Lake Bluff Elementary School

1600 East Lake Bluff Boulevard

School District

Shorewood
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Shorewood 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 November 10, 2023

Our two children attend Lake Bluff and I have nothing but great things to say about this school. The teachers are top notch, families are engaged, and I appreciate the focus on personal integrity and the intrinsic joy of the learning process.
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2021

It has been a fantastic school for our kids. Most of the teachers have been outstanding and our kids have grown academically and socially. The building itself is old, but they have made improvements recently, and overall the campus is in a beautiful setting. Feel fortunate that my children have been able to attend this school.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2021

Slop. in 5 years they've had 2 different principals. Are on a new one this year. They spend tons of time on sitting around talking about feelings and not enough on actual academics. The teachers are not responsive, the principal has yet to address a serious complaint and we need to take legal action. Not a warm supportive environment. many reviews on here seem to be from when a long gone principal was at the school. Many parents I know have taken their kids out and put them in private schools or moved. It's deteriorated.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2018

Lake Bluff Elementary School has been a terrific school for our family! The best things about Lake Bluff are:-A rigorous curriculum following the Expeditionary Learning model that addresses the individual needs of learners. Children who excel in a subject are accommodated and challenged. It's not uncommon for children to be promoted to the next grade for math. Students are expected to set goals, engage in reflection, complete revisions, and assess their own work. They also engage in peer review.-High test scores. 21.3% of all LB students scored ADVANCED in English Language Arts and 26.5% scored ADVANCED in Math on the 2016-17 Forward Exam. (Compare this with Cumberland School in Whitefish Bay where 9.8% of the students scored Advanced in math.)-Many extracurricular academic activities and competitions, including the Scripp's Spelling Bee, WordMasters Analogy Challenge, Battle of the Books, Math Olympiad, Continental Math League, Math Counts, Junior Art Docents, Science Fair, and more.-Character Education, which is taught as a regular part of the curriculum. -Multi-age OR Single-age classrooms. Parents have a choice in which learning environment they want for their children.-Orchestra or Band lessons beginning in 4th grade, 30 minutes per week; these are small group lessons with only a 2 or 3 children receiving lessons at a time. The children perform in orchestra and band concerts and recitals each year.-Diversity; Lake Bluff is much more diverse racially and socio-economically than many of the other suburban schools.-Integrative learning across subjects including art, music, and Spanish-Terrific teachers and a fabulous new principal!- Highly engaged parents and children and an active PTO. - A super fun and supportive learning environment; great classroom libraries, visiting authors, in-school concerts, etc. Plus, how many public schools have a sledding hill and provide sleds for the students to use at recess? Areas of possible improvement include:- A greater focus on basic skills like learning math facts, printing, and writing at the lower grade levels. Lake Bluff has lofty goals for its students and the basic skills are sometimes neglected in favor of the "big picture".- Efforts to help all children succeed in learning and become proficient in ELA and Math regardless of race or socio-economic status.-The school lunches!
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2014

Principal Juffer is out of touch with reality and needs to retire. He does not listen to parents or students and knows best without listening to constructive criticism.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2013

This is a great school with excellent teachers. There is a happy atmosphere in this school and my kids love it. Dr. Juffer sets a positive tone and the curriculum is challenging.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2013

Lake Bluff excels not only academically, but also at character building. The test scores and placement here and throughout the district speak for themselves, but what can not be measured from the outside so easily is the amazing student community within the school. I have rarely observed anything other than completely happy and confident students inside and outside the school when visiting regardless of their age, gender, race, abilities, and any other factors that, in many schools, mark students for social marginalization.
Submitted by teacher on September 06, 2013

As a long-term resident of Shorewood and former educational professional, it is disheartening to see the quality of education deteriorate at one of our flagship schools. Even though our family enjoyed the perks of what started out to be a great school early on, we soon realized beyond the basic A,B,Cs that Lake Bluff wasn't providing a solid education for our kids. In such fundamental skills as writing, the curriculum is not well structured and the teachers try and teach through examples but the children have no context. Further, social studies is probably best taught by reading the text book as there is no value add by the teachers. As for math, the curriculum is pretty good although it appears that the math aide is the real value and not the teachers. This school needs an injection of new talent with teachers that actually care about the kids. Unfortunately during all the protesting in Madison a few years ago, the majority of teachers at Lake Bluff where more interested in their medical and pension benefits versus the teaching quality and attention given to the kids. Sad!
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2013

While my kids have had positive experiences with many of the teachers at Lake Bluff School, Dr. Juffer and the teaching staff are a little too complacent based on the school's high test scores. Just as low test scores are due to family/home environment rather than the schools, high scores are due to the families in the district, not necessarily to the teaching, especially when it comes to math. As a parent who had concerns about what my child was experiencing in the classroom, I was shut down by the teacher and basically given the impression that I am an overbearing, over-involved helicopter Mom and I should just go away. For such a small district, they are not very open to parent concerns.
Submitted by parent on January 16, 2013

Lake Bluff is a truly great, character building school. Principal leads with passion and purpose and his leadership shines through the teachers and kids.
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2012

I am really sad to hear about the experience of parents who felt like they and their children were treated differently or were unwelcome. I agree it is kind of cliquey on the playground among the parents sometimes. I work full time and am a single mom, and I just don't have time to hang out and chit chat much on the playground, or go to the parents' organization meetings, etc. I think that unfortunately the people who are more down to earth are busy like me and sometimes seemed unfriendly. But over time I have made friends with some families. I have two boys in the school and they both love it. My kids seem to have a real mix of friends and some very close-knit friendships. My older son is in third grade now, and my younger son in K5, and their experience has been really good overall. Teachers who really get to know them, their strengths and weaknesses, and who talk openly with me about how they are doing. They learn a lot, not just academically but about how to be a good person. All in all Lake Bluff is a really great part of our family life.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2012

We have two kids who go to school at Lake Bluff and we would never move because of the great education they are receiving here. It is well worth it to live in this community and have your kids grow-up and be educated here. Being a liberal or a conservative should not matter unless it matters to you. I am an immigrant, my wife is American born and am independent politically but I feel the most welcome in this community (having lived in a lot of other communities). It's no more clicky than living anywhere else. I highly recommend the school and the community.
Submitted by parent on October 14, 2012

we moved here a few years ago, and among the families of our older son's classmates met the people who would become good friends here. yes, on the playground it can seem clique-y, but we have always been treated well by the teachers and have found other parents to get along with. our older son had some behavioral challenges in K5, and the teachers helped us work on those. our child who excels in math has been challenged (the everyday math curriculum 'spirals' so that children review material after a few months. it's a shame a prior reviewer didn't get an explanation from the teachers--you they ask about the material?) also, this school has managed to save art and music for even kindergarten, despite statewide cuts.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2012

The school has a great academic reputation that it doesn t deserve. Having moved to Shorewood two years ago, we are still treated like outsiders. Our first grader had difficulty in reading last year. When we discussed this with his teacher, the response we received was well, he didn t go to Shorewood last year . In addition, the school uses the Everyday Math curriculum. My oldest son stared at Lake Bluff in fourth grade, and as a fifth grader was learning the same thing he was taught in third grade at our failing school in Virginia.
Submitted by parent on December 27, 2011

I enrolled my child into this school because of its academic reputation. As a few others have stated, outsiders are treated differently. One parent spoke to me at the new family picnic. Not one parent, not even the room parents, introduced themselves at orientation. I had to approach them and then was met with an "oh hi." I am insulted that many parents had a problem speaking, but did not seem to have a problem calling my home asking for donations to SEED. And yes, my child was singled out and labeled on the first day of school. Sadly enough, my second child, who does not attend this school, has already been labeled by this same teacher. I'm not so sure the academic education is worth the price of my children's mental stability.
Submitted by parent on December 24, 2011

I think you get what you put into any school. We are non-residents and feel very involved but I also joined the PTO and volunteer in the classrooms. The staff is excellent and the kids love the principal.
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2011

I am a parent of two kids at Lake Bluff and I absolutely love it. My kids are challenged, motivated and encouraged by the principal, teachers and other students. They have a fantastic art and music program, and character education and guidance where they give them real solutions to deal with the challenges they might face. They do their best to break the kids out into smaller groups according to their abilities. My oldest (for whom things come very easily) is involved in enrichment programs like the Spelling Bee, Junior Art Docents, even just extra math and reading to keep her motivated. My younger daughter (for whom things can be a bit more of a challenge) got the help she immediately needed to bring her up to speed with her reading in 1st grade within the first month of school. I love the environment and can't wait for my third daughter to start there!
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2010

I can relate with any parent who is "out of the Shorewood area" We too feel like outcasts and our child is treated like a outsider. This school is very clicky and the teachers are not as welcoming as should be. A very liberal school and does not support individualism. Unless you live in Shorewood, you will not be welcomed.
Submitted by parent on June 07, 2010

Lake Bluff offers a wonderful Character Education program where student-lead assemblies teach various good character traits to classmates (honesty, perseverance, etc.. Also, available is a multi-age classroom as well as the traditional single age classrooms. I cannot speak highly enough about the teachers and principal!
Submitted by parent on March 24, 2010

I can absolutely support the opinion of the parent of the African-American child. I saw this first-hand when my son was in Kindergarten at that place, and was one of the reasons we left. I saw the African-American students, in-district or not, largely ignored by the other students on the playground, and their parents ignored by other parents. I did not want my child to grow up in a setting where some people were not welcomed or included. There is no sense of understanding that exclusion is a form of bullying at that school.