Research Kimball Wiles Elementary School Public Schools in Gainesville, Florida

“When I moved to Gainesville with my family last year, we picked a house in the Wiles district because we had heard such remarkable things about the school, and they consistently rank in the top 3 of schools in the district. If all you're interested in is FCAT scores, I guess you would rank this school in the top 3. There are very few great teachers (one teacher in the primary grades is truly remarkable), and the communication between the school and the parents is laughable. School leadership is poor and nepotism is RAMPANT. The principal couldn't care less about the well-being and education of your child, all she is concerned about is the school's FCAT score. The school is riding on the coattails of outstanding school awards from 7 years ago, prior to redistricting and the building of Lawton Chiles, where most of the UF faculty send their children now.”

“I have heard for years what a wonderful school Wiles is and was very exited for my child to start school. Now in our second year I continue to be disappointed. They seem to care about nothing but the FCATS, and not about the over all development and true education of the children. Communication is difficult as problems and concerns (unless it is something that may affect an fcat score) are not addressed respectfully by administration. Over all I am disappointed with the school and the administration. The teachers that I have met I think are doing the best with the rules they have to follow.”

“I have had my child at Wiles for 3 years now. If your goal is to see your child do well on the FCAT boy this is the school for you! They do not teach cursive writting, do not have any social studies during second and third grade, have cut back their science to laughable proportions. No language is offered. The entire cirriculum consists of reading and math. The administration shows little if any interest in providing a well rounded education. The PTA which had been very active is now having problems finding parents interested in continuing to serve.”

“I have been a proud Wiles parent for several years now. Both of my children have done relatively well at the school until last year when we had a bad experience with one teacher. However, all of the teachers prior have been exceptional and open to communication. Although Wiles have been a 'A' school and seems to excel academically in one sense, I feel that there is room for improvement to push academic excellence for all children. The Wiles PTA also is very active with the school and is always looking for new parents to get involved in the PTA. The Principal is great and is involved with everything,including the PTA. She shows up to all school activities (even clean up days)! I would like to see more extracurricular activities offered at the school. The school does lack in keeping an updated website and does not utilize this source for parent”

“The extracurricular activities include art and Spanish language after school for a fee. Parent involvement is probably what make it as good as it is. The communication between teacher and parent is lacking and is probably its biggest weakness. The teacher we had was certainly afraid to use the parental help available to her for her class which certainly hurt the class after the class load grew. School work that they were working on did not get reviewed with the parent so that we could help our child unless we sat in on a class to see where our child was with his studies and where the average child was so that we could make sure our child was caught up. We also did look at the work coming home and made sure he understood what was coming home. The curriculum is very good, but keeping up was very difficult.”

“Both of my children attend Kimball Wiles Elementary School. When we first moved to this area of town, I was concerned about the level of parental involvement and commitment to the school. But I have found in my older child's four years at Wiles that this school has the best PTA in Alachua County, an awesome principal who is committed to high moral standards and values, as well as high academic achievement. The teachers are equally committed to every child and his or her educational and personal development. Art, music, p.e., computer lab, and media are each offered once a week. There are many extracurricular activities, some supported by the school and others outside the school. The parental involvement is high, especially when compared to other public elementary schools in the county. It's a really good school.”

“The parent involvement at this school can't be beat! The school has a lot of spirit and a wonderful PTA. It is an inviting school. The academic program, however, leaves something to be desired. The classes are large (32 kids) even at the primary level. Reading teachers teach whole group instruction and not based on students' individual reading levels. Gifted program is only tied to math, weak program. Below level students, however, receive most of the school's resources and have experienced much success.”

“My daughter attended Wiles for her fourth and fifth grade years. It is an excellent school. She really enjoyed it and felt comfortable there. The teachers communicate with the parents consistently. The PTA is very active. Their are many fundraisers and just alot of friendly people. They do have an excellent gifted program, of which my daughter was not in, but I do know some parents who haved specifically placed their children at Wiles because of it. They do have many extracurricular activities such as an art club, chess club, orfan club (musical instruments) which meet Wednesdays, the short day after school. I definitely am glad my child attended Wiles, she had a great school experience and gained confidence in her learning skills.”

“great school....Only wish that more spaces could be opened to accomodate children in the after school programs! I dont like waiting lists!”