Farragut Elementary School, K-5 (Public)

Strong leadership by a wonderful principal and a great teaching staff. Dedicated group of parent volunteers and lots of caring families. Lots of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities. Wonderful sports field, playground. Great garden! Amazing computer lab! The kids obviously love it, and they thrive academically and socially. Exceptional to this school is the higher percentage of involvement by fathers. Very pleased with our experience so far. Mother of a first grader and soon-to-be kindergartener.

My son went to an excellent pre-school in Santa Monica and my wife and I were very concerned when the time came for him to go to kindergarten. We are Culver City residents and had heard that the school district was very good and on the rise. Nevertheless it was very scary going from private school to public. I must say that Farragut Elementary School met all our hopes in that his kindergarten experience was excellent and he continues to progress at the same rate as before. The parents we have met and interacted with show the same dedication and committment that we have toward education. We have been lucky indeed to have moved to Culver City which has shown a real committment to education. Farragut Elementary is an exceptional school and I recommend it without hesitation.

This is what makes Farragut great: (1) high quality teachers that encourage and create a supportive learning atmosphere; (2) principal and administration that understands that our children's education and growth are not just a job--it's a calling and (3) involved and supportive parents and community that unselfishly give time, money and resources. Moreover, Farragut is diverse (race, ethnicity, background, beliefs, family structure).

Put simply: we love Farragut. The quality of the faculty and staff is excellent, the environment is friendly, supportive and caring, and the campus is safe, peaceful and clean. Our daughter is getting an excellent education and looks forward to going to school every day.

We currently have one child at Farragut, our other went through Farragut and is now at CCMS (happy with our choice too!). Farragut has a strong parent community. Each year, dedicated parents raise enough funds to pay for a part time art instructor, purchase top quality art supplies, and fund music programming for all grade levels (K-5). This arts instruction is included in their curriculum. Parents along with the leadership of the principal have brough in a wonderful personalied learning tool called Success Maker into the classroom as well. Each student participates with this excellent resource. Farragut has a great up-to-date computer lab, and a part time computer assistant to assist the teachers in running the lab. The teachers and principal at Farragut are top notch, very dedicated and offer a wonderful learning experiencne for the students. One of our teachers became a Teacher of the Year at both the local and county level last year! All in all, we have been very pleased with our local public school. For those new to sending your child to elementary school, times have changed, and parent involvement is critical to the success of your child's education.

Going to Farragut is not just like sending your kid to a school. It's like joining a community. There is an amazing amount of parent involvement, with several wonderful parents who volunteer long hours throughout the year to ensure our kids get the best education possible. From our full time artist-in-residence to our computer lab, Farragut is much more than your average public elementary school. Any child would be lucky to attend this school.

Farragut has everything we looked for in a school - - excellent teachers who are really invested in their classes - a principal who is involved and engaged with what's going on in the school - dedicated parent group who focus on the goal of improving the school for the children - arts instruction, including music & visual arts - cultural diversity We are thankful for our fabulous school!

Great teachers and a dedicated principal who strives to help students who are struggling and encourages students who have a hunger for learning. Farragut prepares our children for a life of learning.

This school is probably the worst school I've sent my child to.The teachers barely give any homework.My child finishes his homework in about 10 minutes and the most surprising thing is that they don't tell us when a test will be.The teachers don't let the students take any books home to prepare for the test.They discourage the all the students to prepare for the CST.THE MOST SURPRISING THING IS THAT THE TEACHERS TELL THE STUDENT TO NOT TO PREPARE FOR ANY TEST OR CST.If you talk to the principal about it,she says this is matter don't include me in it.

I love Farragut Elementary school because it has given my child a good education and the teachers are the best teachers you can ask for.

The staff is amazing - very attentive...Mrs. Roberts is a phenomenal teacher! My daughter has learned so much and loves school! The children are well rounded and the school is extremely diverse. I love how everyone has the the same goal ... making the world a better place for our children. Keep up the good work, Farragut! We need more schools like this!

Class sizes are normal,the teaching staff is great. There is always help when needed.

My daughter is in kindergarten and our first year experience has been wonderful. I have been able to communicate easily and effectively with not only her teacher, but with the school principal and staff.

Farragut is a great school because of all the extras the kids receive. Not only do we have terrific teachers, the kids get music and art, computer lab as well as a phenomenal extra curricular activities such as choir, handbells, musical theatre, dance, chess, art classes etc. Our teachers and parents help make this school truly unique.

Farragut is a great school because of the principal, teachers, support staff, parents and of course the kids. At Farragut, we have an art program and computer lab to benefit the children. We have hard working parents that help fundraise to make this all happen. We truly have a wonderful group of people that make Farragut a great school to be at.

The teachers, principal and staff are so committed. Parents are very involved too. The art program and computer lab are top notch and a new computer program was just implemented that give each child CUSTOMIZED individual training in all subjects.

it has it all! great student, great teachers, wonderful parents

Dynamic involvement-Parents and teachers are committed to the school and the children's education.

Great community school, unbelievably strong parent involvement, wonderful art program, outstanding effort by the Fan Club to come up with countless fun and creative fundraisers to raise money for a lot of the schools extra programs (and the events are ALWAYS well attended!), enthusiastic teachers, and just overall the school has a great spirit that is very inclusive. It doesn't hurt that my daughter has learned SO much, much more than I had anticipated for Kindergarten and she loves it there. I could not be happier with the school.

I love the diversity of the population. Racial diversity as well as socio-economic, political and cultural. Our families are involved, enthusiastic and commited to improving and supporting our school. Farragut is like a family. My children are thriving in every way and surrounded by loving, caring, intelligent people. The teachers are talented and dedicated. Farragut is a magical environment that promotes discovery, cooperation and hard work. We love Farragut Elementary School!!!

We have the best parent group around! And, we are committed to the arts!

Fabulous and active parents fan club; great after school program through the district OCD

Outstanding teachers. Very involved parents, PTA and Farragut Fan Club. There are other schools in the CCSD that my child could have attended, but I am thrilled to be at Farragut! Go Foxes!

It has been a wonderful experience at this school. The new principal has made a great impact on our technology program as well. The parent involvement is incredible and superior to any other Culver City school. The strength in communication among the PTA is what makes the overall feel at Farragut a real community. The parent, teacher, student approach is the bonus factor for the kids.

What a gift to have this school in our neighborhood. We have been so pleased with our experience at Farragut. The principal has command of her school and boy does it show. From the high level of parent participation to the spectacular arts program, it is clear that we are getting a 'private school' experience at a local public school. It feels like the school I went to as a kid in NYC. Due to the limits of what our state provides us financially, we do a lot of fundraising. The beauty is, you actually get to see exactly where your fundraising goes. When your kindergarten age child comes home and shares with you his knowledge of Picasso and Monet and that Scott Joplin played Ragtime, it makes you think that you have made the right choice and that your child is getting a well rounded education.

This is a great school. A lot of parent envolvement.

My daugther loves the school, as a parent i think is a wonderful school, very good teachers and the pta is fantastic.

As a parent of a kindergartener and a 4th grader at Farragut, I can say with certainty that Farragut is a great school with great teachers. Parents are very involved and teachers really care about their students. I think the mutual support between teachers and parents is what really makes Farragut such a great school. Communication with parents is really strong, and parents are encouraged to be involved at the school. Farragut is a traditional neighborhood school with high academic standards, but anyone from Culver City can attend. It has arts and technology. The parent's booster club (Farragut Fan Club) supports a full time art teacher, in class art and music programs, a state of the art computer lab and full time computer aides. The parent booster club in conjunction with the school also run an extensive array of after school classes. This is a great school for parents wanting a great education for their kids in a loving environment.

My son is in kindergarten at Farragut and we are very impressed with the school. He has an outstanding teacher who is hardworking and totally dedicated to her students. I think this is a wonderful school with a great curriculum and superb after-school classes.

Unfortunately, this school teacher's and principal are one sided in trying to solve issues. One teacher their builds up walls and does not communicate.

Farragut is an excellent school with dedicated teachers, effective administration and involved parents. This school strives consistently to provide an environment of growth and support for students and educational partnership for parents.

I like that they ask parents to be involved. This is still a great school - I went there years ago and it was good then also.

An incredible new principal is in place and her efforts combined with the incredible parent volunteers make this an outstanding school. Test scores are going up and the District has implemented an art program that is integrating the arts into the standardized curriculum.

The reality here is, there is a tremendous amount of activity and events designed to reach out to all parents. Money will always be a need to provide excellent academic programs to the students. Most of the paper for fundraisers, home-reading packets and other projects have been donated by parents and businesses, like mine, to help support the school succeed. Any help would be valued.

There is no GATE program however teachers have tried hard to offer differentiated instruction. The school has begun to offer art. The program has a long way to go most parents are unaware that the school is developing an art program. The programs have had administrative difficulties. The school will have a new principal next year (2005-06) There is not an environment that facilitates parent involvement to the extent that I have seen at other schools. In spite of that fact there is quite a bit of parent involvment at this school.

I know many people whose kids go to school at Farragut and all love it. It is known to be the best elementary school in Culver CIty.

Outstanding neighborhood elementary. Great arts program, dedicated and skilled teachers, wonderful principal!

Strong staff that's very supportive to students. Children are challenged mentally through various teaching methods. My child has been very happy here overall as have we.

PTA is very clickish and sends home flyers contantly asking for money or fund raising but does not reach out to get to know the parents. They just want your money for their fundraising drives. The school waste an insane amount of paper for these purposes which makes them not environmentally conscience or friendly.

The teachers are absolutely excellent. The campus and facilities are in top condition. The academic programs are strong, however it seems that many students do not do their homework so the focus is on them and not the students that are really trying to do their work. Great music program for third, fourth and fifth graders. Extracurriculars are available at an extra cost. Strong core group of parents who do a lot of the work. Kids tend to be mean to each other on the yard and very little seems to be happening to fix it.

My wife and I moved to Culver City 5 years ago from a city that ranked high in education, so we had tremendous concerns and reservations about the quality of academic school programs in LA. We are so pleased to have found Farragut, due primarily to both the high level of teacher care and competency and parent involvement.

The community of Farragut is what is exciting! I have two daughters attending the school and am *so impresed* with the site, the teachers, and the new principal, Dr. Kelly Karnes. Farragut offers the essence of what parents, teachers, educators and administrators strive to obtain. It is a learning community. Here in West Los Angeles the property values are skyrocketing as parents try to find 'good schools' for their children. Culver City is an oasis within Los Angeles. It exhibits a certain 'Norman Rockwell' charm . The middle school and High School are in the same block. My daughters and I walk to school every day. And we fully participate in *all* of Culver City's educational events. If you draw a mental image of what you want in school and community, Farragut and Culver City would be # 1. Roger Maxwell, parent of 5th and 2nd grader.

My child participates in character development activities through the 'School Families' program. Each child is assigned to a family leader (staff member), and the family groups meet once per month to reinforce character traits. This has been a very postive and rewarding experience for my child! I am extremely pleased with how Farragut addresses the need of the 'whole' child.

My son is allowed to attend this school on a waiver from LAUSD. I am grateful for this. The school has been his family and his academic achievments have been beyond any expectations. I have enjoyed wonderful teacher/parent relationships and feel I can approach his teachers anytime. Thank you Farragut!

Farragut exceeds all the expectations of a high quality, child focused, neighborhood school. It is a warm/nurturing place with an extraordinary sense of 'family'. Parents, teachers, administrators and staff all communicate openly, frequently and meaningfully to insure our children receive a top quality education, individualized attention in a safe and secure environment. This school should have been in a Norman Rockwell portrait as it represents the best of expectations.

Safety and security are top priorities at Farragut. Gates are locked during the school & instructional day to ensure this. Teachers, parents, and the principal all work together to provide great educational opportunities to students.

Farragut is a neighborhood school with excellent parent participation.