Ivy Creek Elementary School

We moved in the middle of the year from Oklahoma and I am so thankful for the teachers and staff at ICES. They genuinely care about their students.

Ivy Creek is a poor place to send children for a well-rounded and effective education. The reason Ivy Creek scores so highly in testing is because the teachers only teach to the tests. There are assessments of some kind every few weeks. The kids are always testing and never actually learning.

The gifted program (FOCUS) and the Accelerated Content (AC) classes do not provide additional educational challenge to the children in them. They merely serve as an opportunity for the school to pick out its best test-takers and groom them for better test performance. The work isn't more enriching in these programs, it is merely more volume. There is almost no project-based learning. The principal is the one who controls these programs at the school-level and she has made Ivy Creek a testing mill rather than a place of real education. It is an atmosphere that teaches children WHAT to think, rather than truly HOW to think.

Additionally, the atmosphere is one of constant negative reinforcement. There are rules, rules, rules at every turn and children are made to obey out of fear of being punished for the slightest violation of the many arbitrary rules rather than being taught the value of order and discipline. The students are encouraged to "tattle" on each other, and are rewarded for such behavior. Good behavior and positive traits are rarely, if ever, recognized. Our kids never had discipline issues in the school we previously attended for three years in another state, but here they are getting notes sent home, almost daily, for minor infractions that should easily be handled through good classroom management skills (i.e.: "child's name was clipped down today for picking at a string on the carpet" and "child got in trouble for playing with a pencil").

Before arriving at this school, our children loved going to school, they loved the gifted and advanced content classes in their previous school and were excited to learn there. After two years at Ivy Creek that joy is gone. Luckily, our oldest child will not be returning next year and we are weighing other options for our other children who currently attend or are reaching kindergarten age. Most of the positive reviews you see are from people who have never experienced another elementary school. We have, and this one does not stack up.

Ivy Creek is the place you want your child to attend. I have had 2 kids attend Ivy Creek since kindergarten. The teachers and staff are supportive and have the best interest of students in mind. Thank you Ivy Creek for supporting the whole child!

My daughter has been attending Ivy Creek Elementary since August 2013 and I must say that I'm extremely happy with how things have turned out. My daughter has gone from saying can I stay home to I wish we had School on the weekends. Thank you so much for making her School experience so wonderful.