Cape St. Claire Elementary School

TERRIBLE ADMIN IN AN OTHERWISE GREAT SCHOOL I moved to this area because I heard how great the Broadneck schools are. For the most part, I like Cape Saint Claire Elementary. Most of the teachers are excellent but there are a couple of teachers who we all pray our kids won't get. The administration leaves something to be desired; the principal (Mrs Pergerson) seems to lack any sort of leadership skills and the assistant principal (Mrs Lorton) seems even worse. Imagine a 5 year old playing principal (but not really knowing how to do the job) and her friend just quietly nodding. Other parents and I are biding our time until they retire. The school counselors, however, are excellent and an asset to the school The school changed curriculum and I don't like it compared to the old but we'll see how the kids do. Part of me wonders if they are focusing on the Maryland State Assessments or on the overall well-rounded education of our children. The math homework my child brings home is extremely confusing for me so I don't know how she is supposed to understand it or I am supposed to explain it. Things are worded strangely and even with my strong background in math I can't help.
--Submitted by a parent

Most teachers are fantastic & energetic, but the administration is hopeless & lackluster. While pleasant enough, they sweep parental concerns under the rug for reasons of less-than-subtle self preservation. It is painfully obvious the top 2 administrators are biding time before retirement & don't want to make waves before. In particular, there is one 2nd grade teacher who should be removed entirely but neither the administration nor the supt's office wants to anything. I can't call her by name but she has a reputation among parents. She thinks she's a good teacher but is disorganized, rote & has major time management problems. My daughter says other teachers (gym, media center, etc.) often get annoyed by her tardiness. Children in her class have been shortchanged by not completing the same work as in other classes & many parents of students in her class feel the same. Another review mentioned the ladder system & I wonder about the children who get shortchanged by it though I feel it has nothing to do with socio-economic status. I like this school overall but it could use an administrative overhaul. Fortunately, parental involvement is very high & "green" programs are amazing.
--Submitted by a parent

My son's classes all have over 30 students in them. This is a 'ladder' style school where the best performing students are taught by different teachers than the regular ones. Strangely, the criteria seems to change each year, and the wealthy kids always seem to be somehow above the cut-off. I would love to see them make all their classes high achievement classes. Their current implementation seems to short change the majority of the kids. Perhaps even more annoying is the number of errors I see in the homework. The grammar in many of the math word problems looks like it was translated into chinese, then into korean, and finally back to english. When I review the math homework my son has done, I have to spend several minutes trying to figure out what they were attempting to ask. I realize the textbooks in use are forced upon the school by the various lobbies at work in our state; but that doesn't really matter. Bottom line is that the textbooks are worse than the ones I saw 30 years ago.
--Submitted by a parent

We have been extremely happy with our son's experiences at Cape St. Claire Elementary! The teachers care about their students, make every effort to meet their students' individual needs, appreciate parent support and help, and genuinely care about the children. With over 700 students in our school this year, it is an administrative monstrosity! Mrs. Pergerson (Principal) and Mrs. Lorton (Assistant Principal) are available, caring, and personal. Every school has areas in which it can improve; the Cape is no different; but I'd be hard-pressed to find a school I like better, or that my son likes better!
--Submitted by a parent

We've had a great experience at Cape. Problems have been resolved quickly with a minimum of theatrics. Admin staff is very brusque -- just ignore them.
--Submitted by a parent

Both of my girls transferred to Cape from a Montessori program. Now they are both in middle school, and I am happy to say my expectations have been exceeded in every way. I cannot recommend the CSCES highly enough!
--Submitted by a parent

My son has been there for 4 years now. The teachers we have had have been awesome. My son has ADHD and each year his teacher has worked with me, worked with my son, has exercised a ton of patience to get him thru the year. This is all around an amazing school.
--Submitted by a parent

My Kids love this school and they are smart kids.....Here is the major problem - the office staff treats the volunteers like trash. They have not respect for all the work that the volunteers do in that school. Ms. Myers needs to find another job where she is not around people. She is very very rude for our secretary which represents the first impression of our school. That is sad since we do have nice teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

I love the school! My sons teachers have been wonderful since kindergarden (last 6 yrs.) and he has been very happy their. His grades have been all been A's and B's. His MSA's are in the high 90'% tile. I also love Mr. Z, the principle. He always greets the kids out front in the am.
--Submitted by a parent

My child excelled academically with constant encouragement from the enthusiastic teaching staff. The principal and teachers are outstanding! The parents are involved and the students love their school! Thank you Cape St. Claire for creating an environment for my child to have an incredible elementary school experience!
--Submitted by a parent