Feedback on Garrison from current families
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Anonymous
| We are considering applying OOB to Garrison for PK3. I would love to hear feedback from current families on the program. I know that Garrison was set to be closed a few years, and that the neighborhood successfully rallied to keep it open, which is great. Are families in the neighborhood enrolling in greater numbers/percentages? Do families plan to stay through 5th grade? TIA. |
Anonymous
| anyone? |
Anonymous
| Sorry but cannot help. I too am interested in their PS3 program for DD. |
Anonymous
| Anyone? I went to an open house, but it was on the weekend, so I didn't get much of a feel for the school. I checked online to see what info they have for parents on the PTA, and they still had info up from the last school year, including the 2012-2013 school dates. I wonder whether parent involvement has gone down--surprised that this has gotten no responses thus far. |
Anonymous
| Its odd that no one is responding. I feel like the PTA president (or ever used to be) was always quick to jump and post helpful items, and always signed their name to it. Especially active when they were drumming up support to get their school off the closure list. So now they accomplished that and its silence... |
Anonymous
Or maybe she's busy putting away her x-mas tree, getting back to work, getting her kids back in the groove with homework, etc. etc. etc. What is it with the entitlement of not-even-in-school-yet parents on DCUM lately?! Everybody is supposed to drop everything and get on DCUM and answer your questions because heaven knows they have nothing better to do than cater to you you you. I just hope you stay far away from the school my children attend, with a parent like you I can only imagine what a brat you're raising. |
Anonymous
Nice job generalizing from a couple of anonymous posts on a message board! |
Anonymous
| We contacted the PTA President and heard right back and she coordinated a meet and greet with other current and prospective parents. Since we missed some open houses we also got an invite from one of the teachers to drop in. So they are very responsive. They just aren't hanging out on DCUM. |
Anonymous
Good to know. I got in contact a while back and am waiting to hear back. Assume I will after school gets back in session. |
Anonymous
Wow. You have serious anger issues. I hope I am around your children so they can be around an easy going mom. |
GarrisonPTA
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Greetings, this is Ann McLeod, Garrison PTA President. Thanks so much for your interest in our school!
Of course I'll chime in what I think and I appreciate not being flamed for being a "booster" - of course I'm boosting Garrison, I'm the PTA President for gosh's sake, it's part of my duties. And next, let me say that my son is in 2nd grade at Garrison so I'm a bit far removed from what is going on in PS3/PK4. Of course I know what is going on but I don't have first-hand experience. Sorry for not responding sooner but it is not my habit to regularly read DCUM. Another parent alerted me of the posting so thanks to her, she knows who she is!! To comment specifically on the PS/PK program...this year we have 5 PS/PK classrooms. Yes, 5. After we were successful in keeping Garrison open, DCPS added an additional PS/PK class to the school. There are 16 children per class. All these classes are mixed-age...with 3s and 4s in the same room. A child will stay with the same teacher for both years, which is great. We have an AMAZING group of teachers. They go above and beyond always, are involved with the PTA, and truly love the students. They work as a team so there is consistency in all classes. You're not going to find one room doing something way cool and another room not doing it. We do use the Tools of the Mind curriculum, which all of our families like very much. It has a lot of similarities to Reggio Emila in that children work in "centers" and select their own centers. It's a great way for kids to learn how to self-regulate, learn by play, and be creative. We have recess every day, and once a week everyone has Spanish, library, PE, music, and art. We do have full-time music, Spanish, and PE teachers on-site. (We used to go to Fillmore but don't any longer for those who visited us in the past.) Garrison will be modernized this summer and we are fighting the good fight to get more than just the Phase I modernization for which we are scheduled. Our principal, Collin Hill, is great. He grew up in DC and went to DCPS himself. His children are enrolled in DCPS schools. This is his 2nd year at Garrison (he was AP at Walker-Jones prior to joining us). I think he is amazing. He is very open and honest and truly welcomes thoughts from families and the community. We have DCPS-run aftercare but not before-care. One aftercare program is orchestra, which is open to 2nd - 5th graders. My son is in it and is learning to play the cello. He absolutely LOVES it. We are the only DCPS elementary school with an orchestra 
I hope this helps somewhat. We are getting together an open house schedule, which I will post. However, you are ALWAYS welcome to come and sit in a class while it is in session. Please contact Collin to set up a time - collin.hill@dc.gov. Feel free to post other specific questions here or email us at GarrisonPTA@gmail.com. thanks again for your interest! ann mcLeod Garrison PTA president |
Anonymous
| Thanks, Ann, for your thorough and thoughtful response! All my neighbors with kids at Garrison speak highly of it. I'm looking forward to visiting. |
Anonymous
| Why did he leave Walker Jones? |
Anonymous
| The 3's and 4's will stay in the same class for two years or will the 4's move to another room for K? |
Anonymous
I'm guessing because he was assistant principal at Walker Jones, and was offered a promotion to principal at Garrison... |