Vienna Elementary?
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Anonymous
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My kids will be starting 2nd grade and Kindergarten there this fall. If you have a child or know a child who goes there, what are your thoughts on the school?
How are the academics? Are they challenging? Do they differentiate with Math and Reading? What are the avg. class sizes? How is the principal? Any other thoughts would also be appreciated. Thank you!! |
Anonymous
| Have you made an appt to meet with the principal? That tends to be more beneficial than soliciting from an anonymous forum, yes? |
Anonymous
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Not the OP, but it seems many schools view parents as PITAs just for asking questions before enrolling. And really what principal is going to say "well our school is just mediocre and has some issues we are still working out". I wish they would be upfront, but from what I hear they aren't. Many don't even allow a tour of the school. Lets give her the benefit of the doubt that she's called the school already and asked questions but also wants to hear parent's views.
I've actually heard very good things about Vienna from friends and have a friend who loved her child's kindergarten teacher there. It's a small close knit school with a lot of supportive parents. They won the Vienna Bike/Walk challenge this year too. I think some children move on to Louise Archer for AAP from 3rd grade on though but I see they still have advanced math at the school and a strategies lab. They also have a well known music teacher. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Yes, I did call the school and asked the general questions, but I wanted honest answers from parents who have actual experience with the school. We are moving from another part of Fairfax County where my child attended what is considered a "wonderful" school that received a 9 on Great Schools and the Governor's Excellence award, etc.
While I felt that the staff, teachers, and principal were all very nice and friendly and the PTA was very active, I also found the educational challenge sorely lacking. Dc didn't learn anything new in first grade and in fact I feel he actually fell behind because he forgot a lot of things he knew going in. They didn't even get into teaching addition beyond single digits. And I was told before enrolling him there that they definitely differentiated the kids for math and reading but I didn't see it in practice. I was also told the avg class size was around 23 kids. There were 28 kids in dc's class. This is why I wanted to ask on this board for what your child's actual experience has been like. Thanks 20:16 for your helpful response. |
Anonymous
| Cannot answer about V.E., but Vienna is great and most families seem happy with their schools. Welcome! The July 4th celebration is always pretty fun - I'm taking my kids to the fireworks for the first time this year. |
Anonymous
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I have kids go to Vienna ES and it is a good school. It has done very well over the past few years getting Governor's and Board of Education Excellence Awards. Most of the teachers are very good, with a few fantastic and a few that are ok, and that makes the academics different in each classroom. The kids who need help get it and those that excel get some differentiation based upon unit.
The average class size is typically about 25, however there have been instances where it has been 29 and 30 (2nd grade last year). The principal is good. He does well in 1:1 conversations with adults, but is shy in group situations. He started at the beginning of the last school year after he was promoted from the assistant principal job and hasn't changed much. Most parents say there is a great sense of community, but I have found it only if you pick-up your kids after school. Overall it is a great small school in a great community. The kids all live close by and you see plenty of walkers and bicycles in the mornings. |
Anonymous
| We are in a school similar to your previous one (Gov award, 9 rating, etc.) and there was little differentiation in kindergarten although the standard was a little higher overall. I'm with you in thinking the "advanced" math curriculum should just be the standard curriculum and isn't very advanced at all. It will be even more confusing this year though since there is a new math book by Pearson called enVision Math being used and it is even more basic than what the standard FCPS curriculum describes for the younger grades at least. Until FCPS and school principals make it a priority to make sure their advanced math program is implemented well, it will be implemented differently teacher by teacher and school by school and in some schools may not be implemented very little. A friend of mine did talk to a teacher before starting at Vienna Elementary and said it helped and they are happy there. Maybe try this? There is also a Vienna Moms Vienna Elementary subgroup you could join to ask more questions although at least half of the parents there have preschool age children. http://www.viennamoms.org/ |
Anonymous
| All the Vienna families I've met are very nice and it is somewhat transient still, but a lot of them start their children at kindergarten or 1st, so by 2nd grade there aren't a lot of new students. Luckily there are lots of other activities in the Vienna area to meet families and as noted, it is pretty easy to meet families through PTA events and drop off and pick up. They have a program called Walking Wednesdays which is very popular. |
Anonymous
| The better of the second teachers is leaving according to my neighbors whose kids attend Vienna. Not sure about the new teachers. |
Anonymous
| Vienna has the best music teacher in the county. Some really liked the 2nd grade teacher who left, while other did not like her. The same will be true next year with a 3rd grade teacher moving to 2nd. |
Anonymous
Really? How was it determined that Vienna ES has the best music teacher in the county? |
Anonymous
| Oakton ES >>>> Vienna ES |
Anonymous
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My child was at Vienna Elementary for a year in the preschool program and I have to say that I completely agree that the music teacher was absolutely amazing!
We are now in a different school. I liked Vienna Elementary in general...although I thought the front office staff were really rude. |
Anonymous
| He's really well known and has a drumming group he does with the kids on the side. I don't know whether he received a specific honor though. We love our music teacher too even though she's not "the best" apparently at another school. |
Anonymous
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The vienna es music department is creative. in 2011, they organized a VES flash mob at Viva Vienna, which was quite creative and probably fun for the kids.
http://vienna.patch.com/articles/video-vienna-elementary-coordinates-flash-mob-at-vivavienna#video-6340425 |