D.G. Cooley Elementary School

Had a not so good year 2011-12. My family moved here from the Prince William County school district. We had made the mistake of not checking into reviews of the schools before moving here. There is so much bullying and nonsense that goes on in the schools here, it's unbelievable, and NOT talked about. My older daughter was in Johnson Williams and she had a terrible time. My younger one in cooley cried everyday before and after school. We will be moving back to Northern VA this summer.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is a joke! Look at the test scores they really speak for themselves.
--Submitted by a parent

Lots of changes in 2010-2011. I currently have a daughter at Cooley. Several of her teachers are wonderful! Two are not clicking with the children (and my daughter tends to like everyone) and one is not returning next year. I give props to Dr Geyer and Mr Carmichael for weeding out the staff as quick as possible. Thankfully the old principal is gone. She was the holdback for this school for way too long. So many teachers genuinely love and care for the kids. And staff. They implemented an excellent and creative PE program this year. May not be perfect, what school is, but they are quickly heading in the right direction. To the negative comments, I blame parental involvement. It is either too much or not enough. It is not ONLY up to the school to teach the kids, look in the mirror. I have 3 kids in Clarke schools and can count my serious complaints on one hand.
--Submitted by a parent

2010 saw so many changes in this school. New super in the last couple years. Old Principal out, Dr Geyer in. He has removed many problem teachers and ones riding the wave to retirement. It is no longer multi-age learning as one called it. It is now grades 2-5. Some teachers are still unrealistic about homework especially upper grades. They implemented a creative PE program and Arts program with new teachers. I have a child at Cooley now, and look forward to my other 3 kids coming up thru this school. In a year or two, this will become the prek-1 school. Cooley will relocate to the soon to be former high school. I feel our kids get a great public education because we the parents are on top of things. If my kid fails in school, it is my fault not a teachers. If my child has a bad teacher, report them and move the child. I do know of 3 less desirable teachers (one is a screamer as children see her) that is not returning. We will miss the principal Dr Geyer! He seems to have his thumb on the pulse. Clarke Schools are wonderful.
--Submitted by a parent

Agree with the previous poster. This is a very disorganized school. I registed my child with three staff standing around with blank looks on their faces. Her classroom teacher turned out to be a "screamer" and most of the class seemed lost while I was there. There is no FT Nurse or Principal and instruction seems at random or whim.
--Submitted by a parent

All I have to say is whom ever the person is that rated D.G. Cooley with 5 stars either works there or is taking some powerful medication to mask the disgraceful way this school is ran. My kids came from a private school, they are well ahead of most children in there class. Their teachers seem to think they are behind or right where they need to be. I've seen their text books, right now they are being taught things from the 2nd grade and they are in the 4th grade, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!! If I had the ability to give them a nagative star I would!!!! I hope everyone that works there sees this and take some sort of action, because the children seriously deserve much better. There is just one good thing, the parents do get involved if that didn't happen I believe it would be total disaster.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is a mess. Just look at the test scores, they speak for themselves.
--Submitted by a parent

this is a very good school so are the teachers
--Submitted by a parent

Don't be fooled for the small town appeal. D. G. Cooley has only a few outstanding teachers and these teacher leave at some point. Most of the teachers are very negative, as I have heard them in the teacher's lounge. The leadership is terrible. You only see the assistant principal outside certain teachers' classrooms and the principal does not take a stand on any topic. I am thrilled that they no longer have multi-age. Students learned the same information in the same format for two years. I am very disappointed with the education my child has received and I would not recommend anyone moving to Clarke County that has a child in school.
--Submitted by a parent

Don't be fooled by the appeal of multi-age learning. My child did have a successful K/1 experience but when moving up to the 2/3, homework more the doubled and a lot of time is spent learning at the higher grade which would be great (I guess) if he/she is ready! The program is not as 'conformed to your child's needs' as one might expect. Principal is wishy-washy and some parents have not received help when needed. Something's not right. Some discipline/safety issues have been handled extremely poorly. We don't plan on returning next year.
--Submitted by a parent