Sunset Elementary School

"I’m the parent of a daughter, who attended grades 1-3 in the French & Pangea Gifted Program, and a son who attended Grade 1 in the Spanish & Pangea Gifted. We left the school only when we relocated for career reasons outside of Miami. IT IS A FANTASTIC SCHOOL AND A MODEL FOR HOW PUBLIC EDUCATION SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED EVERYWHERE. First, it’s a magnet school, attracting families from throughout Miami-Dade. It’s French, German and (of course) Spanish language programs are FULL IMMERSION PROGRAMS teaching children as if they were attending schools in Europe, with NATIVE SPEAKERS providing instruction. I believe it was 3+ hours EVERY DAY of complete immersion. COMPARE THAT WITH what made primary schools anywhere else might offer at most — maybe 30-40 minutes PER WEEK of basic “numbers 1-10 in a foreign language”, and while you think about that, consider that Sunset is a FREE public school (you pay no tuition for your Kids to attend). Then consider that the Pangea Gifted Program is a FULL PULL-OUT GIFTED curriculum, beginning in the first grade. Then consider that the school has a FULL ORCHESTRA (strings and brass) beginning in Grade 2, and that instruments themselves were included. The list goes on and on… No wonder that Sunset is often referenced as the #1 Magnet Program in the United States! My daughter is now in Grade 6 in a school in New Jersey. We’ve laughed at parents here who had commented about how impressive they think the public schools are in these small towns, when their views are so narrow and I’ll-informed about what a truly progressive, globalized curriculum can actually look like, such as what Sunset offers. Recently, my daughter attained 99th percentile on the SSAT exam, taken by a self-selecting group of students applying to the best private secondary schools in the country. Her outstanding math and language scores owe much the FANTASTIC foundation she received at Sunset, a school that recognizes hard work and demonstrated aptitude with As and Principal’s Honor Roles, whole schools in NJ give out “satisfactory” and “stickers” to their students."

"If your child doesn't speak neither English nor Spanish, this school is not adapted for him/her. They claim to be "educating global citizens" but they are lost when a child sits during hours in the class without understanding anything. They just don't know what to do and have few experience with it. You then have to fight a lot to make them understand the situation. Some teachers adapt to the situation. Another one didn't and even harassed our child, seen in her eyes as a handicapped. In MIami, many schools are bad and it makes probably Sunset be at the top but compared to what you can find in other countries where education is seen as a national priority, it remains really average. The amount of homework is ridiculously high and you often feel that parents have to do the teaching at night to compensate what is not done in class (some classes have more than 27 children per class!!). Another point is that they beg for donation nearly every day but could save a lot by changing some little things like not cooling the air to the point that children needs a pullover in class. Well, think twice before sending children to this school if you are foreigners."

"I have been enrolled in this school 1st-2nd grade, and I loved this school! I had amazing friends, the teachers were incredible, and this school was so much fun. The only problem was that they would give us a little bit too much homework, but other than that, Sunset has been the best elementary school I've went to."

"Starting in 1st grade Sunset students have so much homework that they pretty much don't have time for anything else. Never mind all the research that shows that giving huge amounts of homework does no good and in fact is bad for kids' health (please Google this to confirm...experts recommend 10 minutes of hw per night for 1st grade and an added 10 min per grade after that). Sunset Elementary will rob your child of their childhood. Shame on you Sunset."

"New treasurer here and I got to say it is one of the better schools I have worked at. Sunset is in a league of its own. Great learning environment for the children and a great growth place for employees. Nothing happens at a Senior High that didn't happen here."