Greencastle Elementary School

A close knit true community school. I wish more parents were able to be more involved with the process. A dedicated and committed staff.
—Submitted by a parent

At first, Greencastle was ok.. but based on recent incidents, I realized how rude the principal and his secretary were towards concerned parents. The secretary raises her voice and talks to parents like they're not educated or something. The principal, Mr. Payne does not care about parent's concerns at all. He just let other people in his staff "deal" with you.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a 7 years old attend Green castle. The teachers and staff are so dedicated. I have real admire for teaching and management staffs.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a community member and a former teacher from this school. It has come a long way and is only getting better!!! Today, as the assistant principal, I am proud that we are on our way to be a National School of Character...AND that we have met adequate yearly progress every year on the state assessments! Principal Kevin Payne, is just the Leader the Noble Knights need at the Castle! Under his leadership, the Students, Staff, and Families are thriving!

I just completed my first year as a staff member at Greencastle. I was very impressed with the students and the staff. This school has met the state benchmark for the passed 12 years. Based on county climate data, parents and students seem very happy with the school. I will let you know how year two goes...
—Submitted by a teacher

This school continues to excel! Great family, terrific staff, wonderful school community!!! This is a fabulous place to send your children.
—Submitted by a teacher

my daughter recently started attending Greencastle and we are so pleased with the proffessionalism of the staff, the effort and concern from the teachers. She came from a private school and we are not dissappointed with our descision to transfer her to this school.
—Submitted by a parent

I heard a lot of things, according to this website the rate is very low (3/10) but my daughters doing great . My daughters been there two years each they will be there for the third years. I saw a lot of effort from the school staffs. This year the school will be have new Principal.
—Submitted by a parent

The rating on this website does not do justice to the quality of teachers and the amazing leadership of Principal Winter at Greencastle ES . I was very uneasy when my daughter first started kindergarten there, but once the school year got underway, I was amazed by the quality of teaching there. My daughter had a wonderful educational experience in Ms. Debolt's class. What I most loved about her teaching method is the encouragement she and the parent teacher Ms. Buroughs gave to the students. These teachers are working in a very depressed area of Silver Spring and have to deal with children who are a challenge in terms of discipline. And despite the recent incidents, I feel Principal Winter is very involved and you can always see him walking around the school keeping an eye on things and making sure everything is ok.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended Greencastle for the past two years and I am very disappointed with her overall expereince. The teachers have pre-coneived notions of the student's abilities and tend to have low expectations. This could be due to the high minority population, and the perpetuation of negative stereotypes. Moreover, there are serious safety concerns. Within the past 6 months, there have been two incidents. For parents with no other option but to send their children to Greencastle, they must be diligent and constantly stay on top of the teachers. I'm sure Mr. Winter tries very hard but some aspects of the school are just .
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended Greencastle Elementary school for 2 years now and each year has been a very successful one for her. I think principal Winters and the rest of the staff are doing a good job. Mr. Winters is genuinely concerned about the success and welfare of the students and he's always willing and available to meet with parents to discuss their concerns, even soliciting their advice, suggestions, comments, etc., to make Greencastle Elementary a better school. Mr. Winters is making a great effort to address any issues of poor performance in academics AND behavior that has been present in the school for the past few years or more. There's not a lot of parent involvement, which is a great challenge for him and the rest of the staff. Overall, I think Greencastle Elementary is a good school; WE JUSTNEED MORE PARENT INVOLVEMENT!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended Greencastle for 3 years. She has been extremly blessed with 3 wonderful teachers. Initially I thought Principal Winters was a little stand offish, but he is actively involved in all activities at the school. I think parent participation has fallen off some. But overall the new proactive programs (rap,hip hop,greencastle academy, and the pillars of character) are great. My daughter loves Greencastle and looks forward to school. In the end as adults we need to put aside our personal likes and dislikes and look at the full picture. Also as parents we need to be proactive and ask for the things we feel are lacking.
—Submitted by a parent

I have seen a lot of growth and continuing potential, which took place when Dr. Lee was there. There was a lot of turnovers with the educators during the 2005-2006 school year when a new principal took over. The turnover lost a good assistant principal last year. There's a great need of parental involvement for the school's growth to continue. A lot of things can change for the better but cannot be done without the help and support of parents. Especially when the principal doesn't feel that the educator's views are important when making decisions about the school.
—Submitted by a parent

I was some what pleased with the school last year but this yaer the quality has gone down.Last year we moved into the county and I thought this was going to be great for my sons education, but that only lasted 3 months.It took them 1week to get my son enrolled int othe school and place him with a teacher.The teacher was great with my son.This year on the first day of school they didn't even have him assigned to a teacher or on the roll.And his teacher this year is not very helpful or sympathic towards working parents who don't have time to attend every PTA meeting.Kids should not miss out on class activities due to the fact that the parents had to work.
—Submitted by a parent

Greencastle recently suffered the loss of its longtime and beloved principal, Dr. Lee. Since then, there has been no real stability in leadership and it shows. There are some very good and dedicated teachers at Greencastle and, depending on the teacher, children can get a good education. However, I advise interested parents to take a very active and visible approach to their child's experience at Greencastle. Insist on higher class standards; insist on the enforcement of disciplinary action against fighting, bullying, etc. Greencastle has great potential, but parental involvement will be the key to your child's success at this school.
—Submitted by a parent

This is an underperforming school with no free support programs. The facilities are very good but the county has deprofessionalized the principal's position by having an 'intern principal.' My child's teacher was in great need of training and mentorship. Unfortunately, I had a few things happen over the semester which demonstrated the teacher's lack of respect, sensitivity and receptivity. I do not think this is typical of all teachers here, but it did happen to me. I do not recommend this school to anyone. If you are relocating, just stay a semester, then transfer. There are better schools around the corner. I hope the county pays more attention to this school. These children deserve an education implemented by professionals, not interns. The kids, like everywhere, are wonderful.
—Submitted by a parent