Experiences with Stevens Early Learning Center

[Anonymous]

It is true

[Anonymous]

My kids, 4 and 3, were on the waitlist and recently called off. Thus, I tried to contact the institution via phone (voicemail) and email, but didn't receive any feedback. Do you know what happen to the institution?

[Anonymous]

We are also disappointed with Stevens. While we are not in the multilingual group, we’ve had three assistant teachers in the past four months, which has contributed to inconsistency. Our main teacher rarely provides constructive feedback, and the class plans feel disorganized. We receive only 3–4 random photos from the classroom each week, making it difficult to understand what’s actually happening there. The excessive use of timeouts to discipline is concerning, as they are widely regarded as ineffective and potentially traumatic for some children. The extra classes seem inexistent. In four months, we’ve seen only 2 art projects from our child. Despite having weekly Spanish lessons, my child cannot even say "hello" in Spanish. There is an obvious lack of meaningful enrichment activities, no field trips, and no real community-building events to engage families.

On a positive note, my child enjoys gym, and the gym teacher seems fantastic.

the fact that less than 50% of students return for PK4 is quite telling.

[Anonymous]

One of our kids did PK3 and PK4 at Stevens and we were quite happy. We wanted to send another kid to Stevens this year but did not make it off the waitlist for PK3 and ended up enrolling in another DCPS. We are considering moving that kid to Stevens for PK4 next year. There are some respects in which we have found other DCPS schools to be better (for example, larger outdoor space and better aftercare setup) but we liked the teaching and the community in our class at Stevens very much.

The excessive use of timeouts to discipline is concerning, as they are widely regarded as ineffective and potentially traumatic for some children. The extra classes seem inexistent. In four months, we’ve seen only 2 art projects from our child. Despite having weekly Spanish lessons, my child cannot even say "hello" in Spanish. There is an obvious lack of meaningful enrichment activities, no field trips, and no real community-building events to engage families.

Our experience was quite different. My kid reports that timeouts were used "just a little bit" at Stevens over those two years and were not common. At our parent-teacher conferences I recall going through stacks of art projects, particularly in PK4. (Unlike other DCPS schools where the parents aren't usually allowed past the door, at Stevens parents can walk in the school every day at drop-off and pick-up and see art projects posted in the halls.) We went on a variety of interesting field trips, each coordinated with the class's current topic of study, and a substantial number of parents participated in each trip. There is a school playdate at the beginning of the school year and an open house each year. Each teacher held a "learning celebration" several times each year where the all the parents would come to the classroom, talk with the students about what they had learned, and see the students' work from each unit in the curriculum. Parents would frequently come in and read stories to the kids.

The language classes are similar to what we've seen at other DCPS pre-K programs and are not intended to be rigorous (after all, they meet for less than an hour a week and are teaching 3-year-olds). Here are a few words in the target language, let's color pictures of them. We taught our kid Spanish in other contexts and did not expect Stevens to deliver us a kid conversant in Spanish solely by way of an occasional special.

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that Stevens and MR share a principal? Has that always been the case and has it been the same principal?

Yes, assuming that "MR" refers to Military Road ELC and not Marie Reed Elementary School. Amelia (Hunt) Birchette has been the principal of both since they opened. Stevens' Field Day actually takes place at Military Road ELC.

Thus, I tried to contact the institution via phone (voicemail) and email, but didn't receive any feedback.

I also had difficulty reaching the Stevens front desk on the phone regarding enrollment, and that concerned me at first. But once school started I never had difficulty contacting the teachers via email when I needed something, and emailing the enrollment email worked to report absences.

The teacher doesn’t pay attention to dietary restrictions, is frequently absent, and conducts improper assessments.

Here too, my experience was different. When we brought in cupcakes for birthdays, our teachers made sure we brought in some gluten free ones as well to accommodate a dietary restriction. I don't recall frequent absences from any of the teachers. At conferences the teachers went through in detail the assessments they had conducted, and they seemed to have done them carefully.

the fact that less than 50% of students return for PK4 is quite telling.

It's primarily telling of the fact that many Stevens ELC students live in school boundaries where the IB school starts at PK4. Many students from these areas choose Stevens for PK3 (because it is the closest available PK3 option) and then understandably switch to their in-boundary school for PK4, to have a shorter commute and to get to know the student body they'll be with in elementary school.
However, I recall one Stevens PK3 student who got a lottery spot at their well regarded neighborhood school for PK4, enrolled, concluded over the summer that Stevens was a better choice, and ultimately submitted a post-lottery application and returned to Stevens for PK4.

[Anonymous]

We are in PK3 at Stevens. There has not been a single field trip so far, and none are planned in the near future. Regarding community building, there have been a few so-called "authors' cafés" where the kids prepared a story, as well as one playdate with other parents and children.

I have repeatedly asked for a detailed curriculum, but beyond the "newsletters," we only receive a general outline. For example, the kids have been discussing tree for over 5 weeks. In terms of numbers and letters, they are behind the level of rigor we experienced at daycare a year ago.

As for the school's teachers , we feel like just another family with no real effort to build a relationship. This may be because most families are only there for one year. My child's name is regularly misspelled by the teacher, and some after school teachers do not even make an effort to learn how to pronounce/spell my child's name correctly, instead settling for a nickname only they use.

On a positive note, the specialized teachers for music, gym, and library all seem great.

[Anonymous]

We sent our child to Stevens for PK3 and loved the experience. We got a slot at our IB for PK4 and went with that for convenience reasons, but ended up regretting that decision as the quality of PK4 at our IB was terrible. We heard very good things from our child’s classmates who stayed at Stevens.

When we were at Stevens, we learned that there is apparently one - but only one - teacher there that is not that great. That teacher was in PK4 at the time but may have moved to PK3.

[Anonymous]

We absolutely LOVE it and will be returning to pre-k4 our pre-k 3 teacher is amazing and i've mostly heard good things from other parents in other classes. A lot of students are not returning but when speaking with other parents it's due to siblings being elsewhere and in boundary schools being closer making the commute easier.

[Anonymous]

I can’t help but feel that the people who claim to love Stevens probably work there. It’s hard to genuinely love a public school—especially if your child is in the afterschool program. Stevens is deeply flawed for one main reason: the teachers don’t seem to care about students’ academic success, classroom performance, or even basic parent and child satisfaction. Since the school isn't ranked and around 55% of students only stay for a year, there seems to be little incentive for improvement. Plus, there are always families desperate for free childcare, so no matter how bad Stevens gets, there will always be children enrolled.

[Anonymous]

Stevens ELC is the worst school ever probably and we regret having our child in PK3 here. Would avoid this school at all costs.

[Anonymous]

I’m a parent at Stevens Elementary, and I’m extremely concerned about what’s going on at the school. There are safety, communication, and health issues that just can’t be ignored anymore.

A student this year nearly went missing. Another fell down the stairs—and the parents didn’t even get a phone call till late. That’s unacceptable. My own child’s teacher has been out more than half the year, and there have been six assistant teacher changes in just a few months. There’s zero consistency, and it’s affecting my child so much that they don’t want to go to school anymore.

We’ve been asking for the curriculum all year and still haven’t gotten anything. The teacher isn’t open to questions or feedback and often just shuts down the conversation. Instruction is spotty at best, yet the kids are being marked “not meeting expectations”—how is that fair when they’re barely being taught?

There are also health concerns. The teacher had norovirus and kids in class, almost all got sick and we were never told. Kids weren’t kept home, classrooms weren’t cleaned properly. That’s a health risk to everyone.

Aftercare is another issue. I’ve seen a teacher put on cartoons for the kids during class instead of engaging them. And my child has come home hungry multiple times because breakfast / lunch wasn’t provided on some days.

This isn’t just about minor complaints—it’s about basic safety, health, and respect for our kids and families. We deserve better. Stay out of this school.

[Anonymous]

Do you have other points of comparison? Some of this is weird but most of it seems common for Pre-K (curriculum delays, less communication, not as anxious about common viruses...)

Anonymous wrote:I’m a parent at Stevens Elementary, and I’m extremely concerned about what’s going on at the school. There are safety, communication, and health issues that just can’t be ignored anymore.

A student this year nearly went missing. Another fell down the stairs—and the parents didn’t even get a phone call till late. That’s unacceptable. My own child’s teacher has been out more than half the year, and there have been six assistant teacher changes in just a few months. There’s zero consistency, and it’s affecting my child so much that they don’t want to go to school anymore.

We’ve been asking for the curriculum all year and still haven’t gotten anything. The teacher isn’t open to questions or feedback and often just shuts down the conversation. Instruction is spotty at best, yet the kids are being marked “not meeting expectations”—how is that fair when they’re barely being taught?

There are also health concerns. The teacher had norovirus and kids in class, almost all got sick and we were never told. Kids weren’t kept home, classrooms weren’t cleaned properly. That’s a health risk to everyone.

Aftercare is another issue. I’ve seen a teacher put on cartoons for the kids during class instead of engaging them. And my child has come home hungry multiple times because breakfast / lunch wasn’t provided on some days.

This isn’t just about minor complaints—it’s about basic safety, health, and respect for our kids and families. We deserve better. Stay out of this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t help but feel that the people who claim to love Stevens probably work there. It’s hard to genuinely love a public school—especially if your child is in the afterschool program. Stevens is deeply flawed for one main reason: the teachers don’t seem to care about students’ academic success, classroom performance, or even basic parent and child satisfaction. Since the school isn't ranked and around 55% of students only stay for a year, there seems to be little incentive for improvement. Plus, there are always families desperate for free childcare, so no matter how bad Stevens gets, there will always be children enrolled.

I know nothing about Stevens but this is genuinely bizarre. We love our DCPS school. It's an incredible community. The aftercare is what it is but my big concern about school is not aftercare.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had an extremely unfortunate experience with the teacher at Stevens. In our view, she exhibits behaviors and attitudes that make her unsuitable for working with young children. She often positions herself as a moral authority, yet frequently behaves in a way that is condescending and dismissive of both students and parents. Rather than engaging collaboratively, she tends to shame parents for expressing concerns about their children’s safety or academic progress.

She has made unfounded accusations against students, shows little regard for validating their emotions, and seems more focused on advancing her own rigid agenda than supporting the individual needs of the children. Although she outwardly promotes values like kindness, her actions often reflect pettiness, dishonesty, and a lack of empathy—qualities that are deeply troubling in an educator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had an extremely unfortunate experience with the teacher at Stevens. In our view, she exhibits behaviors and attitudes that make her unsuitable for working with young children. She often positions herself as a moral authority, yet frequently behaves in a way that is condescending and dismissive of both students and parents. Rather than engaging collaboratively, she tends to shame parents for expressing concerns about their children’s safety or academic progress.

She has made unfounded accusations against students, shows little regard for validating their emotions, and seems more focused on advancing her own rigid agenda than supporting the individual needs of the children. Although she outwardly promotes values like kindness, her actions often reflect pettiness, dishonesty, and a lack of empathy—qualities that are deeply troubling in an educator.

How has the administration responded to your concerns?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had an extremely unfortunate experience with the teacher at Stevens. In our view, she exhibits behaviors and attitudes that make her unsuitable for working with young children. She often positions herself as a moral authority, yet frequently behaves in a way that is condescending and dismissive of both students and parents. Rather than engaging collaboratively, she tends to shame parents for expressing concerns about their children’s safety or academic progress.

She has made unfounded accusations against students, shows little regard for validating their emotions, and seems more focused on advancing her own rigid agenda than supporting the individual needs of the children. Although she outwardly promotes values like kindness, her actions often reflect pettiness, dishonesty, and a lack of empathy—qualities that are deeply troubling in an educator.

How has the administration responded to your concerns?

The administration either does not care or lacks a good solution. When forced to choose between maintaining good relationships with parents and students or siding with the teacher, the administration chooses the teacher. Staffing teachers is more challenging than enrolling students.