Desert Hills Elementary School

When my child started Kindergarten here, her academic "scores" on the tests to see where she is, were below the average. Now in the second grade, she is above average on reading and where she needs to be in math. I credit this to the teachers and the "response to intervention" (RTI) that they use at Desert Hills. It has worked wonderfully for her. And she enjoys going to school every day on top of that!
—Submitted by a parent

Sure it's easy to give the school a 5 star rating if your kid performs well academically. But if you have a child with special educational needs, then I absolutely cannot and will not recommend this school. We have waited for years to have my child evaluated. The teachers have been supportive and done their part to help, but the administration is completely useless. And if your child has been the victim of one of the many Desert Hills Bullies, then I wish you all the best with getting that resolved. I have had to go in personally to take care of the bullies. I'm tired of promises and complacency on the part of the Desert Hills staff in regards to my child's education and needs. I'm headed into the LCPS Superintendant's office tomorrow. And I should have done this a long long time ago!
—Submitted by a parent

I am very grateful my kids attend Desert HIlls Elementary. They have had great teachers ever since Kindergarten. They are doing well academically and like going to school. Especially speaking to parents at other schools, I know there is no other school that I would rather have them attend.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with many of the posts regarding Desert Hills. I too specifically moved into this school district so that my son could attend Desert Hills. I absolutely give the teachers the kudos in this school....and a major thumbs down to the administration. The teachers work hard with the resources that they are given...which is not much. The principal is more concerned with the "A" rating recently given to the school by the state (which is not saying much considering)....and pays little or no attention to the parents and kids who are actually having issues with Bullying at the school. The parents are NOT encouraged to voice their opinions to the administration....and are actually discouraged from meeting with the principal all together. Although the principal claims that the school has an anti bullying policy, from the issues I have seen, the kids are simply dismissed and labeled as "bad kids." This is such an unfortunate situation, as these kids are young and so impressionable, who need guidance and and support, especially from school. The principal needs to reevaluate her priorities and begin dealing with the issues that are affecting the students on a daily basis.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had MANY bullying issues with this school and their best way to handle it is to either tell the children to stay away from the bully and play somewhere else or to punish everyone involved. Not okay. The main office is never friendly to parents coming in.
—Submitted by a parent

Very disappointed in our experience with this school. I agree with other reviewers that discipline is very poor and there is a lack of willingness to address real problems with behavior that borders on unsafe. Front office and the administration were really very unwelcoming and unpleasant. All this fosters a tense relationship with parents and is a disservice to the community that these public employees serve. As well staff is negative, label children easily and demonstrate few skills or willingness to solve basic and common problems encountered in elementary education. We moved out of the district for this reason and have been so happy and appreciative of our current public school, where we have encountered an environment that inspires and is caring. Desert Hills is an institution in need of help.
—Submitted by a parent

We had a very disappointing experience at this school. There are some very good teachers. But we believe leadership is subpar at this school. After rounds of problems and contacting district administrators we transferred our kids out.
—Submitted by a parent

Moved to our current neighborhood based on the rating Desert Hills received. A HUGE disappointment to say the least. No structure, very little organization at the kinder level. The office staff is not helpful or pleasant to deal with. We found out our child was taking the two week long State exams the Tuesday after they started rather than being notified weeks prior to help our child study and be prepared. The teacher of our child had very clear 'favorites' in the class....our child was not one of them. Teachers and assistants are not properly trained/educated in how to discipline; whenever we queried about the circumstances of an incident, we could not get any explanation of what the teacher actually saw...or if they even saw said incident. Looking into private schools around the area. I do not recommend this school to newcomers.
—Submitted by a parent

Moved into the area and saw that this school rated as one of the best in the area and we moved to our neighborhood to be in the school district. The teachers & administration have been below average. The office is never pleasant to deal with. My daughters reading level dropped after the first 6 months at this school. We are switching schools after this school year is over to see if we can find a better environment with better leadership.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a wonderful school. I have 3 children at Desert Hills. The teachers are wonderful. I have seen other schools and would say that I would never move my kids to another school.
—Submitted by a parent

I recently moved here and checked ratings for the area and showed Desert Hills to be the #1 school here for k-5. I am quit disappointed in what the area considers as a 9 in the rating scale. I have two children attending this school. Hope things will change for the sake of the children. Maybe I am being unfair by comparing this system with a different school system and its just not in the same category. There isn't much structure here, and there is no discipline for the protection of the other students. They may have rules and regulations but they are not being applied here at this school like they should be. The teachers don't seem to have a good concept of teaching skills or using different teaching techniques to get to the children attention to understand what it is there trying to teach them. concerned parent
—Submitted by a parent

I have 4 kids here and we couldn't be happier. We have run into 1 bad teacher but the vice principal switched my child from the class as soon as my husband and I talked to her about it. All of the other teachers have been great.
—Submitted by a parent

Excellent school, dedicated teachers, kind and always helpful staff, all my three children love everything about this school. Very safe environment. Parking needs improvement. Especially on event days, it is impossible to find parking. But definatelly not worth fuzzing over. Happy children = good grades = happy moms = happy staff and teachers. That's how I see it.
—Submitted by a parent

My son went to part of kindergarten and all of first grade at Desert Hills. His teachers have been great; dedicated, skilled and kind. The atmosphere at the school is positive and there are lots of field trips, special community projects and hands on learning available to the students. A terrific school! Paula C., a parent
—Submitted by a parent

I am the grandmother of a new Kindergarden child. The first time we walked in, a group of teachers were talking in the the hall. All three stopped to help us and welcome my grandaughter, the office was helpful and friendly, the teacher outstanding..wow..are we lucky to be at Desert Hills. My grandaughter loves it! (me too!)

My daughter is in fifth grade this year and she has been going to Desert Hills Elementary for 4 years now. I believe that this is by far the best elementary school in the district. The teachers care, the principal cares and the moral at this school cannot be beat!
—Submitted by a parent