Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet

Posted: April 28, 2023

Definitely in the business of breaking up families and punishing single mothers.

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: April 28, 2023

Posted: August 20, 2022

In the 80s and 90s, this was a great arts magnet school. Now it is a disaster. Enormous teacher turnover every year; I heard half of the teachers from last year (2021-2022) left. Huge focus on classroom behavior management that was excessively police-state punitive (giving and taking away points on ClassDojo on a minute by minute basis). It was such a dystopia that my kid was already stressed out on day 2 of Kindergarten. Teachers reward the most basic accomplishments by giving the kids cheap plastic toys all the time. The "Arts" part of this arts magnet school seems basically non-existent. Huge bullying problem that the administration does not really address. RISD dumps tons of money into this school and, yes, they have a 3D printer. But I would rather my kid have a solid education using up-to-date teaching methods in a safe environment than flashy tech.

Posted: August 20, 2022

Posted: June 5, 2020

Great speech therapist, Mrs Atwood, very caring and genuine. She's so great with my son, however, she's the ONLY reason he's made the progress he has. He's effectively communicating, making friends, and being more confident every year under her direction. He just isn't learning much in the classroom. He seems to get no individual instruction in lessons, where they are very much aware that he learns differently. His kinder teacher, Mrs B was great at teaching him, and if he'd had more teachers like her, I think he'd be much farther along academically.

Posted: June 5, 2020

They often don't pay attention to the bullying that does occur. I will say, we've had few incidents, they do teach acceptance, and have an ethnically diverse population. They just don't deal with bullying per se.

Posted: June 5, 2020

Well, we are leaving the school, so not fantastic. There are some great Ray's of sunshine in this school, but not an overall good education. The PTA is terrible and exclusive. I joined PTA, excited to be a part of the school community, starting in kinder. It's basically run by a clique of the "wealthier" parents, who for some reason, drive farther to attend this low rated school. I was never included in much, so I got turned off to the PTA, and after my first couple years, decided to stop signing up for it. They are so annoying in the way that they want every parent to contribute to "group gifts" that they present to the teacher. I really enjoy doing something for the teachers for teacher appreciation, but they practically force you to send everything through them. So, again, I lost enthusiasm. Seriously guys, the commoners are able to get a gift card to the teacher, and it SHOULD be presented by the kids, not the PTA snobs. Can't say I'll miss HPPM. Moving to Frisco ISD, so my kids have a chance in life.

Posted: June 5, 2020

They don't assign homework as of the 2019-20 school year. My kids always needed help on their homework in previous years, but I could gauge their weak areas that way. I didn't realize how little they were actually learning this year until they had to learn at home on iPads. Their teachers were praising how well they did at home assignments, but they didn't realize, it's because their uneducated mother was the one teaching the "review" subject matter.

Posted: June 5, 2020

This varies. I've seen some great effort from some teachers here, while others are very ineffective. This school is for teachers fresh out of school, then most will move on to better jobs. These kids get a roll of the dice on experience here.

Posted: June 5, 2020

Most of the kids here are pretty good kids. They don't really seem to do much with the ones who aren't. Extended day is like no rules, no supervision, and my Autistic son has been bullied, physically, with no response from Me Allen, but when a child of her ethnicity accused my son of something lesser, he was almost removed from the after school program.

Posted: June 5, 2020

The current principal is great, personable and energetic, but I have to say I'm neutral, based on overall performance of the school. He even moved his kids to a new district, so that says a lot.

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: February 11, 2018

HPPM is an amazing school. The principal is energetic and inviting and is awesome with all kids. The teachers are happy and eager to help and support kids in various levels. The fine arts program is top notch. It’s a hidden gem in Richardson.

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: February 11, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Terrible experience . they do not do anything about bulling. the staff attitude make you feel like you walked into a prison. I'v seen the front security watching inappropriate images on her phone with no regard that she is in elementary school. my son came home with ripped underwear and school response was "that's normal . we will buy new underwear". not just this one incident. teacher threaten my kid if he doesn't behave, she will have kids beat him up.....it's really bad school. i can't believe these kind of school exists in USA.

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: January 30, 2018

Posted: May 18, 2015

HPPM is a wonderful school with excellent teachers. I would love to see 100% parent involvement in some way - whether that is taking responsibility for your child's education or giving time to the library.

Posted: September 23, 2014

This is our second year at HPPM and we have been very happy here. The class sizes are small and the parent involvement is awesome. We love the diversity of the kids and the pride in the school.