Fairmount Elementary School

My son is been attending Fairmount for 4 years and he loves it.

I’m so excited to have my daughter attend Fairmount Elementary, they have such a tight community, dedicated teachers, an amazing PTA and parents that care about their kids education. I think I missed the school during the summer more then my daughter UNTIL I found her on the couch looking at photographs and tears coming down her face, I asked what was wrong — I miss my school and my friends, I don’t know when will I see them again (she just finished Kinder and is starting First grade). Words are not enough to describe this place, you have to come to experience it to believe it. My daugther started Kinder when she was less then 5 years old and she left for summer break reading Spanish and writing simple sentences. I was thinking she’d be repeating Kinder since she started young and was prepared for that, but to my surprise she passed kinder and learned how to read and write in Spanish. Go Fairmount!!!

The year is off to a great start with an energetic new principal, Jeremy Hillinski, and our newly-​renovated campus. My daughter is thriving here in her fifth year of Spanish immersion. She is challenged by instruction in math and other disciplines in Spanish, but is also doing great in English Language Arts. Since finding this school on a list of «hidden gem schools» years ago, Fairmount has become an in-​demand school thanks to a dedicated staff and community of families.

Our daughter has been at Fairmount for 3 years now, and our second daughter will be entering in Fall 2010. I cannot say enough good things about the wonderful teachers, staff, and community. Our daughter is now bilingual and is excelling in all subjects. The Fairmount community is broad-​minded and diverse, a truly San Franciscan mix of people from all walks of life. If you are looking for both a school for your children and a community for you and your family, you can find it here.

Great memories here went here in 1989 – 1995. Love this place and I think I also hate it too. There were constant bulling but It’s like that everywhere.
The things that were most memorable:
–My friends, JR Moriano, Mark Mangampat, Jamie Jameson, Christopher Thompson.
–The stores around there were so 1980s with paper bags, hanging dehaydrated fruits.
–my old house on silver street about ½ a block up with tree orchids next door white wooden fence. Still there today andmore run down than before.
–the corner store run by india people where I could get a $ 0.20 drink, cheap candy, capsule toys, toys in the back, baseball cards. It’s a lot smaller now and run by different people.
–first day I showed I was in an esl class run by a mean teacher, forgot her name.
–they didn’t give me food one day for some reason and had to get the left over veggie plate but no main course.
KINDERGARTEN– In the yard got kneed in the nuts by an AA kid for no reason, cried, teacher came by asks what’s wrong but too embarrassed to say. Got a bruise on it later.
The first day I get dropped off in Ms. Harley’s kindergarten class, I cried when my mom left. This happens to several other kids too.
–My best friend was Yanis an Iranian kid. We do meticulous and boring assignments such as abcs, put the color coated pins here and there.
–lots of little do dads in the left front corner shelving, a play area in the back where it is open in the other classrooms. I remeber thing to myself the toy penguin if it were real would tast like chicken liver.
–They have an aquarium in the hallway that has sea horses and all sorts of sea crabs, fish. They all die because of the bacteria on kids hands and soon were removed.
–Halloween comes around and I’m dressed in a tony the tiger outfit with a hole in it? We parade around several times around school. I trick or treat at home.
–We are given cup cakes one day with one candy on top. My candy falls off onto the wooden jungle gym and think about it before picking it back up and eating it.
–I bring snow white real life version and a bag of chips to eat for the class. I get selfish and remember my sis asked me to save her some. I ask for it back and the teacher gets pissed. I finish the chips in the yard during recess.
–last day of class I run to the exit while all the others run to the teacher to give her a hug.
–I see my teacher about 20 years later at my work looking like horny old woman. She doesn’t recognize me.

This is an AMAZING school! What a great community! It’s all Spanish immersion now– which no private school can offer– so don’t waste your $ if you’re looking… the only school that welcomes your kids on the tour in SF is Fairmount– remember when the school you’re touring tells you you’re not allowed to bring your kids– just think about how they feel about families! The only school that welcomes your kids to meetings (with childcare provided) — this school is very unpretentious and community-​oriented. Down to earth cool people who care about their kids– and lots of very very interesting great families here– they’re just not in your face about how great they are :-) Check it out!!!

Fairmount gave our daughter 6 years of wonderful, supportive, challenging bilingual Spanish education.
She continued her Bilingual program thru middle school and is now taking AP Spanish as a sophomore in High School and is completely bi literate and bilingual.
The family oriented community, engaged empowered parents, creative and caring staff all combine to create a really powerful synergy. You can pay lots more at a private school, but I don’t think you can do better for a bright child than Fairmount.
Over the years I have watched the program, first under Linda Luevano and then with Karling Aguilera-​Fort and now with Anna Lunardi, grow and thrive. It just keeps getting better.