Feedback on Campbell Elementary (Arlington, VA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the Campbell feedback, PP.

Did anyone apply to Campbell for a kindergarten spot in 2015 and not get in?

We got a space, but I'm just curious whether they had to hold a lottery, or whether they were able to offer K spaces to all applicants.

Also on the wait list for incoming K. Unfortunately, after the initial acceptance deadline the was no movement on the wait list. Hoping something opens up, but I'm guessing it's not likely.

[Anonymous]

Bump. Hoping to hear about some more recent parent and student experiences at Campbell. I’ve researched the theories behind EL programs and I think it would suit our rising kindergartner, so we plan to enter the lottery. Can any recent or current Campbell parents comment on their experiences? For example, did you find that the EL program is still strong and present? Some of the 2015 comments on this thread indicated it was getting somewhat watered down. It also seems like there’s a relatively new principal — has that change had a positive or negative impact on the school trajectory? Our neighborhood school is Glebe, so I’m also interested in any thoughts about Glebe vs Campbell. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are considering it too. My only concern is that I hear that it tends to have a lot of kids with special needs because its such a supportive environment. I'm wondering how accurate this is??

They have the interlude program which is for emotional/behavioral disorders.

[Anonymous]

We had a horrible experience at Campbell and left after a few years. The principal is a nightmare. EL has no depth. The academics overall are poor and there are not high expectations for kids. My child barely learned to read there. Communication between the school and parents is minimal. Outdoor Ed only occurs if your child’s teacher signs up for it. It’s not a given that all kids get the garden and outdoor learning experience. I had a special Ed advocate tell me he advises newly admitted special Ed patents to avoid Campbell at all costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a horrible experience at Campbell and left after a few years. The principal is a nightmare. EL has no depth. The academics overall are poor and there are not high expectations for kids. My child barely learned to read there. Communication between the school and parents is minimal. Outdoor Ed only occurs if your child’s teacher signs up for it. It’s not a given that all kids get the garden and outdoor learning experience. I had a special Ed advocate tell me he advises newly admitted special Ed patents to avoid Campbell at all costs.

This +1000. This was my experience and thankfully I had a decent home school to go back to. The principal seemed cold.Her communications are bare minimum compared to my home school. I tried it for my DD only because of all the hype I heard. My DD was in mainstream room with IEP they missed her OT for nearly a month said they didnt see it in IEP. Academics were way behind from my neighborhood school as my DD chanded in 1st grade. We got out after a month and never regretted it. DD liked it as far as friends as she met many. The extended dayvthere is great, but the classroom teacher and special education teacher were nothing to write home about. So glad we got out! If your kid is solid on academics(advanced)and has no special needs this might be a good fit otherwise I would look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. This was this school year by the way 2021-22 that we left after a month to put things in perspective. I have generally also heard good things about Glebe. Also, to be fair we have friends that love it their for their kids,but they have been there since kindergarten and have no comparison. Also, there is a playgroup at least at the 1st grade level that is pretty active so there is a sense of community. Just thought I'd add that despite our bad experience with the school.

[Anonymous]

We've had a good experience at Campbell. The best part for me is that it's smaller than our home school. I used to work in an overcrowded NA school so it was important to have a smaller environment. EL is woven throughout the curriculum and gets heavier as the kids get older. Expeditions are really cool but I miss the in person showcases that used to happen at the end of the expeditions- maybe they will come back post COVID. Like any school, your experience might vary based on your classroom teacher. Most of the teachers seem pretty into the outdoor lessons and kids get outside a lot but I also see that increase as the kids get older. Principal isn't always warm and fuzzy but communication has seemed fine. I'm not sure what else I need the principal to communicate to parents.

[Anonymous]

Our friend's 1st grade son was bullied by 2 students several times (beat up in the boys bathroom twice, once requiring medical attention) yet the admin pandered to the bullies and needless to say, did not punish them. Apparently the bullies came from a rough home (and family undocumented) so the school let them be.

That aside, our friends really liked the school lesson plans and the school community so they stayed rest of year because they were planning to move away the following year.

[Anonymous]

I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

Nailed it. She also bullies the staff members she doesn’t like. She was the same way when she was at ASFS where she learned from
“the best.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

Nailed it. She also bullies the staff members she doesn’t like. She was the same way when she was at ASFS where she learned from
“the best.”

So unfortunate. That's not how it was with the previous principals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

Nailed it. She also bullies the staff members she doesn’t like. She was the same way when she was at ASFS where she learned from
“the best.”

So unfortunate. That's not how it was with the previous principals.

We were there for a couple years with the previous principal and she was great. A big reason why we chose Campbell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

Nailed it. She also bullies the staff members she doesn’t like. She was the same way when she was at ASFS where she learned from
“the best.”

So unfortunate. That's not how it was with the previous principals.

We were there for a couple years with the previous principal and she was great. A big reason why we chose Campbell.

The previous principal, from over 10 years ago couldn’t keep staff- tons of turnover every year and the school was chaotic. I knew a part time teacher there at the time and it was apparently horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our friend's 1st grade son was bullied by 2 students several times (beat up in the boys bathroom twice, once requiring medical attention) yet the admin pandered to the bullies and needless to say, did not punish them. Apparently the bullies came from a rough home (and family undocumented) so the school let them be.

That aside, our friends really liked the school lesson plans and the school community so they stayed rest of year because they were planning to move away the following year.

That’s terrible for that child but I think it also shows that option schools are great schools but they aren’t immune to the problems that happen in all schools like bullying. Some people seem to think an option school is a public private school but they aren’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will say that based on our experience at Campbell, the principal plays favorites with kids, teachers and families. She makes it very clear who she likes and who she doesn't like, which in my view isn't super professional. I wish that she would remember that she's there to serve all kids and all families. She doesn't get to chose who attends "her" school.

Nailed it. She also bullies the staff members she doesn’t like. She was the same way when she was at ASFS where she learned from
“the best.”

So unfortunate. That's not how it was with the previous principals.

We were there for a couple years with the previous principal and she was great. A big reason why we chose Campbell.

The previous principal, from over 10 years ago couldn’t keep staff- tons of turnover every year and the school was chaotic. I knew a part time teacher there at the time and it was apparently horrible.

This Principal has been there for more than 10 years now, so it sounds like a lot of this information is dated, or very unique to certain situations and (if true) coming from parents with particular axes to grind, and based on very limited interaction (one month of experience, during Covid). Current principal was named principal of the year shortly before Covid, and that is an award that is nominated by parents and school staff, who provide “evidence” to Central Office. She also received an award for staff person of the year from SEPTA, the SpEd PTA, prior to Covid. Many staff members have stayed at this school for her entire tenure, only leaving to retire, and a number of parents have joined staff, or have started teaching there and then sent their own children, so it would not seem to be the case that she’s a “nightmare” principal to the majority. She might come across as curt in her messaging to parents, but I suspect that is because all her emails/texts are translated to multiple languages, and it helps to cut to the chase. This is likely not an issue for home school Principals N of 66, who can send missives in English only. She has a very good relationship with the students, and is well-like by them. She has allowed them to dunk her in a dunk tank (at the school festival), tape her to the wall of the gym for meeting their reading goals, etc. I really don’t get the hate. My kids have aged out, but we had a very good experience here and loved EL. Kids were ID’d gifted in various subjects (one in all core subjects, other in math and the arts), and no IEPs or 504s, but had very close friends who were mainstreamed with SpEd diagnoses and who had positive experiences as well. Kids are happy and thriving academically, and I credit Campbell their good foundation. It is definitely not a private school, but of all the publics, it has a good staff to student ratio, and smaller class sizes than average due to being Title 1. We found that the combination of Title 1 funds, plus an active PTA, resulted in a good amount of money to support teachers and students in the majority of their initiatives. I loved Community Meetings, the expeditions, the extra student conference, etc., that made Campbell unique. Not overly reliant on iPads, and my kids had a lot of additional outdoor time. It’s true that some teachers take better advantage than others, maybe we were just fortunate to have had those ones. But they all do expeditions. Some teachers just do extra outdoor lessons, or had the kids do their writing or math in the courtyard on beautiful days, for example.

PP who bumped this thread, go to the source. Not sure if they’re allowing school tours during Covid, but take anything you read here with a grain of salt and investigate for yourself to see if this school would be a good fit for your child and your family. Also, anything that has happened in the last 2 years is probably atypical and will (hopefully) revert to normal once the various Covid restrictions are lifted.