Spreckels Elementary School

Fourth St. and Hatton Ave.

School District

Spreckels Union Elementary
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:22
Type

public

School Map for Spreckels Union 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 11, 2025

As a parent in the area who has a child go thru K to 5th grade from pre covid till present spanning the old principal and the new one. I have to say that each year my child was basically stuck with a BRAND NEW TO TEACHING instructor in almost every grade level. Each teacher is often lost in how to teach the kiddos. They do a very poor job in communicating to parents. They never want to use the tools they pay for like ParentSquare. On the rare occasion they do use it, they default to comments set to OFF or at best set to private so no one else can learn from the question/feedback (probably out of fear from what will be said by all parents who are thinking the same thing).I feel as of my child is constantly being left behind because the DISTRICT relies on the money from fund raising instead of joining the other districts to pool a bigger budget. Because this district is only made up of two schools (spreckles and BV) they pay below market to teachers and have a very hard time getting any quality instructors to stay. I don't blame the teachers... I too would just put in my 1 or 2 years to get experience and then bounce to a real teaching job with real pay/benefits. This is probably why the scores for Spreckles and BV are so low, even if the local homes pay a lot in property taxes to fund the schools. I guess someone higher up is pocketing a giant pay package while all the people who do the real work of teaching the kiddos is getting scraps.I would strongly suggest anyone who is considering purchasing a home in this area not to have any school age kids. Empty nest folks or rental home in the area means you don't have to deal with this mess. Take the school rankings very seriously. Do a little googling to see if BV or Spreckles has lost any court cases brought against them or made any news headlines in the recent years. Kids are the future, I would personally feel my child would be getting a significantly better education at any normal Monterey County school that was rated 3 or 4 instead of this district of only 2 schools called Spreckles and BV that are rated as a 5 or 6 (as of this writing).BEWARE... do your Due Diligence before you inflict this on those innocent kiddos
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2024

Our daughter has gone to this school since Kindergarten and is now in fifth grade. Mrs. O’Hara is the new principal this year. She is engaging and lovely to all equally. Dr. Tarallo the superintendent is always working hard for our children and also available to all equally. The teachers work so very hard and are dedicated to our children. We have been very happy with this school and our daughter just loves going to school daily. They also have fun art, choir, dance, volleyball, wellness center and basketball programs for the children. The school has embraced diversity and inclusion welcoming all equally and it has been awesome to watch over the years improve.
Submitted by other on June 07, 2023

My last review about the school wasn't posted so I'm trying again. Basically my child an other children in the school have been being bullied by a couple of students. The school told me it wasn't a big deal but my child was sobbing, which tells me it was a bigger deal than they were letting on. I had to hear about the situation from another parent before the school told me of the incident. The school tried to make it sound very simple, however in speaking with other parents I discovered that this wasn't the case.I expressed my concerns to the school principal and vice principal who told me they were handling it. The way the school handled it was to give the person doing the bullying a super star award. This sends the message to those being bullied that their situation doesn't matter and isn't a big deal. It also rewards the bully for their behavior and in doing so perpetuates the problem. The school refused to discuss with me the impact this may have had on my child. I am extremely disappointed in the school and the way this situation was handled.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2021

Teachers are good but it all comes from the top to bottom. Principle is horrible. She preaches about bullying but yet is probably the most unapproachable person I’ve ever known. If you’re a favorite no need to worry your child will be praised if you aren’t well you’re pretty much irrelevant. There are children not even living in the district that are HUGE bullies but that’s ok I guess. Favoritism. Would not recommend this school if you’re looking for diversity and community. It’s high school all over again for parents and our kids pay the price. Sad. Classrooms are ran inconsistently because the poor teachers have to put up with snobby parents backlash.
Submitted by parent on March 28, 2021

In viewing the feedback from others, I have to agree that the principal does play favorites with families. You can see that also play out in the classrooms/teachers as well. I have noticed a lot of material is religious based with a saying of "Oh and if you don't celebrate it, thats okay too...". The actual lessons being taught in class are very slow paced and boring for my child. They can learn more on YouTube for kids vs in class daily. As others have pointed out, the school is very disorganized, you will get a message at 8:15am (often) with a surprise change in what they are doing that day. They will send an email, but no text. However, you will get multiple text messages for fundraising and emails, because they want your money. It would be nice if they could do something to earn the donations from well off parents (I would rather go out of my way to donate to a different school instead of this one just because another school has better reviews/rankings/results). Reward those who are doing well. We are looking for a new residence soon, I will be focusing away from this school because it just isn't a right "fit" for my expectations. I suspect you need to start with the principal to make a turn around. This place really seems like a Hit or Miss depending on your role.
Submitted by parent on January 16, 2020

First year in attendance at this school. No issues; great experience so far. We are very pleased with the staff. Superintendent Tarallo is very personable and helpful. Our 1st grade teacher Mrs. Stroud is top notch!
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2019

Teachers were good and seemed to care about the kids and their education. The principal is another story. She doesn’t like to be bothered unless it brings positive attention to her.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2017

Our experiences have been good so far.
Submitted by parent on March 17, 2016

Great families and teachers. Small-town values and and a solid education. My kids have thrived here academically after struggling in a Bay Area school.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2015

Wonderful teachers. Tons of parents who are involved in their children's lives. Great technology training for the children, music program is awesome. Overall the learning environment and community involvement in this school have met and exceeded all of my expectations
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2012

The Good News Club really has no business being at this school using the classroom. Seems that parents let their kids go to it right after school to either have an extra hour for their kids to be or because they think that they are learning about Christianity. I peeked through the little pink book they handed out to the children on the first day and I was shocked. Almost every page was filled with words to scare the children into not sinning. Satan this and you better be like this and like that. It was not just one page, every page I picked was similar. I believe in God and I just don't think that is the right way to teach our children. They may not be affiliated with the school, but passing out flyers in my child's class and starting right after school gets out, seems pretty well tied in. Checking it out, almost every kid in there if not all of the kids attends Spreckels. Other than that, the school has been great and teachers are great and really care.
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2012

Our twins joined Spreckels in Fall of 2011 as first graders, and they love it. In kindergarten (at a different school) they begged us every day to stay home because they were so unhappy there. We put a lot of time, research and thought into selecting Spreckels; and we know without a doubt that we made the right choice for our boys. The principal, Teresa Scherpinski, and their teacher, Mr. Price, clearly love the kids and their work. They make it easy and comfortable for parents to be involved; and they respect each student as an individual. They make school interesting and fun - and the boys come home every day telling us about the new things they've learned. Both kids have made significant progress in all subjects. We love Spreckels!!
Submitted by parent on January 03, 2012

Really disappointed with this school. Communication to parents in general has been awful. There are some great teachers but it seems like the disorganization and lack of professionalism comes from the top down. There have been countless times that the office has failed to notify the teacher of an absence as well as the office failing to notify us of significant events regarding our child. This school seems like it's in a time warp as far as the lack of discipline, holding kids responsible for their performance and using newer teaching tools. This is the type of school that your kid can fall between the cracks if you're not on top of things. We received a notice today that Spreckels Elementary has failed to meet the "no child left behind" standards and that we can move our kid to any other school in the district and even receive FREE tutoring. This school district is in financial trouble and that could be impacting morale among the people running this school but that's no excuse for administration not running a tight ship. If you like a school that your kids can show up late or not at all and not get any sort of phone call then then Sprekels is for you!