Lowell Elementary School

Posted: May 5, 2026

Our family has been at this school for 10 years now and could not be happier. The teachers are amazing, collaborative and have high expectations for themselves and each other. There has been a new principal for four years and under his leadership this school has continued to thrive. The PTA is very strong and works hard to try and get all families to feel a part of the community in whatever way works for them- no overt pressure for volunteering and focus more on communication. Teachers send communication home, and formats like newsletters, on a minimum of twice per month. The principal sends home a letter to all families via email every single Friday. The PTA sent home a newsletter. Every Monday morning, and they have social media pages in a website. Could not be happier with this school, and it’s been beautiful to see demographics changing in the neighborhood, bringing more diversity and backgrounds.

Posted: May 5, 2026

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Posted: April 27, 2026

I had a terrible experience at this school, we ended up pulling our son out of school. He is currently thriving at his new school. He attended kindergarten here and dreaded going to school early on. He was falling behind yet there was no resources or intervention from the school. I was constantly met with hostile pick up remarks from his teacher which were complaints that she could’ve easily handled in the classroom. I would ask my child what they learned at school and they never wanted to talk about school. Now at their new school, they’re excited to share about their day and teacher. They come home with a binder that showcases everything they did that day, so we know what they’re learning. They also have fun projects they’ve worked on and a timeline of what they need to know by a certain date which helps us stay on track. On the other hand at Lowell elementary they would come home with nothing but empty worksheets and it was very hard to tell what they learned each day, they never had projects. I asked my student why the worksheets were blank and my student said it’s because they had no help and didn’t know what to do. Now at their new school they never come home with blank worksheets and if anything is blank the teacher writes why it was blank. I am beyond grateful that I listened to my gut and moved my child out of this school. Now they get the help they need and the teacher truly cares about her students. She gets to know them and has been a kindergartner teacher for over 20 years!

Posted: April 27, 2026

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Posted: September 25, 2025

We love our school! Teachers and admin go above and beyond to make sure kids are engaged, safe, and comfortable. The PTA is active and it’s easy for parents to get involved in the classroom (if they want). Communication between school and home is strong - if you need to speak with your child’s teacher or the principal you will get a prompt response. Lowell is a neighborhood gem!

Posted: September 25, 2025

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Posted: June 25, 2025

Lowell is an amazing school, the teachers, administrators and parents are great. They care about the kids a lot.

Posted: February 4, 2020

Average. And if Lowell is earning a score of 7 out of 10, that really speaks to how bad the rest of the Tacoma schools are.

Posted: February 4, 2020

A handful of the worksheets just seem like busywork. Every now and then they’ll have an interesting project that really challenges them in a good way.

Posted: February 4, 2020

Posted: February 4, 2020

They have a program that promotes these values

Posted: February 4, 2020

I really don’t think they do a very good job of reaching out to all parents

Posted: February 4, 2020

This is not a school to send your child to if they have learning disabilities or physical disabilities

Posted: February 4, 2020

Posted: May 8, 2019

I'm completely disenchanted with this school and my experience has been anxiety inducing and exhausting. I have gone to great lengths to work with school staff and network with other parents. Many many parents have nothing but good things to say. I have also heard there is a scattered community of parents who have endured a similar experience to mine. I have learned that my child's kindergarten teacher has a reputation that precedes my personal experience. I have learned that there are many parents who believe, as I do, the Principle's leadership skills are lacking. I applied to have my child transferred to a different North End School. I have also heard that after Kindergarten, the experience at this school will be a breeze especially after this particular Kindergarten teacher. The general sentiment is, "it can only get better." So we'll see what happens next year.

Posted: May 8, 2019

My only school-aged child is in Kindergarten. He does not typically recieve homework. I can not speak for other grades.

Posted: May 8, 2019

This schools test scores show that teachers are doing something right. However, my child's kindergarten teacher NEEDS to take some sort of Early Childhood Education Certification. She is severely disconnected and far too

Posted: May 8, 2019

Punishment is overused at this school. The children who need extra help demonstrating compassion and respect are punished and pushed further down the rabbit hole.

Posted: May 8, 2019

Parental opinions of Principle Rossman are ambivalent. I encountered numerous parents and teachers who felt her leadership skills lacked. I myself felt placated by her on more than one occasion. My son had a severe uncharacteristic melt-down in class and the principal called campus security- officers uniformed in tactical gear- POLICE.... on a FIVE year old. When I asked her what she expected to happen after they were called, she told me, they are trained in deescalation and that it also sends a very effective message to the kids when they see police response. She gave my son lunch detention for things like "dishonesty", because he didn't admit to allegedly writing on the paper of a child next to him. When asked how regular it is for Kindergarten students to serve lunch detention, she told me almost daily. There is a community of parents who feel harassed by the principle and alienated by her alarmist responses to certain situations. She criminalizes young children for acting like young children.

On the other hand, there is a large community of parents who love her. I hope you get the latter experience, if your child attends this school. I myself am learning to work in partnership with her to advocate for my developmentally typical 5 year old son.

Posted: May 8, 2019

My son's kindergarten teacher reprimands him if he writes his letters in a different format from the curriculum she taught: curvy "w" instead of straight slanted lines for "w"

Posted: May 8, 2019

Hard to say. They strongly enforce punishment of physical escalations, but they don't get all sides of the situation and miss verbal bullying that usually leads to the escalated physical reaction from another child.

Posted: September 1, 2016

We have loved all of our teachers at Lowell. They have a great system of changing teachers for different subjects, like middle school, which will help prepare them for that practice at their next school. I'm grateful that my kids have attended Lowell and would recommend it to everyone.

Posted: November 18, 2014

I would give this School a top rating, but this year we are very upset about our youngest child's kindergarten teacher. VERY UNPERFESSIONAL! I'm going to end on that note.

Posted: October 13, 2011

Lowell has a fantastic group of teachers and the principle is OUTSTANDING! The staff is very passionate about their jobs and it shows. The kids are happy and the overall vibe is very good there!