Olney Elementary School

[Anonymous]

TL;DR: First-time mom looking for real experiences with Olney Elementary for Kindergarten. How are class sizes, support for shy kids, and opportunities to meet teachers and get familiar with the school? Considering private school too, but mainly trying to understand what to expect from Olney Elementary.
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Good morning! I’m looking for some insight from parents who have experience with Olney Elementary. My daughter will be starting Kindergarten next fall (2026), and since she’s my first, I’m still learning how all of this works. I didn’t realize private schools were already taking applications, so it made me step back and think more about our options.

We moved to Olney three years ago and have always heard great things about the public schools here. Our plan has been for her to attend Olney Elementary, but lately I’ve been reconsidering private school. I grew up attending Catholic school from K–12, so that’s what I’m used to, and I’d love that environment for my kids—though realistically, the cost will make it very difficult.

I’m not trying to start a public vs. private comparison. I’m really just hoping to learn more about Olney Elementary specifically because I don’t know what I don’t know.

My daughter is very shy, so I’m especially curious about class sizes and how much individual attention kids get. I’ve heard that Olney Elementary has a higher student-to-teacher ratio than average—if your child needed a little extra support or struggled with something, did you feel they received the attention they needed?

For those with children who started Kindergarten there, what was your experience like? Do they offer opportunities for parents and students to meet teachers, visit the school, or ease into the transition?

If you’ve read this far, I TRULY appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

The teachers are great and care about the kids. The school pretty much runs itself, which is good because admin is useless as is the counselor.

Word on the street is that both admins and the counselor are retiring at the end of the year and good riddance. They aren’t bad but it’s almost like they’ve forced the entire staff not to communicate with parents, making for a very cold school.

But: the teachers are great. They care about the kids but hold them to standards. They assign homework and want their kids to succeed.

[Anonymous]

We live in Olney, but are zoned to Greenwood. I have many friends who are zoned to Olney elementary and they are very happy there. Their kids are thriving and they love the teachers. One of my friends child needs that extra TLC and that family is happy there so take of that what you will.

If you consider the Catholic school route, I also have friends who are very happy at St. Peter’s too.