Travilah Elementary School

The is GOOD over all. The students are very good. Teacher are vary from excelent to so-so. The school is well organized. The main issue with the school is leadership. The principal seems to be good administrator who does NOT understand kids, parents and there needs. The principal fails to create fare and comfortable learning enviroment for all students. Few students are treated too well (kids of wealthy parents donating to school a lot) while rest of the kids the principal does not care about. But principal DOES care about the school performance down to fraction of a percent. And she pushes the scores up by KEEPING best students in school rather than recommending them for Gifted-and-Talented program offered by the county (kids in the GT program go to different school and home school looses performance a bit when they leave). At the meetings with parents the principal talks about school building improvement, school scores improvement and such. She DOES NOT talk about kids, and I think this is because she DOES NOT REALLY care about them. I know first hand that it can and is different in some other schools in the area!
--Submitted by a parent

I have been very pleased with the school, the teachers, administrators, and curriculum. The PTA is very active and supportive, providing tons of extra activities, enrichment programs and supplying the school with whatever additional supplies or perks it could need. The administrators and teachers have been very professional and responsible whenever my kids had an issue, addressing the problem discreetly and with kindness. More than half the kids test as Gifted and Talented, so if your kid is smart, s/he will be challenged. I think they do a great job of trying to give individual treatment to each kid's learning abilities. A very green school with teachers who care and are responsive to parents. Incredibly diverse in population although less so in socio-economic level, many kids speak other languages and the school is very thoughtful about cultural differences. County administration lacks nimbleness and is adverse to change, but that's true for all the ES in the County. Overall, would highly recommend the school to any friend.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is fantastic. Great teachers, extracurricular activities, many special programs for special students, and a great bus transportation system. Just fantastic!!!! I compared several private schools before sending my children to this one. This one is the best!
--Submitted by a parent

We moved to this area last year since we thought this school is one of the best based on the ratings, but so far we are so disappointed. The kids are great and so are the test scores. However some teachers and the management team are really not professional. They only care about the 'bad' side of the students and the parents have to accept whatever the arrangements they make. No communications at all, however if the parents have a concern, the school like to spend more time on dealing with the parents instead of solving the problem and helping students to progress. The dangerous thing that I can see is my daughter who used to be very confident and happy is gradually losing her confidence and happiness, and even the interest in going to school. Be careful if your kids are not mature enough even though they are good academically.
--Submitted by a parent

As the parent of a child with special needs I have been disappointed by the school staff. They constantly focus on the bad or 'missing' character traits of my child starting from kindergarten. As early as the end of kindergarten my normally active and carefree child would come home with little self-esteem. The school was very focused in trying to 'fix' my child and 'push' him through the curriculum. As a Montgomery county school, the curriculum is top notch, but I feel it does not cater to those students who lack the maturity to uphold the high standards. The school is very assertive that children who fall outside the lines of tolerance need to be medicated. And though they cannot legally diagnose a child, they do. The administrative staff is very bossy toward the parents and treat them as though they were the elementary student. Be cautious and aware.
--Submitted by a parent