| Date | Who | Comments |
| 9/5/2012 | parent | I've been a White Point parent for 9 years. Both of my children have had great teachers and they've enjoyed themselves at WP. There are plenty of opportunities for parents to get involved in. Notices are constantly being sent home informing parents of upcoming events. If you missed a notice, the "connect ed" phone messages are great because you always know what's happening at WP. The principal loves the students and knows EACH student by name. She enforces school policy and will help you in any way she can should a situation or problem arise. I've found the principal to be kind and helpful. Her door is always open. The ladies in the office know what they're doing and are very helpful. The PFO and teachers have created many fun activities for the students to take part in, too. Whether you are a new parent or a returning parent, there are always people there to welcome you. I've found this school to be organized and a great place to learn. |
| 8/8/2012 | parent | My son's Kindergarten teacher was amazing. I can't say enough positive things about her. He loved her, his friends and his school. He had a great experience. However, the school might as well be run by a bunch of monkeys. There's no organization. They wait until the last minute to inform the parents of things, if at all. Then they expect you to jump through their hoops. And if you are unable to meet their last minute demands, you are not a good enough parent. The principal is rude. Most parents can't stand her. And if you're not a member of the PFO, she doesn't like you either. Way too political for elementary school, in my opinion. |
| 6/28/2012 | other | I'm a former student at white point elementary school and i loved it! it has a great pfo and great teachers! The field trips are very fun, like camp C.I.M.I.and lots more.I HIGHLY recomend you inrolling your child in White Point Elementary School. -Reese Butorovich |
| 3/16/2012 | parent | My son attended Kindergarten here, but after a year of issues with teachers and other staff, we decided to move him to South Shores Magnet Program. He is now on the honor roll and doing great! We are very happy we made the change. |
| 2/26/2012 | parent | To the others who more recently Yanked their children from this school. Please let me know by Posting on here what schools you chose to send yours to instead and what grades they are in. Also please let me know if you chose to go with a Permit to get them in, magnet or private school selection? I'm flustered by my experience this year as well with my children in this school and am considering a change. However, we need some assistance picking a new school in this area since we haven't been here long. Thank you for your help. |
| 1/31/2012 | parent | As a previous poster mentioned, this school was great some years ago under different leadership(Mr.Suzuki). I had to pull my youngest child out of this school, due to consistent issues with teachers and leadership. My child is now thriving in a different school. |
| 12/15/2011 | other | Unfortunately I wouldn't reccommend this school. Some people have great experiences here but more often than not I find other parents who have had similar experiences as I've had. My child's Kindergarten teacher yelled at the kids, frequently. She was extremely uncomfortable in class because of this. She would cry often during school and was always nervous that she was going to get yelled at because so many of the kids in her class got yelled at. I was in class volunteering one day and heard the teacher yell at the student in a very condesending and sarcastic way and I was very uncomfortable being there. I thought if I was that uncomfortable just imagine how my child felt every day in that class. It was common though for most of the teachers to yell at students there. When I spoke to other parents about this they all had similar stories to tell. My child is now in another school and I will say that our experience is completely different and we're so happy now. |
| 10/18/2011 | parent | I highly recommend this school. Our two children attend. I think a school experience is what you make of it. There will be challenging teachers, challenging staff and administration. If you see something is a wry then offer a say something, and/or offer a solution; Our schools as well as WP are in dire fiduciary straits therefore parental involvement, whenever possible and in all its many and varied forms, is welcomed and is critical for the continued (API, CST, etc) success. Go White Point Whales! |
| 9/8/2011 | parent | Unfortunately we have had a horrible experience at White Point Elementary this past year. Administration have been downright incompetent and discriminatory, whenever an issue have been brought up. There have been safety issues, like no adult supervision during recess. My daughter was injured by another student, and administration suggested my daughter had made the whole thing up, since no adult had witnessed the incident. Important paperwork was lost and mistakes were made, and administration decided to blame us, instead of owning up to grave errors. We have been ignored for minutes while staff discuss personal issues like shopping, which in turn made my daughter late for class. I feel terrible for putting my daughter through this experience and can only tell her this is not how to treat others, and not to let yourself be treated like this again. Thankfully she is now extremely happy at another school. |
| 8/9/2011 | parent | To the parent who asked about a daycare that will pick up the kids after school, The Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse and, if you're military, the Youth Center at Ft. Mac both pick up from the school. My daughter attended the Bathhouse while on the waiting list for Ft. Mac and we love both of them. The only reason we switched was because the Bathhouse does not offer before school care and we need that. Ft. Mac opens at 6:30am and will drop the children off at school if needed (also provide breakfast), as well as pick them up afterwards. The Bathhouse is only after school care. Both close at 6:00pm. Hope this helps! My oldest will go in to the 3rd grade this year and my youngest starts kindergarten this year at White Point. It is a good school with lots of parent particiaption. I regret working full time and wish i could be more active. |
| 8/3/2011 | parent | My kids will start Kindergarten at Whitepoint this year and being that we both work was wondering if there is a daycare in the neighborhood that picks up kids up at school. Any help is greatly appreciated. |
| 5/25/2011 | parent | The teachers and staff are the best!!! My daughter is in 1st grade here. Her teacher is WONDERFUL..we couldn't have been more blessed to have Mrs. Duvnjak. Thank you for the wonderful experience you create for my daughter ..our experience at Whitepoint has been GREAT!!! |
| 4/23/2011 | other | I know the White Point of 1971. I attended there from 4th thru 6th grade. Ms Wells was 4th grade, 5th with Ms Moffat, and 6th with Mr Pratt. I lived in Naval housing up on the hill. We walked down the asphalt trail to Silvius Ave. below. My dad was a Naval Officer stationed on the Camden in Long Beach. I remember the blacktop, the metal swinging rings by the monkey bars, kickball, foursquare, the track, and being one of the first schools to offer classes to deaf students. I learned sign language to be a playground leader. I remember standing in line in the courtyard for lunch. I remember the art project with the visiting art teacher, being picked to help paint the Aztec mural pictures on the courtyard walls. I remember one of the astronauts visiting our school and getting his autograph. I remember Ms Moffat said I was artistically talented, Mr Pratt graded my handwriting a "D", the visiting music teacher telling me I didn't have an angelic voice for the choir. Funny, my BA and Masters, are in Music, voice performance. I professionally sing. We get out what we put in, including parents and teachers. The kids learn from each other as well as the adults around them. |
| 2/8/2011 | parent | I am sad that we have to leave this wonderful school. There is great community involvement. The teachers and staff are awesome! |
| 5/30/2010 | parent | My daughter is in 1st grade here. Her teacher is WONDERFUL..we couldn't have been more blessed to have her. There is one kindergarten teacher who is very spirit-crushing (in my opinion) but good with academics...but good luck talking the principal into not sticking your kid with that teacher (she doesn't take well to requests for teachers). Overall, our experience at Whitepoint has been GREAT...high parental involvement (but it would be nice if they had PTO meetings at a time when working parents could attend). My daughter sometimes stays on the playground after school until I'm off work at 3:30 and I have no worries for her safety. She's learning a lot and is very happy there (and it's a BEAUTIFUL campus..you can see the ocean from the parking lot..and my kids love hearing the peacocks squawk while they're playing around outside!) |
| 4/26/2010 | parent | I LOVE White Point!!!! My sons have made tremendous strides in the past few months!!! I would recommend this school to anyone! |
| 4/25/2010 | parent | My two girls have attended White Point for the last 3 years. With one exception, the teachers have been very good, with Mrs. Duvnjak, Mr. Vaudo, and Mr. Whittamore rating excellent. Although the principal does not strike one with her initial presence, she has a good rapport with the students, and has been receptive and helpful when there are concerns that needed to be addressed. The parental involvement is exceptionally high at White Point, partly due to the high military child attendance, but also due to an extremely supportive neighborhood. There are a few 'rough' kids who attend White Point, and some of them, unfortunately, are educated in inappropriate subjects that are beyond their years. The social learning curve was high for my girls when we first moved here, as they were previously fairly sheltered. However, the experience as a whole has been a good one. |
| 1/31/2010 | parent | I think White Point has been a good school. For the last two years my boys have gotten good teachers. The resource specialist has been wonderful. I have found that you do need to be assertive to get answers to your questions. I wish they would allow the upper level kids to play on the playground equipment. Apparently, 4th and 5th graders can not play on it. There was an incident were my child got hurt by another and I never got a call regarding the incident. In previous schools I have been too, the child who caused this particular injure would have been suspended for more than a day. Despite these issues, I have felt comfortable leaving my children there. I do not think I would feel the same about some of the other schools in the area. They seem to be in a rougher neighborhood. |
| 1/29/2010 | parent | I'm a working parent and I can't physically be at the school to discover what is expected of the children and what the school has to offer as far as programs that are either of an enrichment of studies or extracurricular. Therefore, my quarm is with the Administration. It would be appropriate and appreciated if a Memorandum would be developed to inform parents of certain programs along with dates and times. It would also be appreciated if they would be sent out with sufficient notice as to prep our children of what they will be able to partake in/partaking in. Anyhow, this thought came about after readinging this most recent newsletter and learning of the 'Scholastics Million Word Reader.' The list even included Grade K. I thought to myself where have I been. In all my years as a White Point Parent never have I heard of this program. |
| 1/28/2010 | parent | teachers dont have much experience in a one grade level. I have learned that they are often switched around, |
| 6/30/2009 | parent | I have two boys that attended White Point this past year. They both did fine in class but hated recess. The school playground is blacktop and the rules are no running and no touching other kids. So tag was out, as well as simply running around. The classrooms were alright. With both of my boys being in 3rd grade we experienced one great teacher and one not so great. I haven't heard anything good about the 4th grade teachers and so we will be trying the new magnet school at Pt Fermin next year. |
| 2/20/2009 | parent | My son is currently in kindergarten and in a k/1st grade combo class. At first I was worried about this, but his teacher has proofed to be more than capable of pulling this off. My son is excelling in every area and reading well beyond any level I thought possible at this age. This school is very family oriented. The principal if very frank, but I love that about her. |
| 4/21/2008 | parent | This was the worst elementary school our child attended. Be aware that Mr. Suzuki is no longer the principal and some previous reviews mention him and his wonderful leadership. Our experience was for 3rd grade with a new prinicipal, Mrs. O'Brien. Two teachers left during the middle of the year, leaving very crammed classrooms. Our teacher was retiring and totally burnt out. Our child is very bright, but percentage wise was failing most assignments, after being a straight A student at a private school! And failing percentages were considered 'at grade level' by the teacher and just fine. We would have never known anything if we hadn't been constantly asking for our child's assignments. Also, they did yoga in the classroom, which we did not think appropriate because of it's New Age philosophy. We were never asked if that was okay with us, it was just forced on the kids. |
| 3/30/2008 | parent | White Point has been a wonderful experience for our 3 kids. We've done K - 5, so we have experienced every aspect of this school. Lots of parent involvment, the staff is amazing and have the childrens best interests in mind at all times! |
| 3/7/2008 | parent | The teachers are attentive and the admin staff is friendly and approachable. My son has excelled during his three years there. We'll be sorry to leave it because of a military transfer. |
| 5/11/2006 | parent | White point is a great school.The parent involvement is very high.It seems like everybody knows everybody and we all have the same goal of an excellent education for our children.You have to be a resident to go to this school and our test scores are high.The art to grow on is nice as-well as music and yoga classes. |
| 4/27/2006 | parent | Great school with lots of parental involvement. Lots of dependents of military officers. |
| 1/16/2006 | parent | I am extremely happy with the education at White Point. Being an older and educated parent, I do not always agree with a teacher's viewpoint, but they have proved to be very successful with my kids. They know what they are doing. There is feedback, interest, communication and a very strong educational base. The new playground is awesome and the after-school program, even though not a structured program, provides social confidence in all the kids. They meet new kids and are just having fun. Our new principal, Mrs. O'Brien, has done a wonderful job in making this transition smooth for everyone. She is strong and suttle at the same time. You can't say enough positive things about the special education program, the staff and the aids. Just get involved and be part of this top-notch school. |
| 12/31/2005 | parent | We had children in K,1,2,3,4,5 at this school. We love it! Great small community feel,with high academic standards. We love this school. |
| 9/7/2005 | parent | White Point is a very good school, considering it is part of the LA Unified School District. The teachers are committed, the staff is great, and the students seem to enjoy themselves at the school. I wish there were more extracurricular activities, so we wouldn't have to go to outside sources, but other than that, I am very pleased with the White Point experience my child and I have had. |
| 11/17/2004 | parent | I think that White Point is the best Elementary school in San Pedro. My oldest son went there for 6 years and I couldn't ask for a better education. My youngest son is now at Taper and I am very disappointed with his teacher. |
| 5/6/2004 | administrator | Thank you to all of the many parents that have volunteered their time at White Point so unselfishly and with such devotion. Our parent involvement is a big reason as to why our school is so special and doing so well. We also have the best teachers, students, and staff. Thank you to all of the positive comments made by our parents on this website! |
| 2/18/2004 | parent | My concern over this school is only half of the water fountains work. There are no team sports available for kids at all. The playground is from the 50's and sits on cement. A teacher has a 4th and 5th grade class combined. Some students are not getting a fair share. Not enough room in the cafeteria, this is bad when it rains. Overcrowded, no bussing. Being AF has sent us to many school districts and Ca is by far the worst. |
| 9/1/2003 | parent | I moved to the area almost three years ago and I was very worried about the LA school district. I was so relieved when I found out about white point. I heard great things and I have had a great experience as a parent and volunteer. It may not look like the great campuses we have had in other states but the teachers are great and my kids are doing very well. Thank you. |
| 8/11/2003 | parent | My son transferred to White Point one year ago. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I can't begin to express my gratitude to Mr.Suzuki and Ms. Ganger for their patience and involvement in ensuring that my son get the best education in spite of having ADHD. There are about 500 students, and parent involvement is the best I've ever known a school to have. Another one of my son's will attend White Point in September.I take great pride in the fact that 2 of my boys are a part of such a wonderful curriculum. |
| 4/20/2003 | | My daughter has attented this school for 3 years. I have been very pleased. Her test scores are awesome. The teachers are grea. I do wish for more extra activities. We are moving (airforce), and I hope her new school is as impressive. |
