Otero Elementary School

Posted: October 26, 2021

This school is horrible, and I do not believe they have the best intentions for certain student's for being on a different learning level. It shows in the way they interact with our children! The teacher's there do not know how to provide extra one on one help when it's needed. If the district/teacher's want each student on the same learning level then they should provide extra help before or after school. I believe that every student learns differently, and when some of the students are a little behind others they single them out, and make them feel like they are not smart. This school needs better learning programs and also better teacher's!!

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: October 26, 2021

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

Posted: August 18, 2017

I would say this school is bad right now. I had an awesome experience with this school since my child was in kindergarten but now the school is currently all over the place..
They ring the bell at 8:15 for people to start walking their kids to class but expect everyone in class by 8:20 it's impossible when you have parents and students walking through a small hallway not to mention they only have one door open..
I really hope they get it together, they were honestly good with the 8:35 start time and the bell rang at 8:15 it gave everyone enough time.. This school was awesome and now I have no idea what's going on now..

Posted: May 23, 2017

Posted: May 23, 2017

Absolutely not. My child was at the head of his class academically, but had some behavior issues. Instead of challenging him academically so he wasn't so bored they just sent him home anytime he acted out.

Posted: May 23, 2017

The principal is the most uncompassionate member of the staff. She was rude to me, as a parent, every time I saw her and tried to insinuate that I was a bad parent.

Posted: May 23, 2017

Any problems they just send the child home.

Posted: May 23, 2017

My child changed teachers 3 times this academic year and the most recent teacher he had could not have been 25 years old and did not have the experience to deal with any kind of non-typical situation.

Posted: May 23, 2017

We had no homework other than 30 minutes of reading.

Posted: May 23, 2017

We were new to the area and accidentally got registered to this school and not our neighborhood school. At first they made a big deal about it like I was trying to "sneak" my kid in there because their rating was 2 points higher than our neighborhood school. So I had to forward emails to prove they are the ones that registered my child there, not me. We have not had any serious issues in any prior school until we came here. In the 8 months that my child was at this school they suspended him (out of school) over 8 times! He's 7 years old with ADHD! If you send your kids here you better hope they like them because when they don't they will make your life and your child's life a living hell.

Posted: November 8, 2016

Posted: November 8, 2016

My youngest child has been going to this school for two years. Kinder and now first grade and both years have been great! He has had negative interactive situations this year but the staff (everyone from his teacher, to the Principle) has been very supportive and even added measures to take for my child when these incidents happen. I hate that we have to leave in the middle of the school year when the progress is really helping my child. The academics are great as well. The staff knows all of the students, and everyone is greeting upon coming to school daily. I have really enjoyed my kids (oldest went last year and now in middle school) going to this school both years.

Posted: August 17, 2015

Although the staff at this school seem to have the best intentions, they seem overly stressed. It shows in the way they interact with our children. The things I have witnessed in this school were both disrespectful and demeaning to the students. This will be our second year with Otero and I hope to see big changes that put the care and education of our students first. I encourage all parents to pay attention to what this school is doing for our students this year.

Posted: June 18, 2015

The guidance counselor at this school needs to go back to college and learn how to work kids that are not neurotypical. The administrative staff needs to take responsibility for poor choices, lack of challenging matieral being presented to students who are above grade levels, creation of a poor learning environment and stressing a child on the asd spectrum to the point they will leave the building.

Posted: June 18, 2015

my child has had a horrible year in this school. Her academic performance was outstanding, however the indirect positive reinforcement for negative behaviors has caused me many sleepless nights and i have contacted many people. The school psychologist and the principle also have refused to even acknowledge receipt of an e-mail I sent to them regarding my childs diagnosis and asking them to acknowledge the correlation of behaviors and the diagnosis.
I feel like the actions by admin staff and others are simply they want to suspend a child and label them with emotional disturbances rather than actually looking at the fact that the child can be twice exceptional, in suspending the child repeatedly they are simply trying to set the child up for expulsion instead of trying to get the child an education.
if you have a child who is exceptionally gifted, you should challenge them in the classroom instead of insisting upon keeping them in the same matieral that they are bored of. Bored children leads to poor behavioral performances. It has been proven many times, if you keep a childs brain busy, they will perform much better behavioral wise.

Posted: April 20, 2014

My son attends Kindergarten here. He didn't have any prior preschool learning and my fault as the parent I didn't think to start teaching him. So he struggled trying to learn especially being a left handed kid and his father has a learning disability. But I am so proud to say he has improved so much from the first quarter till now the 3rd. He's on top of his work and I couldn't be any more proud and it's all thanks to his teacher Ms.Swenson and Otero. The curriculum and level they are learning at I am amazed and impressed with what she's been working on with the kids. Seeing him improve also pushed my husband and I to work harder with him at home, which is why I believe some parents may have complained about their kids but seriously the teachers do their part and we have to do ours !. So I give Otero a very high rating because my son is more confident than ever and I am very happy for him and how much he has grown academically since attending here.

Posted: September 27, 2013

2nd year for my son at Otero. Teachers are very good. They really seem to care. Academically my son thrives. Admin staff not always kind. It feels as if they forget the person and focus only on tasks and policies.

Posted: July 8, 2013

The teacher was not very encouraging to my child but she was sure to reprimanded them. When it came time for progress reports they would score my child low and during parent teacher conference the teacher would say "this does not represent what your child knows." It was obvious that the teacher had her favorites. This greatly prohibited my child from learning and excelling. My child is reading and she didn't explain that there were programs available for my child to participate in. I felt that the teacher did not have the drive to deal with the children at times. I'm not sure if it was the lack of funding, resources or teaching experience but Otero could use a lot of improvement. The office staff was also very uninviting. They made it seem like you were an inconvenience to their time. (In regards to the comment that teachers don't pay attention to their students. I too observed this when I went for a visit. The majority of the teachers are young and like to discuss their personal life.)

Posted: May 13, 2012

My daughter attended Otero from Kindergarten through 5th grade and did very well there. My son currently attends and is doing extremely well in his class. There are a few areas that I believe the school could excel in such as providing more student teachers or Aides in the classrooms. Right now the student to teacher ratios seem high- 1:28. Because of the different learning abilities within each class (special needs, ESL, gifted and just plain not ready for school) more interaction between students would help. Also, more after school activities like sports, drama, etc would be a great way for kids to have more extracurricular activities and have more invested in their education. This school has the potential to be one of the best elementary schools in District 2 alongside Soaring Eagles and James Irwin. Parents could benefit from more interaction in the PTA and being more involved in the classroom in general. Overall, the teachers and staff are doing a phenomenal job considering the diversity and dynamics of a primarily military families area school.

Posted: May 5, 2012

I love having my daughter at Otero and even though we have moved out of the district we still make the drive to school everyday. The teachers work so hard to make sure every child succeeds and the staff is amazing. The classwork is engaging and really makes it fun for the kids to learn and helps them want to meet higher goals. We are military but have decided without a doubt to keep our child at Otero until we are moved out of state. We are blessed to have found such a fantastic school.

Posted: May 1, 2012

My children have attended Otero elementary school for 2 years and have had a great experience. We are a military family that moves a lot, I was concerned about entering another school, but Otero made our transition so easy! The teachers and staff are highly motivated and eager to teach, they seem to find creative ways to encourage learning while sticking to the curriculum. I have had the pleasure of being able to volunteer within the school and the classrooms and it has been great to see kids excited to learn!

Posted: May 1, 2012

Otero Elementary and Harrison School District 2 are doing wonderful things. My son should be going to WSD3, but because of the wonderful things going on, I switched him to Otero! Otero has wonderful, driven, and dedicated teachers! The administrators are absolutely dedicated to providing any and all things needed in order for all students to be successful. The school also has a V.I.P. program for Very Involved Parents and a very active PTA. Their core beliefs are: To improve student academic achievement. Effective instruction makes the most difference in student academic achievement. There is no excuse for poor quality instuction. With our help, at-risk students will achieve at the same rate as non at-risk students. Staff members must have a commitment to children AND a commitment to the pursuit of excellence. The Mission is "Our enduring mission is to emplower students to reach their greatest potential as life - long learners in both academic achievement and character development.

Posted: December 1, 2011

My daughter returned to Otero for her second year there and I have to say that the school is doing well. Not perfect, but the effort is there. This year, I don't see "some" of the excellent teachers that were there last year (to include a counselor), but there are still a number of caring educational leaders still there this year. I have seen some kids there that I wish my daughter didn't have to attend school with, but it is easy to see that those kid's issues lead back to their parents, people who can't see the obvious in themselves, and wouldn't care to fix it if they did. I will stick with and support Otero Elementary and its staff as I see great potential in the school. I would like to see the morning gathering of the students in the gym once again as I thought it added to the school spirit that was building. Finally I would like to give large kudos to the librarian and ask the other teachers to keep the spirit alive. I know it is tough, but we are counting on you.

Posted: August 19, 2011

If your child fits into the box of their "pefered" student, life is good at Otero. Children who face any sort of challenge, or are military are like "problem" children. We are hoping to move our child soon. Although my husband and I are intelligent people we are spoken to like we don't have a brain between our ears, and the Principle and Vice Principle are more concerned with their status and appearance than anything else. They often give the "oh yes I totally understand" look and then seem to worry more about everything but what is wrong in their school.