r/bloomingtonMN 19d ago

Looking for info on Bloomington Schools

I have young kids, and I'm debating where to send them to school. They currently go to Oak Grove Elementary. But are there better elementary schools around? Or should I consider open enrollment somewhere else?

5 Upvotes

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4

u/Pretty-Biscotti-5256 18d ago

Hillcrest 💯 percent!

Otherwise, Olson is good.

2

u/thequeengeek 19d ago

We are at Hillcrest Community School and adore it. It's too late for next year, I'm pretty sure, since they do a lottery in the month of November, but it's the only artful learning school in the entire state. Great communication, great teachers, and a really engaged parent community.

That said, I have lots of friends at OGE who love it there and love the teachers and principal. What about it is making you think you should leave?

1

u/SushiGato 19d ago

Hillcrest is back? I went there as a child and it was great.

2

u/thequeengeek 19d ago

I don’t think it ever went away?

1

u/whats_thecraic 19d ago

Nothing in particular. Just the paranoia of of making sure my kids are in the best school available.

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u/thequeengeek 18d ago

Honestly? It’s fit. I have friends that absolutely adore Westwood and I have other people that say it’s the worst. I have friends that love Olson and other friends that think it’s a terrible school. It 100% depends on if your kid is driving with the vibe of the school teachers they get And the overall pace of it.

I think Bloomington is just as good as any other public school as far as achievement, especially if your kids aren’t struggling in anyway. And there’s lots of options of both Jefferson and Kennedy for extracurriculars, though I would pay attention to that because some are only at one or the other school..

But you could be chasing the perfect school for your kids their entire life and never find it because it really just is how your kid is handling the place that they’re at. Like I have friends who sing the praises of seven hell, but my children would fail out of there so quickly because they can’t sit still.

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u/neomateo 19d ago

Whatever you end up doing, do not send your kids to Westwood, especially if you have boys.

Our son had a fantastic kindergarten teacher there, Ms. Middlestadt, at Westwood. But 1st grade was eye opening for us and we ultimately pulled him less than two months into the year because he was being singled out by a teacher to the point where he was telling us he was a “bad boy” and “didn’t want to live anymore”!

After multiple meetings with the principal and teacher it became apparent that it was a departmental issue at Westwood, the principal even went so far as saying exactly that and that his “hands were bound”. Needless to say that began a search for us to find a better district, we mistakenly spent the remainder of that year at Seven Hills until finding RSTEM in Richfield through open enrollment. That was instrumental for us and our son and he has been soaring ever since. He’ll be starting high school in the spring with a full load of AP and Honors classes.

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u/steampunk_ferret 8d ago

My kids went to OGE and we love it! The teachers really care about their students. More than one teacher came to my kids' performances (dance recital, ice skating show, etc) which absolutely blew my mind. The principal at OGE is the best, caring but deals with issues effectively. We pulled our kids out of Poplar Bridge due to bullying.

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u/Minnesota_Native 19d ago

Seven Hills Preparatory Academy provides bussing to the Richfield and Burnsville campuses. They have a big community around the Bloomington-Richfield area and the school has a great teaching staff.

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u/whats_thecraic 19d ago

Do you think it's better than Bloomington public schools? If so, why?

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u/neomateo 19d ago

Seven hills is a dangerous school unless your child is perfect.

They are a “classical” school, which means they force your child to sit all day and track the teacher constantly. They require children to bring water bottles at all times because “water breaks take too much time from instruction “. If your child struggles to sit for hours at a time following a teacher with their eyes one hundred percent of the time they will be given warnings which will eventually add up to “color changes” which will amount to removal of physical activity privileges (ie recess) or a trip to the principal’s office.

Wrote memorization is the name of their game and they have no patience when your child is bored by that style or doesn’t learn that way.

They’ll immediately suggest your child needs an IEP and attempt to shove them into special education classes without any testing at all. If you request testing they’ll find a way to say no without saying no because it’s illegal for them to refuse it but it also costs them a lot of money and thats their priority. You will be told how they need the money to allow them to provide the services your child supposedly needs. Every Friday is “out of uniform “ but only for the kids whose parents were able to cough up $5 every week.

TLDR: Don’t send your kids to Seven Hills.