Opinions on Greenbelt Elementary

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My child will be going to elementary school in a couple of years. My wife and I are beginning to look seriously at options for where to send her. Our local school is Greenbelt Elementary, which on paper looks to be quite good 4/5 on School Digger based on 2014 MSA scores):

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MD/schools/0051000512/school.aspx

GES' scores and rank shot way up in 2014, so I am not sure if this is just an aberration or indicative of actual improvement. I am looking for any other info on this school, especially from those who have kids enrolled there, as we consider this school vs various private options. We'll apply for the Goddard French immersion school as our preferred option, but are looking at what happens assuming she does not get in through the lottery.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

We're not at GES, but it was referenced just recently in this post.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/386020.page

[Anonymous]

I know a bunch of people who send their kids there and LOVE it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the responses! Looks like a good option for us.

[Anonymous]

We're GES and we love it. The improved scores were indeed a result of hard work and dedication of the principal. She's fabulous and doesn't put up with bullshit teachers that should have been fired years and years ago.

[Anonymous]

Actually many great teachers left who have been there for years. They were excellent teachers! They were basically pushed out. A huge turnover in the last 2 years due to a negative working environment for the teachers. It is so sad!

[Anonymous]

There were also some shitty teachers that were thankfully let go. It's nice to have an actual music teacher who actually likes her job and does more than play Veggie Tale movies all day long.
The administration has worked hard to get funding to have an art teacher in the school and the kids now get art twice a week instead of just once a quarter.
This principal gets what is truly important, put the needs of the children first, and weeded out the dead weight. She's done an impeccable job but she can't please everyone.

Seriously, the Veggie Tales teacher pissed me off and got so many complaints during her years but the former principal chose to do nothing. Even let that teacher bring her new baby in with her because she was nursing. Well, when the baby was sleeping her students couldn't make a sound! Holy Hell! The stuff that was allowed to occur was unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were also some shitty teachers that were thankfully let go. It's nice to have an actual music teacher who actually likes her job and does more than play Veggie Tale movies all day long.
The administration has worked hard to get funding to have an art teacher in the school and the kids now get art twice a week instead of just once a quarter.
This principal gets what is truly important, put the needs of the children first, and weeded out the dead weight. She's done an impeccable job but she can't please everyone.

Seriously, the Veggie Tales teacher pissed me off and got so many complaints during her years but the former principal chose to do nothing. Even let that teacher bring her new baby in with her because she was nursing. Well, when the baby was sleeping her students couldn't make a sound! Holy Hell! The stuff that was allowed to occur was unbelievable.

Wow!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were also some shitty teachers that were thankfully let go. It's nice to have an actual music teacher who actually likes her job and does more than play Veggie Tale movies all day long.
The administration has worked hard to get funding to have an art teacher in the school and the kids now get art twice a week instead of just once a quarter.
This principal gets what is truly important, put the needs of the children first, and weeded out the dead weight. She's done an impeccable job but she can't please everyone.

Seriously, the Veggie Tales teacher pissed me off and got so many complaints during her years but the former principal chose to do nothing. Even let that teacher bring her new baby in with her because she was nursing. Well, when the baby was sleeping her students couldn't make a sound! Holy Hell! The stuff that was allowed to occur was unbelievable.

Wow!!

For some reason I have a feeling that 11:02 was the Veggie Tales teacher and this post is in direct response to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were also some shitty teachers that were thankfully let go. It's nice to have an actual music teacher who actually likes her job and does more than play Veggie Tale movies all day long.
The administration has worked hard to get funding to have an art teacher in the school and the kids now get art twice a week instead of just once a quarter.
This principal gets what is truly important, put the needs of the children first, and weeded out the dead weight. She's done an impeccable job but she can't please everyone.

Seriously, the Veggie Tales teacher pissed me off and got so many complaints during her years but the former principal chose to do nothing. Even let that teacher bring her new baby in with her because she was nursing. Well, when the baby was sleeping her students couldn't make a sound! Holy Hell! The stuff that was allowed to occur was unbelievable.

Good info, thanks.

[Anonymous]

No that post was not written by a teacher who had been transferred. I am a parent with a child at that school and have seen many good teachers leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No that post was not written by a teacher who had been transferred. I am a parent with a child at that school and have seen many good teachers leave.

I too have seen good teachers leave because PG doesn't pay as well as the surrounding districts. Others have left because of the commute, marriage, divorce, what have you, but the principal was very quick and efficient when it came to ridding the school of shitty teachers. Ms. Gaines works with the parents and genuinely has the children's best interest in mind. That wasn't the case with the former principal AND she was quite unapproachable.

[Anonymous]

My biggest issues with GES is the classroom size. About 30 kids to one teacher and the length of recess-15mins. That really irks me. (My close friend/neighbor reports to me regularly..) My daughter is kindergarten bound in the Fall, but I am exploring other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My biggest issues with GES is the classroom size. About 30 kids to one teacher and the length of recess-15mins. That really irks me. (My close friend/neighbor reports to me regularly..) My daughter is kindergarten bound in the Fall, but I am exploring other options.

Part of the issue in regards to recess time is the length of the day. The school day is 6 hours and 10 minutes long. We recently moved out of the area and DD's school day is 6 hours and 45 minutes long. Lunch and recess is 40 minutes. Totally worth the longer day to have a bigger break in the middle. Something I've been saying to GES parents for years and they all thought I was nuts. Well, DD comes home everyday in a good mood. Recess is outside unless it's 10F or lower and they play dodgeball and other games that banned in many cities.
Gym is every other day and 40 minutes of vigorous exercise. Swimming, field hockey, basketball...

[Anonymous]

Yes, the very short recess is a big problem. Plus it is mandated that kids have breaks besides recess lasting at least 15 minutes. At back to school night it was announced that recess had to be 15 min. due to policy, however, that isn't true. It is a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30. The school needs to address this health issue!