Olde Creek Elementary (Fairfax) - any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

LOL on the principal. So true! I was very happy when my last kid went to Frost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was searching for info and decided to add our experience. We started at OCES this school year and it has not been a good experience. There is a lot of communication issues, the principal is a windbag, there has been teacher turnover so there are a lot of first year teachers and we were blown off about our concerns around reading (and then I heard from moms with older kids that this happened to them too). We came from an area that everyone here assures us is inferior (southern state) in education and I wish we were back there.

On the positive side, the kids and parents have been nice but the school is unimpressive.

Ugh. Sorry to hear that. We live in that neighborhood but my kid went to Canterbury Woods for the AAP Center. How old are your kid(s)? Maybe you can get them tested and into the AAP Center at Canterbury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was searching for info and decided to add our experience. We started at OCES this school year and it has not been a good experience. There is a lot of communication issues, the principal is a windbag, there has been teacher turnover so there are a lot of first year teachers and we were blown off about our concerns around reading (and then I heard from moms with older kids that this happened to them too). We came from an area that everyone here assures us is inferior (southern state) in education and I wish we were back there.

On the positive side, the kids and parents have been nice but the school is unimpressive.

Ugh. Sorry to hear that. We live in that neighborhood but my kid went to Canterbury Woods for the AAP Center. How old are your kid(s)? Maybe you can get them tested and into the AAP Center at Canterbury?

Same poster...I forgot to mention, we too come from an 'inferior southern state' (lol) and I can assure you the education my kid got at Canterbury and now Frost has been excellent so far—and far better than what we would have received back home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny, this seems outdated so maybe an update is in order. We moved in around 2010, and haven't yet found "a place to belong" in the OCES community. Socially, it's insular - you're either "in" or "out" as far as adult socialization goes. Kids are similarly excluded.

I’m sorry to hear this. I have found it to be very open, but I did have to initiate in the beginning. It also seems that socializing seems driven by pool membership to an extent and that continues through the rest of the year.

I find OC to be much more welcoming than some larger FCPS schools I have experience with. I really like the small size. When we go to events, we know or recognize most people there and most everyone knows our kids.

However, I could see how the smallness would be a negative too - eg, most grades have only two classes. So it is harder to mix up kids who don’t gel. And if there is bullying, I can see how it might be harder to get away from that.

Overall, we have really liked it, both socially and educationally. Our oldest was well prepared for Frost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL on the principal. So true! I was very happy when my last kid went to Frost

Are you talking about the new principal or the older one from a few years ago? We have been very happy with Dr Wright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL on the principal. So true! I was very happy when my last kid went to Frost

Are you talking about the new principal or the older one from a few years ago? We have been very happy with Dr Wright.

Dr. wright. He talks a lot and it does not have much substance.

[Anonymous]

Not a previous poster but DW is hard to deal with if you don’t agree with his opinion. Hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was searching for info and decided to add our experience. We started at OCES this school year and it has not been a good experience. There is a lot of communication issues, the principal is a windbag, there has been teacher turnover so there are a lot of first year teachers and we were blown off about our concerns around reading (and then I heard from moms with older kids that this happened to them too). We came from an area that everyone here assures us is inferior (southern state) in education and I wish we were back there.

On the positive side, the kids and parents have been nice but the school is unimpressive.

Don't let them blow off your reading concerns. FCPS is notorious for under-identifying dyslexia in the younger years when it is easiest to remediate.

[Anonymous]

Olde Creek has had a rough start to this school year. I think with an AP leaving, a current teacher becoming AP and some other incidents- it has been a mess. I am sorry this has been your start. Previous years have not been bump free but this one is definitely rocky. Also I would just go outside for reading help. Many many parents will tell the same story at this school about frustration with the special ed group around reading concerns.

[Anonymous]

Oof. This school is rated a 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oof. This school is rated a 5.

Won’t that happen to any school that’s not an AAP center though? The brightest kids are siphoned off to other schools.

[Anonymous]

Seems like the rating is justified. It is in a good pyramid but has poor administration and high turnover. Sometimes the test scores are an accurate reflection of the environment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof. This school is rated a 5.

Won’t that happen to any school that’s not an AAP center though? The brightest kids are siphoned off to other schools.

No, not necessarily. The ratings are not only about test scores. Overall, I think OCES suffers from being too small and its teacher/admin turnover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof. This school is rated a 5.

Won’t that happen to any school that’s not an AAP center though? The brightest kids are siphoned off to other schools.

No, not necessarily. The ratings are not only about test scores. Overall, I think OCES suffers from being too small and its teacher/admin turnover.

Olde Creek has a CSS program and an autism program. Given its small size, special education students make up a very large percentage of the student body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like the rating is justified. It is in a good pyramid but has poor administration and high turnover. Sometimes the test scores are an accurate reflection of the environment

Its scores are impacted by a larger percentage of special education students in their comprehensive services site. This doesn’t mean students aren’t making progress. Just means that they may not be able to access the test format.