Willow Glen Elementary School

It was okay except for the fact when I try to pick up my kids from school and saw them surrounding the fight! I would never expect to here ! they seem to be a great school!

I love this school. As a San Jose native and Branham High alumni and Cupertino Union former teacher, I can tell you that WG is on a comparible level. You won’t see it in test scores, because WGE has a lot of English Second Language learners & a more diverse economic population (from wealthy to disadvantaged), but if you look closely, you’ll see that there are many kids who are achieving above average in all areas, my kids included. Teachers do their jobs well, & if a student and parent work together, their child WILL excel at WGE. They will also leave WGE with a well-​rounded appreciation of diversity– both culturaly & economically (ie. they will be able to relate to all types of people, not just people of their own culture or economic class). This also leads to powerful life lessons, something ALL Americans would benefit from, as a whole. The school has a lot of multicultural inclusion activities.
Not only is there a symphonic band at school, but there is some great art & science instruction and afterschool programs for all kinds of enrichment. I also worked for the daycare program while getting my credential, & they only hire individuals who are highly qualified. My kids have asked me to put hem in daycare, because their friends tell them they enjoy it there (I am home with my kids so do not need daycare).
My kids have been in the Two-​Way Dual (Spanish/​English) Immersion strand since kinder.
My 4^th grader (native English speaker from a household that does not speak or understand Spanish) is now fully bilingual both verbally and in reading & writing. He reads above grade level in both English & Spanish & writes essays in both languages with more grammatical correctness than some fifth graders I’ve seen in other districts over the years. Furthermore, he is excelling in Math.
My 2 nd grader is reading 4^th grade level books in English and 3^rd grade level books in Spanish.
Spanish decoding skills transfer to English, so both have an even more broad understanding of language, reading, and writing than if they had been taught English-​only.
They, both being very anglo, with parents who clearly do not understand Spanish, often surprise Spanish speaking adults by speaking in beautiful Spanish with a native accent. I am so envious of their seamingly invisible second laguage learning experience.
My kids also have introduced me to the wonderful things from their friends’ cultures, & I’ve made some great friends who I might not have met had my kids been in an English– only classroom. I have seen many native Spanish speaking children progress in the same manner with both languages, as well. It is so moving to see the inclusion and Cultural appreciation between all the kids in TWBI

From the WGE website: Willow Glen Elementary School sits in the center of the lovely Willow Glen township within San Jose. It is a unique and elegant location, with a beautiful new two-​story, 14 classroom structure and nine refurbished classrooms, library and cafeteria.
We have a highly trained staff of teachers and support personnel whose goal is to provide a challenging academic program. We are lucky to have the California Bilingual Educator of the Year at our school.
My thoughts:
My children are in the TWBI program. TWBI is a fully Spanish/​English immersion program at Willow Glen Elementary School in San Jose. My children are in first grade and are fully biliterate and bilingual. Their teachers are beyond my wildest expectations of what an educator should be. One of our teachers was just named Bilingual Educator of the Year for the state of California. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this program and give my kids the gift of bilingual education at their local public elementary school.