My son arrived in distress after some serious physical bullying experiences in the previous school and is now absolutely thriving and extremely happy. We are so thankful for all the staff and their incredible work. The first 6 months were not easy for him but the staff did an amazing job to give him confidence. He showed some signs of distress at the beginning and each one of them were brought to us by the teacher. At some point they organized a meeting with the principal, teacher, speech therapist, a social worker and the parents to put a plan together, it worked incredibly well. Starting from March our son was 'back', with his confidence and happiness. I know they also have great non classroom teachers that help with maths or reading for all the kids in need. It's very well organized and efficient. My kid would go last year 25 min every day during school time, he was with other kids, same and different level who would come just a few times a week or every day like him. This year during the pandemic he has one-on-one classes with a non classroom teacher and he enjoys it a lot. For the online schooling, I can only say great things again. As soon as it was online the school got super organized. I know it was hard for some families but I think our teacher from last year and this year are doing amazing online, I simply can not find a negative thing to say. I've heard that all the teachers in that school are amazing, our kid had 3 so far, and they were/are indeed dream teachers. I've read in other reviews complaints about the principal and the PTA. I'm not involved much in the school so I can't really say, but the principal always responded to my emails and I think she is running the school beautifully. The facilities are also great compares to some other schools I visited. It looks new, modern, it's clean and the library is beautiful. It really is a nice environment for the kids. Also I think the outdoor space is nice. Last thing, we did the after school program when it was open on site and they have pretty cool activities to offer and the staff is nice and helpful. We're big fans as you can read!
Submitted by parent on January 03, 2020

I don't think that running a public school to be a pretend private school is what we should strive for, but for some that's the goal, and if so, this is the school for you.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2019

There is a group that loves this school which is fine since there is positive stuff going on, but there is also apathy from some and how could there not be with such a disconnect from reality? How do I tell my children that we live in a city where hardworking, compassion, achievement and mastery of skills are valued and rewarded when the leadership saunters the school doing next to nothing and maintains their position above those who work hard, display more talent and show well earned mastery? The old boys club is alive and kicking and you don't have to be a boy to be in it.
Submitted by other on October 02, 2019

I'm ready the June 26, 2019 review and I don't disagree with the characterization, but I'm confused as to why the parent would think McKinley would be anything other than what is described. You need only meet the principal for 20 seconds and you know its a school that values privilege over hardwork, grit, character and actual skill and performance.
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2019

We absolutely Love this school. The community is amazing, the staff is committed to the children. My daughter looks forward to attending school in the morning.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2019

If you enjoy sending your child to a school where the biggest bullies on the campus are the adults, this is the school for you. The PTA is extremely aggressive, and not above personally shaming families that haven’t met their personal fundraising goals. It’s a school chock full of a lot of privilege. The low-income families are left out and the school makes very little attempt to give thought to the needs of these children. The equity scores at this school say it all. If you’re rich and white, you’ll be just fine. If you’re low income, Latinx or Black, not so much. If they want equity, they need to address representation. The vast majority of the staff is white, they aren’t reaching the children at this school who don’t look like them. The toxic culture is indicative of so much that is wrong with SFUSD. If you have privilege, you have access. If you don’t, you don’t. We’re trying very hard to move our children out of this school.
Submitted by parent on June 07, 2018

We've bene thrilled with this school. Fantastic choice for our soon-- NB that he is white, middle class, fairly intelligent, and a boy, which the school does better with (vs a different ethnic, social background, learning challenges, etc.)
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2017

We have been so happy with our experience this year. We could not ask for a better school when it comes to cultivate the education of our kiddos with special needs
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2015

My daughter completed kindergarten with Mr. Kallock. He was exceptional in developing powerful relationships with the kids and also scaffolding their academic and social-emotional learning. Principal Sousa has also been a beacon of warmth, intelligence, caring for the entire community. We now have Ms Charkins as our teacher in first grade. She has elevated learning and curiosity and dignity in the students to higher level. The last but not least component is the passionate and committed group of parents. We feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful public school in our neighborhood. McKinley has exceeded our expectations.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2014

Both my children have thrived at McKinley. My oldest is now at Everett Middle School (McKinley's feeder school) and she and her McKinley alumni peers represented a significant portion of the honor roll students in the third quarter. It's quite a testament to the strong foundation they received at McKinley.
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2014

From his first day at McKinley Elementary several years ago, my son has thrived. With one exception (in an early grade), we have been very pleased with the teachers our son has had. And my spouse and I found an open and inclusive group of parents and caregivers at the school. The administration, teachers, PTA and students all contribute to making this a high-quality elementary school in the middle of San Francisco.
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2013

McKinley is an incredibly strong school right in the heart of San Francisco. While our API score is impressive (899) what speaks even more to McKinley's strength as a place for all children to learn is the staff. Starting with the school principal and going right on down through each of the grade-level teachers to the other learning professionals there is a strong focus on literacy (we have a PTA-sponsored literacy specialist doing early grade-level interventions with students), respect for learning and community, and a desire to help every student to the best of his/her ability. There is a very diverse student body (the most equal mix of African-American, Latino, Asian, and European caucasian I have seen at any San Francisco school) and a well-run after-school program. The parent community is very strong and fundraising makes sure we have an excellent arts and science program. I could not be happier with this school for my kids and our family.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2013

Leaning into the new school year, McKinley is poised to start another fall term with the long standing, traditional welcome cook out. This is one of many culturally positive, inclusive events that are designed to build, tighten and strengthen an already strong community by building ways for new families to weave into the strong fabric of an excellent school.