Fairwood Elementary School

1110 Fairwood Avenue

School District

Sunnyvale
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:19
Type

public

School Map for Sunnyvale 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 14, 2024

The principal, Ms Romander, is absolutely amazing and she is so involved both with the teachers and the students. All of the teachers are top notch - the school has an incredible community feel where the teachers are looking at the whole student. We wish there were more schools like Fairwood everywhere in the country, but Fairwood is just so unique - go to an open house to see for yourself.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2023

Excellent teachers and administrators. Great academics and great community
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2022

I have 3 boys and two of them already graduated from Fairwood. The Fairwood Explorer program was great for the kids and the parents as well. The involvement of the parents enable the school to have additional supports and was able to enrich overall education experience for the children.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2020

The school environment and mindset of sportsmanship and sense of community is amazing. At Fairwood children are encouraged to be respectful in their languages and actions towards on another. Parents involvement is the key to a successful edicational system. From projects to field trips or academics and play time; my family and I have been grateful for having found an amazing school in the heart of silicone valley that is able to combine successful academics and driven social emotional skills!
Submitted by parent on November 26, 2017

My kid is in kindergarten this year 2017. Her teacher is amazing and my kid loves going to school. We love the parent participation in the school , really gives an insight of what is going on in the class and the teaching methods used. Overall my child's progress has improved after joining this school
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2017

I have one child who went to Fairwood Explorer from K-5 and a second who is currently in 4th grade. The Explorer program is a parent participation program that focuses on the whole child. This program used to be only a subset of the school however in recent years, they have tried to roll it out school wide. This has caused a lot of growing pains, but I believe it will have a positive long term effect. The 4/5 classes get to go on some amazing field trips including overnights because parents step up and make it possible. This includes, camping trips, Sutters Fort, Balcutha, Angel Island etc. I have been very impressed with the teachers and know that this is a great place for my kids, even if there are still growing pains. I ensure my voice is heard on items I care about and try to be part of the solution. I encourage others to do the same.
Submitted by parent on September 05, 2017

The teachers in this school are great. They make small groups so they can individualize learning as much as possible. The more parents volunteer, the more individualized learning the teachers are able to provide. There is no judgment, just a desire to help a child make progress at his or her level. I also like how secure the campus is. Teachers let kindergartners out only when they see their parent.
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2015

This is our child's third year in the Fairwood Explorer Program after beginning in kindergarten. It is in the process of expanding to the entire school. it is very exciting to see that the Great Schools rating has increased from 6 to 9 since our child has been here, and it is well deserved. We have been very happy with all three of our child's teachers at this school. They are very dedicated, and it is obvious that they truly care about their students and want them to succeed. Parent volunteers give our children a lot more opportunities for learning and also make it possible for additional cooking, art, garden and science projects. Our child absolutely loves school and has advanced well above grade level. There are also a lot of great after school activities and social events offered. We love the community and have made many great friends here. We have a new principal this year and so far he seems very nice. Can't say enough great things about our school!
Submitted by parent on September 24, 2015

Great community. Warm and accepting. They typify the term, "It takes a village". It am very at ease with my child being cared for both by the other parents and the staff. I appreciate that there is true diversity on campus both socioeconomic and cultural. There are some transitional bumps as the whole school moves to the parent participation model. The board is working diligently to make it happen and I believe strongly they will be successful. Very pleased with my child's experience.
Submitted by parent on August 25, 2015

My daughter is in her second year and we are really enjoying this school. Great community, lots of diversity and the parent involvement is great! Looking forward to our son attending here as well.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2014

It's a bit of a generalization for the reviewer below to paint all negative reviews as linked to a new charter school opening up. With all due respect, you are very new to the community and haven't witnessed most of the growing pains. Even last year there was inner strife. Feel free to look at the messages on UpToUs from last year as proof. We were bombarded with arguments through mass emails each day. There is a reason why discrection on UpToUs was stressed at the beginning of this school year. This is our 4th year at Fairwood and used to be like you and wonder why families in the upper grades were unhappy because we didn't see it. K-1 is Fairwood's strongpoint. For grades 2-3, only one teacher is worth having. The other two are very unorganized and lack structure and communication. There is a grade 2 class that has many complaints from fellow parents I know for several reasons. We have gone this far, and haven't reached the threshold for leaping yet. Private school is not an option and new charter school isn't viable for us yet due to unknown stability. We hope there is an improvement in 4th grade teachers next year.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2014

Been here since the start and see truths to many comments below. Yes-growing pains. Yes-hard working teachers and involved parents. Yes-adjusted vision. Yes-email sent requesting proper ways to voice parent complaints. Yes-heard both support and complaints from parents. Yes-principal allows for major variations of how teachers interpret program's mission. I've worked in classes where kids obviously put in wrong groups (slow readers with more advanced and vice versa). I've been in classes where I've helped to supplement curriculum and utilized every minute, while for another teacher many classes were unorganized and most parents sent home regularly even at the beginning of shift. Several worksheets for HW in one class, optional for another. Glad to see positive discipline classes for kids, but have seen yard duty and teachers being harsh on children without having them work things out. I saw a girl get pushed by another child. She turned around very upset, and teacher blamed her. When I stepped in and explained what I saw, the teacher just walked away. Pros and Cons. Program still in infancy. Wondering if it will mature by the time my child leaves.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2014

My daughter is in second grade in the Fairwood Explorer program and has been there since kindergarten. When my daughter was ready for kindergarten we looked around at our home public school and some of the private schools for a program that we felt would fit our daughter's learning styles and our desires for her to have a wide range of experiences while being in a smaller school environment. We found the Explorer program and are excited to be directly involved in her learning and belonging to a community that is looking for a similar experience and willing to put the time in to make it happen. The parent participation has been the key for me. Beyond allowing more individualized attention than a standard classroom it has allowed me to know my daughter, her classmates and her teachers better. My daughter has grown over the years both as a student and a person. I have also enjoyed seeing the students I work with grow as well. I do reading coaching this year and have been impressed with the kids' progress. I am excited for my son to start next year and to see, and help, the program grow as it becomes a campus-wide program.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2014

This school is in chaos!!! I've read all the reviews and anyone considering this program should take into account, that there are two sides to this story. Those that love the school, the principal and the new philosophy and those that feel the original vision of the program was not implemented as they were told it would. I'm currently still at the school, but completely unhappy with the leadership and implementation of the vision. One comment below talks about how all the parents are energized, which is pretty funny given that we recently received an e-mail from our prinicipal to ask us to stop talking on the playground about how bad the teachers are and how we dislike the program. Of course, that isn't wise to talk where children can hear, but from the e-mail, we can all see that it isn't a positive school environment where most people are happy. I'm so tired of all the drama. I'm excited to hear that the original parents who started the Explorer program (since all leaving the board of directors by choice on the same day last year) are creating a charter school (Spark Charter School). Perhaps the original vision will now be realized in another school.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2014

FAIRWOOD ELEMENTARY IS A GREAT SCHOOL. IT'S SMALL IN COMPARISON TO OTHER SUNNYVALE SCHOOLS AND TEACHER FRIENDLY, PARENT FRIENDLY ALL IN ALL A GREAT SCHOOL TO ATTEND. AND THE PRINCIPAL IS RIGHT ON THE BALL!
Submitted by parent on February 02, 2014

Just to clarify a few incorrect points from below...3 of the 4 founding parents of the Explorer program still attend school here, and one is the president of the Explorer Board. Some parents are trying to start a charter school, and no one has tried to block it. There was a public meeting for input, and the district approved the charter. We have so many enthusiastic, highly involved parents here. This is a strong, thriving and excellent program; it's expanding next year to enroll only Explorer students into Kinder, which shows the district's support of this program. Our classrooms are actively doing hands-on activities, parent-led activities, garden lessons, cultural presentations, classes go on many field trips (about once a month), and after-school activities include Destination Imagination, Girl Scouts, basketball, chess, etc. After school, I see parents socializing, kids playing on the new playgrounds or in their activities. Lunch-time activities are happening, and Family Math Night, Science Day and other events are coming up this school year. This has been a grass roots effort and will continue to thrive and improve each year, with parents' loyalty and engagement.Thanks!
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2014

My son just started at this school this year. As a parent I am quite happy with the explorer program. He has already had several field trips, parent-student projects, lessons about dealing with and preventing bullying, he participates in afterschool activities, and benifits from the increased attention afforded by having parents support the teacher's classroom activities. There appears to be some changes this year from previous years in how the parent volunteering is organized , but I would just call that working out the kinks of a relatively new program.
Submitted by parent on January 01, 2014

I am simply heartbroken. We started at this school three years ago and it was phenomenal to watch all of the parents come together to create this program from scratch. Talk about a Start-Up! Now I don't know what's happening to the school I love. The district seems to not support this type of program as it creates inequality (it is a parent-participation program so Explorer classrooms have parents in the classroom whereas neighborhood classrooms typically do not). Due to District non-support, the founding parents have left to start a charter school in Sunnyvale. Since then, there's been no lunch time activities, no Family Math Night, no NASA/stargazing night, few after-school activities, no Passport program--it has all disappeared into thin air!! I sympathize with the district's concern about potential inequality, but all the students were benefitting from these activities, so how is this better for them???
Submitted by parent on December 09, 2013

The Fairwood Explorer program does not offer what it claims to. I started my child there because I was told at an orientation meeting by principal Sarah Tellez that Fairwood Explorer offers a whole child, project-based education. Rather, Fairwood Explorer teaches the same material in the same way as the Sunnyvale district school we came from, just with more parents participating in the classroom. I was hoping that the New Common Core Standards would foster critical thinking, help the children make connections, and add more project based learning. So far, I am seeing huge piles of completed worksheets come home from school and we are asked to do projects at home, which I thought would happen at school (these projects are time consuming, so parents do most of the work, so where is the learning). Explorer is nice enough, but it is not a whole child, project based education program. Some people say it's a growing pain and Explorer will get there, but honestly, shouldn't the program have delivered it promises after I believe 4 years of existence?
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2013

The Explorer Program did not work for my family. I regret the time spent in this program. My child was bullied and treated unfairly by the teacher. We are now at a different school and my child is in a class with a wonderful teacher. My child is very very happy. I was "shocked" to learn that the teachers, some parents and the principal were trying to block a new charter school in Sunnyvale that encompasses the "whole child" concept. Learning is about the children. Children do well in different types of schools. If you are happy with this school..great. Let others make their own choices. There is "always" room for more schools "for our children".