Greenwood Elementary School

[Anonymous]

Anyone else having difficulty with Greenwood Elementary School with the change in leadership. Last year, I couldn't get any teachers to call me back. This year, I'm having to fight tooth and nail for my special needs kid. Super unimpressed with the current status of the school.

[Anonymous]

That school is in need of serious overhaul, many of the teachers have an old school government bloated mindset because it is nearly impossible to fire a county teacher once they have tenure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else having difficulty with Greenwood Elementary School with the change in leadership. Last year, I couldn't get any teachers to call me back. This year, I'm having to fight tooth and nail for my special needs kid. Super unimpressed with the current status of the school.

That really stinks. Mine is only in 1st grade, so I can't compare to prior years, but I recently had a really productive IEP meeting and I'm usually able to get a call with the classroom teacher when I need to. I'm disappointed to hear that you are having a bad experience. :/

[Anonymous]

Some of the teachers are completely checked out. At least one is completely incompetent. And one teacher is universally detested because she is so mean and sucks the joy out of everything.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to hear that's been your experience OP. We've had a different experience, have found the school administration to be extremely supportive of our special needs child. By new administration do you mean the principal? The vice principal, who is excellent, is the one usually handling IEPs. For the teachers, my sense is that they are really stretched thin. Some of the classes are huge, kids are still adapting from the effects of the pandemic. There might be a few teachers who are checked out, but how is that different from any other ES in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Apparently there was a fight on the playground today. Kid punched another kid in the face and drew blood.

I was surprised to hear about it. It’s a big shift and likely has more to do with a change in the students than anything related to the principal.

While I know fights happen at plenty of schools, Greenwood has never been that sort of environment.

[Anonymous]

I think the Kindergarten and first grade teachers at Greenwood are fantastic!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the Kindergarten and first grade teachers at Greenwood are fantastic!

Some, not all…and not most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Kindergarten and first grade teachers at Greenwood are fantastic!

Some, not all…and not most.

I'm thinking you're a troll, that your child doesn't attend Greenwood. Sorry, but this is a really weird thing to say.

[Anonymous]

Agree!

[Anonymous]

After the longtime principal left the leadership has gone down hill. MCPS did not listen to the community during the principal selection period. The current principal and assistant principal actively dislike parents. I’m sorry to hear about the teachers because I’ve had generally good experiences with them even though there have been some bad ones mixed in.

[Anonymous]

The longtime principal who retired several (many) years ago was a nice lady who let a group of neighborhood moms have too much power. While the school had a warm small-town vibe with robust traditions, the academics weren’t stellar, it was a mixed bag of teachers, and there were issues. Plenty.

The next principal was an outsider with a big commute. It was a job, not a mission. Likely saw how the prior leader was steamrolled by parents and teachers alike and overcorrected. Seismic changes that didn’t sit well with anyone.

Current principal is fine.

Some teachers are fantastic. Some are clearly coasting (easy to do when the demographics have skewed UMC/affluent). Some are really bad. Demographics are starting to change and I suspect the job is becoming more challenging for staff across the board.

The school’s latest rating was disappointing (especially compared to neighborhood schools).

[Anonymous]

Even with everything you all are saying it will still be seen as a “ good” school because of the demographic and GS rating. Meanwhile over in East County my kids school is a “ bad school” but has fantastic teachers and a very engaged Principal..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even with everything you all are saying it will still be seen as a “ good” school because of the demographic and GS rating. Meanwhile over in East County my kids school is a “ bad school” but has fantastic teachers and a very engaged Principal..

Agreed. And it actually is a good school.

Here’s the thing: given the demographics, most parents have higher expectations.

Re: “fantastic teachers” - you really can’t assess a teacher until you’ve had a kid in their classroom. You have lackluster teachers at your school, pp. Every school has a mixed bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The longtime principal who retired several (many) years ago was a nice lady who let a group of neighborhood moms have too much power. While the school had a warm small-town vibe with robust traditions, the academics weren’t stellar, it was a mixed bag of teachers, and there were issues. Plenty.

The next principal was an outsider with a big commute. It was a job, not a mission. Likely saw how the prior leader was steamrolled by parents and teachers alike and overcorrected. Seismic changes that didn’t sit well with anyone.

Current principal is fine.

Some teachers are fantastic. Some are clearly coasting (easy to do when the demographics have skewed UMC/affluent). Some are really bad. Demographics are starting to change and I suspect the job is becoming more challenging for staff across the board.

The school’s latest rating was disappointing (especially compared to neighborhood schools).

Overcorrected is putting it mildly. She did a 180, and do not accept any parent input. I think she saw the school as a corporation and not as a community. This principal is nicer and a little more tactful in dismissing parents concerns but, as a long time parent at that school, it no longer feels like a community. I don’t think the current scores reflect the demographics, but rather the leader ship and teachers. We have the same or similar demographics as the rest of the schools in the community.