Virginia Court Elementary School

My son is in first grade at this school. He has a fantastic teacher who is really in touch with the needs of each of her students, and deals well with classroom management. I would say that his teacher last year was also a good teacher. The school's PTO is depressingly disorganized, however. We also have gotten several requests to update paperwork which they already have (or should, anyway), and the district policy on needing to actually travel to a building to update your address, phone number, or e-mail address is ridiculous. Overall, we've been content with the classroom parts, but the district and the PTO/parent involvement leave a lot to be desired.
--Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately not everyone has a choice when it comes to which schools to send their children. If you do, or you can make it happen, think twice about sending your child here. It is a school run as a dictatorship whose primary goal is to raise test scores at all cost, i.e., sacrificing the students' love and passion for life-long learning. Behind the scenes students are discussed as numbers and rarely are child's needs put before the needs of the 'face of the school". There are certainly teachers who care deeply about students and their needs, but sadly the administration s need for power prevents the true art of teaching and learning to take place. The state of public education across the nation is dismal and Virginia Court Elementary is leading the way.

My son has suffered from ADHD for his school experience. While the school has helped him with some of his behavioral difficulties, they have inadequately helped him focus his attention. He has difficulty spelling and understanding what he reads. We are currently struggling to get him up to 4th grade level and are receiving very little constructive help from his teacher's and the other professionals at his school. We recently had him tested for attendance at Peace with Christ Lutheran school. He tested below grade level in most of the subject areas. My wife and I feel that public education has generally failed our son and that if given the chance, they would just promote him to the next grade even if he has not maintained the ability to understand the subjects at his current grade level.
--Submitted by Richard Nieto, a parent