Feedback on Garrison from current families

[Anonymous]

The open house I went to was I believe the very first open house of the year at Garrison. It was on a Saturday, and there were a bunch of parents there. I think there may have been a teacher there, too, but there was definitely no principal (unless he was there and didn't introduce himself, which I can't imagine happening). We'll try to swing by for another open house if we can. Thanks for your responsiveness, Ann!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The open house I went to was I believe the very first open house of the year at Garrison. It was on a Saturday, and there were a bunch of parents there. I think there may have been a teacher there, too, but there was definitely no principal (unless he was there and didn't introduce himself, which I can't imagine happening). We'll try to swing by for another open house if we can. Thanks for your responsiveness, Ann!

Oh, and I should say that I think the open house was in November.

[GarrisonPTA]

Thanks for your response. Collin was definitely there if it was on a Saturday - we simply cannot get into the building if he isn't there. He does have a bad habit of not always saying who he is before he talks - a lot of times he tries to greet people as they come in, and then when we start the "official" meeting, he just talks, not realizing maybe he didn't meet everyone (which can happen because sometimes he leaves the room for whatever reason before we start). Anyway, I hope you can come back for another open house or to the drop-in dates so you can see classes in action. If those times do not work, you (and everyone) are welcome to schedule a time to come when it is convenient for you. Just email collin at [e-mail] to arrange something.

[Anonymous]

I will try to make it. Saturday open houses seem to be filling our calendars, so I'll try to come mid-week. Thanks for this info!

[Anonymous]

I'm hoping to revive this thread because Garrison is my in-boundary school, and I'm torn about putting other DCPS schools above it. On one hand, I love that I have so many neighbors who are enthusiastic about and involved with the school. On the other hand, although I loved the admin-talk part of the Open House, the classroom tour left me feeling uneasy, especially in the preschool. I felt like the students were somewhat chaotic, and that the classrooms didn't have the cared-for feeling I saw every other place I visited.

Can any current families (or visitors) weigh in on whether this was an accurate representation of Garrison? Are there more important good things at play that I just missed? I know that all classrooms have their chaotic and slapdash moments, but if I put Garrison as my first DCPS choice, I want to feel like I've gotten as much info as I can about it. Many thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping to revive this thread because Garrison is my in-boundary school, and I'm torn about putting other DCPS schools above it. On one hand, I love that I have so many neighbors who are enthusiastic about and involved with the school. On the other hand, although I loved the admin-talk part of the Open House, the classroom tour left me feeling uneasy, especially in the preschool. I felt like the students were somewhat chaotic, and that the classrooms didn't have the cared-for feeling I saw every other place I visited.

Can any current families (or visitors) weigh in on whether this was an accurate representation of Garrison? Are there more important good things at play that I just missed? I know that all classrooms have their chaotic and slapdash moments, but if I put Garrison as my first DCPS choice, I want to feel like I've gotten as much info as I can about it. Many thanks.

I really wanted to like Garrison when I saw it, but I just didn't. It's hard to explain why, just felt like it was a little bland and would not foster a love of learning in the way some other schools I saw would. It's not on our list for that reason. However, it likely would have made our list if we were in boundary and it was convenient--just couldn't justify having to travel further from home than our in-boundary school.

[Anonymous]

Hi - I am coming over from the other thread where you mentioned Garrison. We plan/hope to send our child this fall and we are in-boundary. I have been to in-class sessions in two different classes on two different dates at Garrison. Once was early in the day and it was totally calm. The other time was later in the morning and the kids were definitely louder. Different classes, different teachers. But I think both teachers are awesome. I have also visited 4 other DCPS schools and found the classrooms to be about the same level of "rowdy" but I think it is dependent on the time you go (9am vs. 11am etc.). I think the classrooms at Garrison are quite large compared to the other schools I've been to. I was so excited for the modernization but now it looks like that might not take place if Mayor Gray gets his proposal passed
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/365646.page
Anyway we are actually really excited about Garrison and think it will be a big changer of a school soon. Maybe we are delusional. I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone talk about the after-care at Garrison? Is it DCPS-provided, like at many other title I schools? Do the kids watch movies? I've heard this is a problem at other DCPS-provided schools. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I'm bumping this thread because I'm really excited about Garrison as our in-boundary choice for PS3 next year. Hopefully everyone interested has been keeping up with the latest updates that Garrison is meant to receive funding for FULL renovations in 2015, which is fantastic news. The vast community support around Garrison is one of the many reasons we are looking forward to our neighborhood school next year. Hope we'll see plenty of friends from the playgrounds there next school year!

[Anonymous]

So are we!! Excited about the full funding and excited to start!