Marshall Road Elementary School

[Anonymous]

I'd love to hear your firsthand experiences with Marshall Road Elementary School. We're considering a house there and were admittedly a little surprised by the GS ratings, although I understand to take those with a very large grain of salt and dig in to the data and numbers.

For those with kids in the school, what has your experience been?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

They have a CSS program there, which is for kids with behavior issues. The principal is very controlling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have a CSS program there, which is for kids with behavior issues. The principal is very controlling.

Is the principal being controlling a good thing or a bad thing?

How does the CSS program effect the general population?

[Anonymous]

Fwiw, MRES is a center for kids with more severe special needs, so that does affect test scores/ratings. We live in the zone, but artived here after oldest was padt ES and youngest was in AAP, so went to Mosby Woods/Mosaic. However, our neighbors have or had kids at MRES and I have not heard snything negative. A friend who has had kids there said they have ALOT of community engagement.

[Anonymous]

Typos corrected:

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, MRES is a center for kids with more severe special needs, so that does affect test scores/ratings. We live in the zone, but arrived here after oldest was past ES and youngest was in AAP, so went to Mosby Woods/Mosaic. However, our neighbors have or had kids at MRES and I have not heard anything negative. A friend who has had kids there said they have ALOT of community engagement.

[Anonymous]

We are zoned for MR. Families in our neighborhood are happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, MRES is a center for kids with more severe special needs, so that does affect test scores/ratings. We live in the zone, but artived here after oldest was padt ES and youngest was in AAP, so went to Mosby Woods/Mosaic. However, our neighbors have or had kids at MRES and I have not heard snything negative. A friend who has had kids there said they have ALOT of community engagement.

The special needs kids are not a really large portion of the overall student body. And they are not usually in the same classes as the general student body. I think it's good that the school provides this resource to special needs kids, but I don't want OP to have the mistaken impression that most classes have a lot of special needs kids in them. That is just not the situation. However, the school's Great School ratings don't really make that distinction. The School's academic ratings are nonetheless strong and your kid would probably do just fine there.

[Anonymous]

Take a tour of the school and ask questions. It's a nice building, and the teachers and staff are all professionals, so I think it would be a positive experience for you.

[Anonymous]

Its a lovely school! My son (K) loves it. Yes, there is a special ed center at the school but as noted that is one small portion - its just like any other elementary school in every way, you would have no way of knowing there is anything different unless your child is in those programs. I think people keep mentioning it b/c ultimately the FCPS elementaries in Vienna are not all that different from each other, same curriculums, so its one way to note a distinction.

There is a great community vibe, the staff have all been great. Havent had to interact with the principal so cannot comment on that, but I know there is one person on DCUM who really dislikes her and comments about her a lot when MRES comes up so...ya know, grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have a CSS program there, which is for kids with behavior issues. The principal is very controlling.

HA! Jen is fabulous. Smart and cares about the kids. Really gets to know them. PP must be one of the entitled few who didn’t get their way about something. Good for Jen for pushing back.

[Anonymous]

There's a tendency to suggest the SN kids account for the lower test scores, but they also reflect the areas zoned for the school. Marshall Road isn't just getting kids from expensive parts of the Town of Vienna like Louise Archer and Vienna; it is also getting a bunch of kids who live in less expensive units between 66 and 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a tendency to suggest the SN kids account for the lower test scores, but they also reflect the areas zoned for the school. Marshall Road isn't just getting kids from expensive parts of the Town of Vienna like Louise Archer and Vienna; it is also getting a bunch of kids who live in less expensive units between 66 and 50.

I'm definitely NOT saying that the severe SN kids are the only cause of lower test scores. BUT, I do know that where a school is a center for severe special needs, it's not going to boost the passing rate. When I say "severe" SN, I mean Down Syndrome + autism. I'm not talking about the kid who has ADHD and therefore has a 504/IEP. I have neighbors who have severe SN who go to MR. Non-verbal, Down Syndrome, etc. That is going to have a negative effect on passing rates for SOLs.

I was not suggesting that the severe SN kids are somehow affecting the regular gen. ed. classes. It's just something for OP to consider when looking at data. Schools like Flint Hill and Louise Archer have a lower percent of SN kids, and mostly the less severe kind.

I think OP would be well-advised to call the school, make a 30 min. appointment. They'll be happy to meet with you. Or, if timing is too short, go to the neighborhood where you are thinking of buying, and look for parents/kids out and about... then tell them you are looking at the area and wondered what they think about the school. Yes, it is a small sample, but you're likely to get a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a tendency to suggest the SN kids account for the lower test scores, but they also reflect the areas zoned for the school. Marshall Road isn't just getting kids from expensive parts of the Town of Vienna like Louise Archer and Vienna; it is also getting a bunch of kids who live in less expensive units between 66 and 50.

I'm definitely NOT saying that the severe SN kids are the only cause of lower test scores. BUT, I do know that where a school is a center for severe special needs, it's not going to boost the passing rate. When I say "severe" SN, I mean Down Syndrome + autism. I'm not talking about the kid who has ADHD and therefore has a 504/IEP. I have neighbors who have severe SN who go to MR. Non-verbal, Down Syndrome, etc. That is going to have a negative effect on passing rates for SOLs.

I was not suggesting that the severe SN kids are somehow affecting the regular gen. ed. classes. It's just something for OP to consider when looking at data. Schools like Flint Hill and Louise Archer have a lower percent of SN kids, and mostly the less severe kind.

I think OP would be well-advised to call the school, make a 30 min. appointment. They'll be happy to meet with you. Or, if timing is too short, go to the neighborhood where you are thinking of buying, and look for parents/kids out and about... then tell them you are looking at the area and wondered what they think about the school. Yes, it is a small sample, but you're likely to get a good idea.

And to be clear, the kids with severe SN, like non-verbal or down syndrome, do not share the same classroom/recess as the general student body. (Presumably because they get better and more individualized support in a specialized education environment.) The only reason it even comes up in this context is because of questions arising through Great School's flawed scoring system.

[Anonymous]

Post-COVID and now with a new principal, I'd love to hear parents' thoughts on MRES who have kids here currently.

Specifically, I'm wondering:

- How is the feel of the school overall?
- How is the new administration and the teachers?
- Is there a strong local Level IV AAP program here? I did some research and it looks like a very small percentage of kids stay here for full-time AAP services. (Most go to Mosaic.)

This thread is two years old, so I'm guessing some things have changed. Would love a more current perspective, as my family and I are considering a house that's zoned to MRES. Thanks!