Truckee Elementary School

11911 Donner Pass Road

School District

Tahoe-Truckee Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Tahoe-Truckee 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 February 21, 2025

My daughter and I love Truckee El! Principal Galles is very responsive to issues and clearly cares a lot. My daughter loves all of her teachers so much and she is learning well above average. She is always excited to go to school.
Submitted by parent on February 21, 2025

Truckee El is a wonderful neighborhood school and is beautifully reflective of the Truckee community. There are amazing support systems in place and many special touches, like schoolwide Mindful Moments every morning, and building a social/emotional 'toolbox.' The school actively embraces parent engagement. The cafeteria serves food sourced from the Tahoe Food Hub and students go downhill skiing, cross country skiing, and swimming as part of their field trips. We moved here from the North Bay and are highly impressed with the facilities & school staff!
Submitted by principal on February 21, 2025

As the principal of Truckee Elementary, I am incredibly proud of our school and our school community! We are committed to maintaining high academic expectations while ensuring that every student receives the support they need to succeed. Our dedicated teachers use innovative and research-based instructional practices to engage students in meaningful learning experiences.Truckee Elementary is a diverse and inclusive school where students from all backgrounds feel valued and supported. We believe in fostering a strong sense of belonging and collaboration among students, staff, and families. Our school provides a welcoming environment where students are challenged academically and encouraged to grow socially and emotionally.We take great pride in our student support systems, including intervention programs, enrichment opportunities, and a strong focus on social-emotional learning. Our goal is to nurture confident, capable learners who are prepared for future success.We also value the partnership between our school and our families. We are engaging our families in ways that build trust and support our students. Partnering with families and engaging with our community are at the heart of what we do, and we encourage parents to be active participants in their child's education.We have established amazing community partnerships and are looking to grow them! We have given all Kindergarten through 5th grade students the opportunity to ski at Palisades Alpine as part of their instructional day. Connecting kids with the outdoors and a chance to experience our amazing community is part of how we believe kids get excited about learning and closer to acquiring a lifelong skill/passion.Truckee Elementary is a special place, and I invite families to visit, receive a school tour and experience the positive, student-centered culture that makes our school a fantastic place to learn and grow!
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2025

We have had a great experience in Truckee El. This rating does not make it justice. Staff is great, everyone they are always positive and happy. Don't mind the office staff, they are very helpful and competent. Highly recommend.
Submitted by parent on January 01, 2025

The ratings for Truckee El are severely outdated. With a new Principal and a demographic shift due to COVID, this school is really a fantastic place for a kid to be. My little one loves to goto class each day, has a great group of friends with diverse backgrounds, and the school does a great job not “skipping” the arts. The mobile apps and weekly emails make it easy to stay tuned as a parent. Couldn’t be happier.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2024

I am baffled by this rating for TES. Sure, no school is perfect, but TES is simply wonderful. First, the school is newly remodeled and immaculate. Because of how much snow we get it's difficult to maintain the playground, but they do an amazing job. They have an all-scratch cooking kitchen, organic produce, organic milk served in a glass and a salad bar for all students. The front desk staff is warm and welcoming. The new principal is energetic and kind. The school counselor works with a Wellness coordinator as a team and they are awesome. I know they test scores are not great, but these teachers work their hearts out. The serve native English speakers in the exact same way they serve ESL students, with respect and love. I wouldn't change this school choice at all! Great Schools, YOU could do better at rating this school!
Submitted by parent on May 22, 2024

Experience depends on direct teacher, capacity for parent involvement and ability to “make up” the deficit. We ended up augmenting the below average learning done in the classroom with a homeschool curriculum, done outside of school hours. My son was not allowed to bring his independent study into school so he spent a lot of time reading when he was done each task in class. Increasingly, it seemed the students were required to become reliant on laptop programs like Lexia to progress, freeing up time for teachers to accommodate students requiring more support. We had 2 amazing teachers and the previous principal was incredible. We had hoped the GATE program would somewhat mitigate the below average learning experience but the GATE program was a complete joke. With a change in principal there was an obvious and rapid decline in staff satisfaction, student experience and definitely social safety. We changed schools and our only regret was making that decision sooner. I am sure many have positive experiences at TES and the ESL support is wonderful.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2018

I couldn't be more pleased with Truckee El and the overall school district. We moved to Truckee from Southern Marin 3 years ago (where schools are ranked "10"), and the schools here are absolutely on par, if not better in Language Arts specifically. Truckee El should be ranked a lot higher than it is. The leadership is incredible and the teachers are so passionate about their jobs. My children's CAASPP scores have improved, which is a telling indicator since they are still testing with the same cohort.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2015

I love how Truckee Elementary continually challenges and encourages it's students to become strong, efficient and passionate readers. Both my children started their 2014-15 school year 1-1.5 grades below their grade levels in reading. This is after having spent a year at Creekside Charter in Squaw Valley. During their time at Truckee El this past year, both kids jumped up 3 grade levels in their reading!
Submitted by other on June 03, 2015

My daughter started 2nd grade in the 90th percentile and was eager to learn. By the end of the 2nd grade, she was in the 30th percentile and had no interest in attending class. The school should consider a different approach for how they handle ESL students. I'm glad and happy to see their focus with improving the performance of ESL students, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the kids whose first language is English.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

I don't believe I would have wanted my children to attend any other school in the District. Truckee Elementary has an amazing teaching staff, who care deeply about the success of all students. The teachers work to not only teach the crucial skills needed to learn to read and do math, but to find ways to enrich the children's learning in so many other ways. The school has an envio-lution club which focuses on waste reduction and a food waste recycling program by using red worms to eat food that would have been thrown away. They have an amazing science program for 5th grade students that one of the teachers created and has UC Berekley staff teaching at the 3 day overnight program in the Tahoe National Forest. An after school music education program is offered throughout the year and led by one of the teachers. This is free of cost and children learn to play an instrument of choice and are taught by high school students. Art, writing, and science displays grace the halls of the main building. And to add to all this the school has an active and wonderful PTO. The parents give so much to the school. Their quest to provide enrichment during and after school goes above and beyond.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2013

I have had my older three go through Truckee El and my younger two are now starting.... It IS a great school with wonderful staff and excellent educators. I am VERY pleased and proud of my lil' Truckee Cubs.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2013

The educator's and staff at Truckee El do a wonderful job with all the children.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2013

This school is about community. Many parents involved, teachers who really care about the kids, and effort from the whole community to make Truckee El. a great school
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2013

As a parent of kindergartener and a 1st grader, I am very supportive of what this school has done with the resources given. There's always room for improvement no matter where you are and I'm confident that my children are on task with their education while blossoming socially. The teachers we've had have demonstrated a healthy combination of discipline and kindness. We are grateful to have them!
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2013

Truckee Elementary has superseded our expectations. What a wonderful place for my child to learn and grow!
Submitted by other on August 22, 2013

Truckee Elementary School is an important part of this community. Aside from the normal educational classes, the teachers are looking for different ways to help their students. There are various programs designed to help the children socialize properly within the existing community, and there s a special reading program to assist those children that are having a more difficult time. There is a group of volunteers that go to this school with their dogs, and the children with reading challenges read to the dogs. This program has helped a significant number of children and is a different way to help them be better readers
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2013

We have been very happy with the growth of our children at Truckee El. The teachers make sure to know and work with each student's strengths, weaknesses, and interests, both individually and in groups. We feel that the relationship between teachers, families and staff is as a team. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. We take pride in our cultural diversity. Truckee El has blossomed under the leadership of its principal and teachers. They are truly developing students to strengthen the community as a whole, in addition to developing intelligent, well-rounded individuals.
Submitted by other on August 05, 2013

Truckee Elementary School, even though it is a public school is filled with caring, creative teachers. The principal is hands- on, always available and a inspiring leader. It was her idea to have her hair publicly spray painted if the kids reached a very high goal to read certain amounts of words. Of course the kids came through :-) The atmosphere in the school is inviting, a local artist beautified the walls and integrated book characters and pupils drawings. Parents are very involved and make the school what it is : a place where kids are listened to and cared for. I volunteer at the school and started a dog reading program, another example of how progressive this place is.
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2012

We love Truckee Elementary. In reading the other posting in the past year, it is unfortunate that these parents weren't happy. The school has so much parent involvement and a very good staff. Bottom line, my children are doing very well. They have music, art, computer lab, science lab, library time, read 30+ plus nightly and play play play. We moved up from the bay area and would not raise our children anywhere else.