Anonymous wrote:Just got an email...the next PTA night is Author Night on March 20th. Time has not been announced yet but they are usually around 6ish.

OP considering attending---it might give you a feel for the school and community

Thank you! We are new to the area, so it's really nice to be able to get so much info about the school. We are planning to visit the school to see for ourselves.

Just got an email...the next PTA night is Author Night on March 20th. Time has not been announced yet but they are usually around 6ish.

OP considering attending---it might give you a feel for the school and community

Anonymous wrote:Do you all think I am lying? I drop off DD every morning and pick her up every afternoon and the front door is unlocked! It doesn't matter if it's before school, after school, or right before dismissal the front door all the way to the right is unlocked.

I don't think you're lying, but I teach at VM and this has not been my experience. There have been times that I've left my key card in my classroom, and I either have to go in through the gym door, or be buzzed in at the main door. This is usually between 7:30 and 8:00. What times of day are you finding that the door is open? I was under the impression that the day care had their own buzzer to let those parents in.

Students are unsupervised outside before school because they aren't allowed in the building until 8:30. So if they walk or are dropped off earlier, they wait outside. If it's particularly cold, they can come wait in the front hall. At 8:30, they report to their classrooms and wait in the hall until about 8:40 when their teachers call them into the classroom for breakfast.

OP, I'm obviously biased, but I think we're a pretty good school! The class sizes are small, the culture of the school is very collaborative, and we try to keep things positive in terms of discipline. Many of the teachers have been at VM for 15+ years and are all very committed to student success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I walk by several unsupervised kids either hanging out by the front doors, walking through the school, or just sitting on the benches in front of the main office. I've walked through unlocked doors past these children within eyeshot of school employees actually wearing badges and have never gotten a "hi, can I help you?" I was hoping that having DD in a daycare inside an elementary school would provide peace of mind with regards to security but it doesn't.

This hasn't been my experience, but if it's happening to you, then you should stop in at the front office and mention something to the principal or the AP. They have always been very helpful to me and I'm sure that if you pointed out a short coming in their security, they would work to resolve the issue.

Thank you so much for all the info!

Anonymous wrote:And I walk by several unsupervised kids either hanging out by the front doors, walking through the school, or just sitting on the benches in front of the main office. I've walked through unlocked doors past these children within eyeshot of school employees actually wearing badges and have never gotten a "hi, can I help you?" I was hoping that having DD in a daycare inside an elementary school would provide peace of mind with regards to security but it doesn't.

This hasn't been my experience, but if it's happening to you, then you should stop in at the front office and mention something to the principal or the AP. They have always been very helpful to me and I'm sure that if you pointed out a short coming in their security, they would work to resolve the issue.

And I walk by several unsupervised kids either hanging out by the front doors, walking through the school, or just sitting on the benches in front of the main office. I've walked through unlocked doors past these children within eyeshot of school employees actually wearing badges and have never gotten a "hi, can I help you?" I was hoping that having DD in a daycare inside an elementary school would provide peace of mind with regards to security but it doesn't.

Feel free to meet me any morning or afternoon and I'll show you.

Do you all think I am lying? I drop off DD every morning and pick her up every afternoon and the front door is unlocked! It doesn't matter if it's before school, after school, or right before dismissal the front door all the way to the right is unlocked.

Odd post, PP. I work in MCPS as a non-school based (I move around to several schools, including VMES) professional employee, and I wouldn't describe the school as dirty. They just received an addition that increased the school size by about 50%--before that, they had to deal with almost 20 portables, I think. So much of the building is barely a year old. There is a school-based health center which is open to all families, regardless of income. If you are not on medical assistance, you can still sign up and go through your insurance for payment.

For safety issues, I think the PP is wrong. The doors are ALWAYS locked, except for the gym in the morning so that parents can drop off students to the before care program (Global). If I don't have my swipe key, I have to buzz in at the main door, and the secretaries check the security cameras to let me in. Nobody can just walk in.

There is a new principal this year, so the school is adjusting. The former principal was very popular, but the new one seems good too. Right now, K classes are sitting at 18-20 students, due to increased enrollment at the beginning of the school year. It's tough because the Title I K classes are "capped" at 18, but in order to get an allocation for an additional class once the school year has started, ALL classes must be above 18. The new principal has expressed an interest in addressing this issue, to keep class sizes small. Hopefully we will see that in the next school year. There are 6 K classes this year, and presumably there will be 5 2nd grade classes next year.

I can speak personally that due to the school's high ESOL population, there is a lot of collaboration among teachers. Most classrooms have two teachers working together for part of the day (an ESOL teacher and classroom teacher), and in K and 1st, paras are assigned to classes for large chunks of the day as well. This means multiple adults working with kids, so a lot of small group instruction.

The PTA is active, especially for a Title I school. As PP mentioned, there are lots of "nights," although I have never had the opportunity to attend any. My oldest is still a year away from kindergarten and we live upcounty, but I will be honest and say that we are considering applying for a COSA to attend VMES.

PP here--- I can't speak to the after school day care but my experience with the bldg when school has been in session is that the doors are always locked and I have to be buzzed in. I've been to the bathrooms-- not the staff ones but the ones the kids use and they've been fine-- clean, tp, paper towels. I find the bldg full of light and clean.

So OP my suggestion would be to go visit the school. Orientation for K is coming up so you'll have an opportunity to explore the bldg.

We live in the VES district and DD attends Bright Eyes Early Learning Center which is housed in the elementary school. The main complaints from our neighbors with children in VES is that the aftercare program is a mess. Apparently they don't cap the number of kids they take in and it's just one big free for all. Several families opt for after school Tae Kwon Do program that busses kids from VES. Not sure how the cost of that compares to aftercare. We are zoned for walking, not bus, an diy can be a pain at drop off/pick up time because the streets are so tight around the school. They even close one street to cars so the busses can get out. I'm also a little concerned by how dirty the school is. I get that it's an older building but even the staff bathrooms are grimy. Many of trh custodians don't wear uniforms and the doors are never locked when I am there (which sometimes overlaps with school times) so you never can tell if someone is supposed to be there or not. Despite all of that DD will most likely attend VES for K the year after next unless we win the lottery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son attends PEP there so officially it's out of bounds for us. But I can't say enough good things about the school, the teachers, and the principal.

The PTA is very active. They actively participated in the forums for the bell times, the after school activities are plentiful, inexpensive, and well run. Communication about school from the PTA is plentiful and timely and in multiple languages. They're are lots of school wide events like CEC night, movie night, and international night.

The school has a high FARMS rate and they really help those in need. There is a winter coat closet and a community based health center.

We live in a W district but I've been so impressed with the school that I'm considering applying for a COSA.

Hope this helps. I really think it's a great school.

Thank you so much for your info! How about the class size? We have a child is going to K and the other is going to 2nd grade this fall.

The school is a title 1 school. My son would be going into K next year so I can only speak to the K class size not 2nd grade. Because it's a title 1 school, class sizes are supposed to be smaller in the range of 15-18. But it's a guideline not a hard and fast rule. I think most K classes are running around 19-21 this year. I was bummed to learn that they are that high.

Anonymous wrote:My son attends PEP there so officially it's out of bounds for us. But I can't say enough good things about the school, the teachers, and the principal.

The PTA is very active. They actively participated in the forums for the bell times, the after school activities are plentiful, inexpensive, and well run. Communication about school from the PTA is plentiful and timely and in multiple languages. They're are lots of school wide events like CEC night, movie night, and international night.

The school has a high FARMS rate and they really help those in need. There is a winter coat closet and a community based health center.

We live in a W district but I've been so impressed with the school that I'm considering applying for a COSA.

Hope this helps. I really think it's a great school.

Thank you so much for your info! How about the class size? We have a child is going to K and the other is going to 2nd grade this fall.

My son attends PEP there so officially it's out of bounds for us. But I can't say enough good things about the school, the teachers, and the principal.

The PTA is very active. They actively participated in the forums for the bell times, the after school activities are plentiful, inexpensive, and well run. Communication about school from the PTA is plentiful and timely and in multiple languages. They're are lots of school wide events like CEC night, movie night, and international night.

The school has a high FARMS rate and they really help those in need. There is a winter coat closet and a community based health center.

We live in a W district but I've been so impressed with the school that I'm considering applying for a COSA.

Hope this helps. I really think it's a great school.

We are looking to buy a house in the neighborhood. We would love to hear about your experience if you have children currently at Viers Mill ES.