Ashlawn or Campbell ES?

[Anonymous]

I can tell you that none of the teachers like the new principal.

[Anonymous]

Not true. Many of us like her very much. Go do something more productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone I know LOVES Ashlawn, except one family I know who left for ATS.

I have heard from several families they like it. But I also know others who are not happy with the lack of focus on academics, no homework and are looking for other options. The no homework thing is not specific to this school, more of an APS thing.

[Anonymous]

Resurrecting this post. It seems there are quite a few Ashlawn families here. Do any of you have experience with Ashlawn vs private / parochial? How would Ashlawn compare with St Anne's, St Agnes, STM (if a spot became available at one of those schools)? Publicly people speak highly of Ashlawn, but privately not so much.

[Anonymous]

For Ashlawn, here are the positives - the teachers. They are literally the best. We've had six so far and each one is dedicated, talented, driven, hardworking, and excellent at their craft. The other positive is the students. It's a well-rounded and kind group. Extended Day is also fantastic. The only issues I have are APS-wide issues - lack of grades, testing, writing standards, etc.

[Anonymous]

I fully admit to my own bias here, as we are a happy Ashlawn family, but I think comparing a public to a private school is apples and oranges. Maybe not so much with HB Woodlawn, or ATS. And perhaps Ashlawn. I went to a mix of public and private schools as a child, and I remember one of the main differences being a united sense of purpose, which is often provided by religion, and generally nicer facilities. I’m told others’ mileage does vary. But if I were to compare Ashlawn to a private school based on that, I’d say that parts of the facilities are lovely… Part of the building is quite new, and other areas not so much, but it has a really huge playground and fabulous gardens and courtyard. I wouldn’t say that GCP is a religion or anything, but it is a very uniting, humanizing factor.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to know about Ashlawn is that they are very straightforward with social justice issues. My DC says they’ve been reading about hunger/food insecurity, and racism before that, and there is a food drive going on right now. If you don’t want to try to remember to send in a can of soup this week, or socks for the homeless shelter another week, it may not be a good match. Participation isn’t required of course, and nobody keeps track, but I would think you’d have to at least be supportive of that stuff even if you don’t remember to contribute something each time to feel like it’s a good match.

[Anonymous]

All helpful, thank you for sharing. I am not familiar with GCP, but our family is focused on making sure the kids understand we live in a bubble and not everyone has the material advantages they have, so those aspects are good. I can't really tell about the academics at the school, though. We have friends at Ashlawn who have complained that their kid knew more when they graduated pre-k and that the entire K year was sort of a waste with the desks pushed together into pods, not learning to read, etc. On the one hand I get that it's K and it shouldn't be a pressure cooker. OTH, if my kid were doing well in pre-k and then they seemed to learn nothing in K, I would be wondering whether I should take them elsewhere. We have been having lots of questions about APS and Ahshlawn's ability to actually teach to solid foundations of math and reading. Can anyone comment on that? Some neighbors do reading tutors, kumon etc to 'supplement'. Is that because the school is not teaching enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All helpful, thank you for sharing. I am not familiar with GCP, but our family is focused on making sure the kids understand we live in a bubble and not everyone has the material advantages they have, so those aspects are good. I can't really tell about the academics at the school, though. We have friends at Ashlawn who have complained that their kid knew more when they graduated pre-k and that the entire K year was sort of a waste with the desks pushed together into pods, not learning to read, etc. On the one hand I get that it's K and it shouldn't be a pressure cooker. OTH, if my kid were doing well in pre-k and then they seemed to learn nothing in K, I would be wondering whether I should take them elsewhere. We have been having lots of questions about APS and Ahshlawn's ability to actually teach to solid foundations of math and reading. Can anyone comment on that? Some neighbors do reading tutors, kumon etc to 'supplement'. Is that because the school is not teaching enough?

Our 2 kids went to Ashlawn and in no way did we have to supplement any kind of tutor for reading or math. In fact, my student halfway through the year in 1st grade was testing below grade level for reading. They had our child meet with one of the reading specialist and they were ABOVE grade level within 6 weeks! They have some really excellent special teachers available. Both of my students went to middle school with no issue and are very successful there (tracking ahead in both math and reading and taking intensified in MS/HS next year).

I have heard parents complain about kindergarten and truth be told my second child was already reading by the time they went to kindergarten and was a little bored academically. However, Kindergarten is about social norms, learning how to be a student, a good citizen, following rules, independence, etc. it is absolutely developmentally appropriate for five and six years olds to still be playing in kindergarten. I think Ashlawn does a great job and grooving students by their academic abilities or deficiencies. I’m not sure how much they do it now with the new curriculum but the small group pull outs worked really well for my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ashlawn is a wonderful school. My kids have had 6 great main teachers and adore both art teachers, the librarian, and the gifted resources teacher so much. The extended day staff has a core group of employees that were there since before the pandemic. We ran into the counselor out of school and both my kids ran to say hi and introduce us to her.

My only concern is the new principal. I can’t put my finger on what bugs me about her but I feel like she doesn’t fit. Maybe it will take more time, but the last principle and VP were such a great team and you could tell how much they liked each other and how much the kids liked them.

So you criticize her online, for some nebulous reason you “can’t put your finger on,” just because a new person doesn’t immediately re-create the chemistry of the previous “ principle and VP.”

I feel like there’s some reason phenomenal people are not willing to be principals and assistant principals. Just can’t quite put my finger on it.

Well we just lost our excellent and much loved VP - so I guess not everyone loves the new Principal after all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fully admit to my own bias here, as we are a happy Ashlawn family, but I think comparing a public to a private school is apples and oranges. Maybe not so much with HB Woodlawn, or ATS. And perhaps Ashlawn. I went to a mix of public and private schools as a child, and I remember one of the main differences being a united sense of purpose, which is often provided by religion, and generally nicer facilities. I’m told others’ mileage does vary. But if I were to compare Ashlawn to a private school based on that, I’d say that parts of the facilities are lovely… Part of the building is quite new, and other areas not so much, but it has a really huge playground and fabulous gardens and courtyard. I wouldn’t say that GCP is a religion or anything, but it is a very uniting, humanizing factor.

The school’s library is one of the most beautiful spaces in the school. A warm, modern space with lots of natural light. Extraordinary views towards Bluemont Park as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well we just lost our excellent and much loved VP - so I guess not everyone loves the new Principal after all!

I am an Ashlawn parent too. While I agree that the loss of the VP is sad, she has had personal family challenges as she mentions. The prior principal left due to personal family dynamic issues. While I am not a fan of the current principal, hopefully we can ride it out as the school itself is quite good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ashlawn is a wonderful school. My kids have had 6 great main teachers and adore both art teachers, the librarian, and the gifted resources teacher so much. The extended day staff has a core group of employees that were there since before the pandemic. We ran into the counselor out of school and both my kids ran to say hi and introduce us to her.

My only concern is the new principal. I can’t put my finger on what bugs me about her but I feel like she doesn’t fit. Maybe it will take more time, but the last principle and VP were such a great team and you could tell how much they liked each other and how much the kids liked them.

So you criticize her online, for some nebulous reason you “can’t put your finger on,” just because a new person doesn’t immediately re-create the chemistry of the previous “ principle and VP.”

I feel like there’s some reason phenomenal people are not willing to be principals and assistant principals. Just can’t quite put my finger on it.

Well we just lost our excellent and much loved VP - so I guess not everyone loves the new Principal after all!

NO! She is awesome. Where is she going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ashlawn is a wonderful school. My kids have had 6 great main teachers and adore both art teachers, the librarian, and the gifted resources teacher so much. The extended day staff has a core group of employees that were there since before the pandemic. We ran into the counselor out of school and both my kids ran to say hi and introduce us to her.

My only concern is the new principal. I can’t put my finger on what bugs me about her but I feel like she doesn’t fit. Maybe it will take more time, but the last principle and VP were such a great team and you could tell how much they liked each other and how much the kids liked them.

So you criticize her online, for some nebulous reason you “can’t put your finger on,” just because a new person doesn’t immediately re-create the chemistry of the previous “ principle and VP.”

I feel like there’s some reason phenomenal people are not willing to be principals and assistant principals. Just can’t quite put my finger on it.

She hasn’t specified. Sounds burnt out.
Well we just lost our excellent and much loved VP - so I guess not everyone loves the new Principal after all!

NO! She is awesome. Where is she going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ashlawn is a wonderful school. My kids have had 6 great main teachers and adore both art teachers, the librarian, and the gifted resources teacher so much. The extended day staff has a core group of employees that were there since before the pandemic. We ran into the counselor out of school and both my kids ran to say hi and introduce us to her.

My only concern is the new principal. I can’t put my finger on what bugs me about her but I feel like she doesn’t fit. Maybe it will take more time, but the last principle and VP were such a great team and you could tell how much they liked each other and how much the kids liked them.

So you criticize her online, for some nebulous reason you “can’t put your finger on,” just because a new person doesn’t immediately re-create the chemistry of the previous “ principle and VP.”

I feel like there’s some reason phenomenal people are not willing to be principals and assistant principals. Just can’t quite put my finger on it.

She hasn’t specified. Sounds burnt out.
Well we just lost our excellent and much loved VP - so I guess not everyone loves the new Principal after all!

NO! She is awesome. Where is she going?

She didn’t specify. Just sounds burnt out.