Experience with Oak View Elementary

[Anonymous]

What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

The principal is very friendly and down-to-earth. We had a principal intern as AP this year, who'll be leaving this summer to become principal at Farmland, so there'll be a new AP at Oak View.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

There really aren't any non-CES classes except instrumental music, and I guess Math 4 and Math 5 if a child isn't in compacted math. There is no OotM or Geography Bee, although I think the teachers/administrators would be happy to have parents step up to coach so long as it was available to every kid in the age group (so non-CES kids as well).

[Anonymous]

Is there aftercare?What are the after school offerings like? This year our child is able to go to after school classes till 5 PM (like chess, karate, coding etc) which allows me to pick him up at 5, avoiding the need for aftercare. Does the school have similar after school clubs or classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there aftercare?What are the after school offerings like? This year our child is able to go to after school classes till 5 PM (like chess, karate, coding etc) which allows me to pick him up at 5, avoiding the need for aftercare. Does the school have similar after school clubs or classes?

There isn't an on-site aftercare, but many people use the after care at their home school, via the bus. During the fall semester, there were a bunch of free after school clubs kids could sign up for. But they're not offering them during spring semester this year. I would ask about the plan for next year at the open house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

The principal is very friendly and down-to-earth. We had a principal intern as AP this year, who'll be leaving this summer to become principal at Farmland, so there'll be a new AP at Oak View.

The principal has caused pretty much all of the teachers to leave since he took over. He may seem friendly but is obviously not a good leader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

The principal is very friendly and down-to-earth. We had a principal intern as AP this year, who'll be leaving this summer to become principal at Farmland, so there'll be a new AP at Oak View.

The principal has caused pretty much all of the teachers to leave since he took over. He may seem friendly but is obviously not a good leader.

This is not accurate at all. There are many long-term teachers at Oak View.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the administration like? Are they easy to work with? What about non-CES classes? Are they engaging? Do the kids participate in programs like Odessy of the Mind?

The principal is very friendly and down-to-earth. We had a principal intern as AP this year, who'll be leaving this summer to become principal at Farmland, so there'll be a new AP at Oak View.

The principal has caused pretty much all of the teachers to leave since he took over. He may seem friendly but is obviously not a good leader.

This is not accurate at all. There are many long-term teachers at Oak View.

Actually, it is completely accurate. But believe whatever you want to believe.

~Mom to three, has seen Oak View turnover since Mr. C. took over and who misses the excellent previous principal

[Anonymous]

Are any of the current 4th-grade teachers leaving? Are they well liked?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of the current 4th-grade teachers leaving? Are they well liked?

Both 4th grade teachers are very well-liked. Haven't heard about any teachers leaving.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the teachers who left were not CES teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the teachers who left were not CES teachers?

One of the 5th grade CES teachers left after last year to open the 5th grade center at Piney Branch. OVES used to have only 2 CES classes; now it has four. Last year was the first with 2 5th grade teachers.

[Anonymous]

My child went through Oak View CES. Had a mixed experience. The 4th grade teachers were great. The 5th grade teacher was also really good and we had some issues with the teacher that left, although he was a good teacher he was very sarcastic and not a great fit for my kid but he's gone anyway.

Admin was not great in my experience. The old VP was not good, but he is gone. The current principal is responsive to parents, in my experience. He is very strict. The school is not run like your average middle class school and we came from a focus school but one that had a more diverse make-up then Oak View. Outside the center Oak View is not diverse (mostly Hispanic). That's okay, but the center kids are generally not well-integrated into the rest of the school and there are a lot of behavior problems in the rest of the student body.

The PTA is small. This influences the outside opportunities. There was no St. Mary's trip the year my child was in 4th grade. There were free after school clubs led by teachers. Sometimes the two center classes get very small socially for the kids because there is limited social interaction outside the center. My child became friends with a few kids outside the center but there was resentment from kids outside the program on the playground and in the lunchroom. The paras are not friendly to the kids and the whole system of discipline is not what you'd expect at a school with fewer discipline issues. If you are coming from Flora Singer or Woodlin or the like this school is different in those ways. The IM teacher was only there once a week and that impacted his ability to help run any extra help for instrumental music and there was only one concert a school year.

[Anonymous]

What did you think of the open house today? I’m out of town and wasn’t able to attend, so I’d love to hear feedback.

[Anonymous]

Outside the center Oak View is not diverse (mostly Hispanic). That's okay, but the center kids are generally not well-integrated into the rest of the school and there are a lot of behavior problems in the rest of the student body.

This X100 which I guess is what a lot of parents actually want. Their kids can view the hispanic kids but are kept at a safe distance from them. Its a school within school model.