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[quote=Anonymous]One of our kids did PK3 and PK4 at Stevens and we were quite happy.  We wanted to send another kid to Stevens this year but did not make it off the waitlist for PK3 and ended up enrolling in another DCPS.  We are considering moving that kid to Stevens for PK4 next year.  There are some respects in which we have found other DCPS schools to be better (for example, larger outdoor space and better aftercare setup) but we liked the teaching and the community in our class at Stevens very much.

[quote]The excessive use of timeouts to discipline is concerning, as they are widely regarded as ineffective and potentially traumatic for some children. The extra classes seem inexistent. In four months, we’ve seen only 2 art projects from our child. Despite having weekly Spanish lessons, my child cannot even say "hello" in Spanish. There is an obvious lack of meaningful enrichment activities, no field trips, and no real community-building events to engage families.[/quote]
Our experience was quite different.  My kid reports that timeouts were used "just a little bit" at Stevens over those two years and were not common.  At our parent-teacher conferences I recall going through stacks of art projects, particularly in PK4.  (Unlike other DCPS schools where the parents aren't usually allowed past the door, at Stevens parents can walk in the school every day at drop-off and pick-up and see art projects posted in the halls.)  We went on a variety of interesting field trips, each coordinated with the class's current topic of study, and a substantial number of parents participated in each trip.  There is a school playdate at the beginning of the school year and an open house each year.  Each teacher held a "learning celebration" several times each year where the all the parents would come to the classroom, talk with the students about what they had learned, and see the students' work from each unit in the curriculum.  Parents would frequently come in and read stories to the kids.

The language classes are similar to what we've seen at other DCPS pre-K programs and are not intended to be rigorous (after all, they meet for less than an hour a week and are teaching 3-year-olds).  Here are a few words in the target language, let's color pictures of them.  We taught our kid Spanish in other contexts and did not expect Stevens to deliver us a kid conversant in Spanish solely by way of an occasional special.

[quote=Anonymous]Is it true that Stevens and MR share a principal? Has that always been the case and has it been the same principal? [/quote]
Yes, assuming that "MR" refers to Military Road ELC and not Marie Reed Elementary School.  Amelia (Hunt) Birchette has been the principal of both since they opened.  Stevens' Field Day actually takes place at Military Road ELC.

[quote]Thus, I tried to contact the institution via phone (voicemail) and email, but didn't receive any feedback.[/quote]
I also had difficulty reaching the Stevens front desk on the phone regarding enrollment, and that concerned me at first.  But once school started I never had difficulty contacting the teachers via email when I needed something, and emailing the enrollment email worked to report absences.

[quote]The teacher doesn’t pay attention to dietary restrictions, is frequently absent, and conducts improper assessments.[/quote]
Here too, my experience was different.  When we brought in cupcakes for birthdays, our teachers made sure we brought in some gluten free ones as well to accommodate a dietary restriction.  I don't recall frequent absences from any of the teachers.  At conferences the teachers went through in detail the assessments they had conducted, and they seemed to have done them carefully.

[quote]the fact that less than 50% of students return for PK4 is quite telling.[/quote]
It's primarily telling of the fact that many Stevens ELC students live in school boundaries where the IB school starts at PK4.  Many students from these areas choose Stevens for PK3 (because it is the closest available PK3 option) and then understandably switch to their in-boundary school for PK4, to have a shorter commute and to get to know the student body they'll be with in elementary school.
However, I recall one Stevens PK3 student who got a lottery spot at their well regarded neighborhood school for PK4, enrolled, concluded over the summer that Stevens was a better choice, and ultimately submitted a post-lottery application and returned to Stevens for PK4.[/quote]

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