Victor Elementary School, Torrance | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

My son transferred last semester from LAUSD and was enrolled in the 4th grade @ Victor. A couple weeks into the semester I reached out to his teacher, Mrs. Sobko and explained to her that he was new to the area and to ask how he was doing? She responded by proceeding to tell me that it was too early in the semester to see how he is doing academically but he was “very out-going” and is making lots of friends, however he maybe “a little too out-going”. Confused, I explained to her that he is probably trying hard to fit in and I would talk to him.

In the 1st month I was contacted 3x from Mrs Sobko regarding his behavior, in my opinion petty, one of them involving bottle flipping a water bottle, another about not staying still in line, the last one I cant even remember! in any case, I know my sons not a angel so I offered my full support and would take disciplinary action. As the semester progressed, he began to accumulate erroneous disciplinary actions for his behavior with out my knowledge. Eventually he ended up in a single desk in the middle of the classroom. This led to him being teased and harassed repeatedly by the “Favorites”. Any response he made to defend himself led to him being disciplined, very rarely along with the abuser.

One day he came home and told me his teacher made him take off his “All-Star Sweater” because he wasn’t a All-Star! At that point his mother requested a parent conference, in which ended being a assault on my sons character. They ended up both (mother and son) sitting through this meeting in tears. The mistreatment continued through the school year.

By the end of the semester my son came to me emotionally distraught; crying about about how he hated school, his teacher did not like him and is bullying him, she was turning all the other students against him and how he did not understand why his so called “behavior issues” where affecting his academics and how he was failing when all of his work and test a scores were above 70. All I could tell him was there was 3 weeks left of school and he needed to hang in there and I would speak to the principle, because a 9 year old should not be feeling like this. I requested to meet with the principle Mr. Baker to discuss a game plan for my son when he returns next semester in which I was dismissed and was told that the plan was to assign him a stricter teacher?!? Not exactly the response I was expecting.

I wasn’t sure how to handle this. Should I go to the school board or superintendent? After speaking to other parents who have had their child go through similar experiences at Victor, I decided this should be a public topic. Ultimately, Mrs. Sobko did not treat my son fairly. She created confusion, frustration and demoralized him into viewing learning and relationships in the class to be without hope. I hope my son has a better school year this semester and this review does not warrant retaliation. When it comes to bully teachers, there’s no real silver lining — but there are different routes parents can take.

Our family had a horrible experience with this school. His 3rd grade teacher repeatedly called him “Dancing Queen” and this led to his being teased and harassed repeatedly by other students. Any response he made to defend himself led to his being disciplined along with the abuser. Thus for example he got in trouble because another kid wiped snot on him and my son got in trouble. Another time they were playing dodge ball and a kid got hit by the ball and had her glasses broken. The principal blamed my son even though it was obviously an accident. When I went to meet the principal be was yelling at my wife over the phone. Trying to reason with the principal, I suggested that kids with glasses should not play a game like that. I also told him that I thought he had treated my son unfairly in the past because of all the bullying my son had endured. At this point he exploded in rage and pushed me out of his office. His face was bright red and he was totally out of control. After I left he evidently reported me being “uncivil” and actually had a letter sent saying I would be reported to the police if further incidents occurred. This person (William Baker) has truly got anger issues. My son only had 2 good teachers during his 6 years there.

The ladies at the front office have to be the worst ppl I’ve ever come across. They are rude and just down right nasty. I’m a white American women and on several different occasions i hear them make fun of the Indian families, once i heard the blonde lady hang up on a parent and then proceed to make fun of her. They stop as soon as any one ethnic walks in. I heard them yell at kids, tell them “why don’t your parents ever pick u up on time” while the kid is in tears! The majority of the staff just seems fed up and annoyed. There is a male teacher with long white hair that usually stands outside to help with pick up. OMG i’ve heard him call parents a**h*oles in front of the kids, he’s yelled at parents for not pulling their cars up fast enough screaming “I’M IN CHARGE NOT YOU” and the principle just stands there doing nothing. If you have another option i recommend you take it. I’m just waiting to hear about this school getting shutdown after some big lawsuit.