Grant Elementary School

I moved to the SMMUSD hearing about how excellent the school system in Santa Monica is only to find it horribly misconstrued. The overall academic quality of the schools anywhere in Los Angeles county, including SMMUSD, has a lot of catching up to do with many parts of the USA and the real World. Grant was a nightmare. Too many students meant lack of Teacher involvement and passion because they are overworked and overpayed. The administrative had nothing but attitude and had no concern toward the Parents. First month back to school 2006/2007 school year about 12 kids broke some bone in their body. Obesity in Grant is rampant as well as lack of P.E. Oh and I just love walking down the hallways at Grant to smell urine. Everything about this school was disorganized from the weekly calendars which left Parents guessing about the entire year; whatever happened to a yearly calendar? It's less paper. The principal was pretty out there and you be the judge I have nothing else to say to that man. My child's 4th grade teacher fell asleep during lunch recess for two hours! Yeah you read right. The kids had to go to the Library while she was sleeping in her car. Not to mention the theft over Spring break that cost the school 15 computers and projectors. At least Grant could take some pride in the appearance of the school and clean it up. One last thing the kids had so much vulgar language I thought I was walking in a room full of Navy people. Actually second though Grant Elementary School is nothing but a breeding pool for future juvenile deliquents. The Staff treated them like animals by locking them up during the day, literally, by chaining the gate fences around the school no one in and no one out. We did one year of Grant Elementary School and the best thing I did was pulling them out of that hostile enviornment.

The review above is ridiculous and not at all true, Grant is a lovely school with a very diverse student body and a committed parent group. The music program in Santa Monica is the envy of the country and it is very strong at Grant. My twin sons are A students in high school, will be playing in an orchestra at Lincoln Center as well as Rome this year, and just scored 32 and 33 on the ACT. It all started at Grant.

We have been a Grant family for 8 years now, with 2 children going through the school. We have been thrilled with the parent community and the staff. The administration had multiple changes during the time we were there, but my children stayed happy and the teaching stayed consistent, so that's a sign of a strong school. We now have an incredible Principal, Christian Fuhrer, who is exactly the person we needed to step in as the leader at Grant. The community spirit feels stronger than ever. Nothing can replace the incredible experience of walking the kids to school with a community of parents, neighbors and friends converging every morning, and a smiling Principal our front, welcoming everyone.