Laurel Ridge Elementary School

We are military and moved to the area three years ago. Our two kids LOVED Laurel Ridge, and we have been thrilled with the quality of the education there. There are lots of enrichment activities offered, and the teachers really seem to care
—Submitted by a parent

I love LRES. Teachers are great. Principal is super great. School is clean. I pulled my kids out of private school 4 years ago and joined LRES. They love their school. Nothing to complain! Thanks.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a long time Laurel Ridge parent. All 4 of my children went were there for K-6. I think this website is a great way to take cheap shots at teachers and administrators at any school not just LR. My experience at LR from the admin, front office, teachers, counselors etc. has been nothing but positive. It's too bad for adminstrators and teachers that there is not a website called "Great Parents.Org" so they could anonymously post their personal experiences working with parents. THAT would be interesting reading!!
—Submitted by a parent

I don t like LRES s approach to reading and writing. Phonics takes a back seat to site words, which are memorized after school on flash cards the school sends home. There is no gradual modeling of good writing; instead, children are very soon (early in K) encouraged to write entire paragraphs that are rarely corrected. My child brought home reems of written gibberish, and by year s end she had certain spellings engrained in her mind as correct because that s how she always spelled those words, and no one told her otherwise. Consequences for misbehavior seemed inconsistent, and self-esteem seemed to be encouraged above self-discipline (such that my child actually seemed less willing to accept correction than before entering LRES). She was bullied and spit on by an older child, and I was not informed by a school official (I learned it from her). Her teacher was enthusiastic, parental involvement seems welcome.
—Submitted by a parent

Our six years at LRE with 2 children, 3 years apart, have been overall very good. We have had good experiences with all but one teacher, who is no longer teaching there. Of the two counselors, one is far better than the other & one learns this quickly from experience. The few times that we have had a concern that was better addressed by staff other than teachers or counselors, we have found one of the assistant principals to be very prompt, receptive and helpful. The front office seemed to have made more of an effort this past year in making people feel welcome. However, there is always room for improvement. Parents are very involved as volunteers, particularly during K - 3rd grades. In closing, parents who have children at LRE and another elementary school at the same time, always tell me that LRE is much better.
—Submitted by a parent

We have two children in the school and we are very pleased with the faculty leadership, teacher professionalism, and the wonderful family-orientated activities sponsored by the PTA.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a daughter in Kindergarten and our experience has been incredible. Her teacher and aid are wonderful and do an incredible job at providing individual attention. This school has many parent volunteers ( I am one) and I always feel welcome. The overall rating should be much higher!
—Submitted by a parent

My child is in her 2nd year at Laurel Ridge and we could not be happier! Last year she was just starting Kindergarten and new to Fairfax County schools. Her teacher was the best I've seen and all staff including the Office staff was very friendly and professional! Thank You to all Laurel Ridge employees for making my daughters first year in a public school a great one!
—Submitted by a parent

My son just finished his firsy year at Laurel Ridge. The teacher/student ration is definately too high, but we were otherwise very happy with his teachers and the level of instruction. As other parents have noted, the front office staff is NOT very welcoming - the woman who 'greets' you when you first walk in practically grunts at you and makes clear that she would rather not be disturbed.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is just finishing kindergarten at Laurel Ridge and has had a wonderful experience. His teacher is fantastic and he loves going to school every day. My only complaint is that the office staff could be friendlier and more helpful... when I've called the school at times they have seemed to be annoyed and I'd like to see improvement in that area.
—Submitted by a parent

We moved in at the begining of the 07-08 school year. Being a military family and having attened a few different schools I was looking forward to Laurel Ridge as it was so highly rated. Our experience could not be futher from from my hopes. My childs teacher is unproffesional at best, at worse the teacher could be considered a bit of a bully. My child entered the year with a love of school, he is finishing the year with a sence of dread for the following year. The administration is as cold as ice and refused me any time with them to try to work out the issues we were having. Hopefully Mr. Burke will be able to turn things around and encourage the staff members that no longer have a love of their profession to find employment elsewhere. I hope others have a better experience.
—Submitted by a parent

administration is completely inflexible and unresponsive to parent input they love you when you raise money but very rigid when you try to advocate for your child sixth grade is a complete waste - consistently underperforms when compared to other schools yet administration does nothing. perhaps new principal will change thing next year
—Submitted by a parent

Laurel Ridge is a great school. I have not complaints at all relative to the administration, teachers or staff. Great Spanish Immersion Program!
—Submitted by a parent

We are also a military family and our kindergartner had a fantastic experience! Because of the positive, professional manner in which the teachers handled their classroom, he developed tremendous confidence in his abilities and enthusiasm for every activity. My personal observation indicated interaction with every child was handled in a concerned, constructive, and caring manner. This school provides its students with great opportunities to explore their talents in music and art, and budgets specially to provide a full time GT specialist. Parents are very involved in the classroom, providing behind the scenes administrative support, and fundraising to provide enhancements to the learning environment. The PTA provides a wide range of programs and financial support to supplement the curriculum--cultural arts, creativity competitions, and foreign language classes, for example. In summary, Laurel Ridge administrators, teachers, staff & parents are committed to providing the best academic environment for our children and they succeed magnificently!
—Submitted by a parent

I have had children in this school over the course of 10 years. I have gone through different principals and many teachers. I have found the principals to be very supportive and understanding. The teaching staff is wonderfully compassionate and extremely knowlegeable. I appreciate their honesty, even when I did not like what they were telling me at the time. As I look back on their comments, they were dead on.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter just finished her first year at Laurel Ridge and we were unimpressed. Class sizes are very large and there is little individual attention. That would have been okay had her teacher been at all responsive, but it typically took a week or more to set up even a phone conference. We're moving so no longer an issue but I think this school is overrated.
—Submitted by BF, a parent

This is our first year at Laurel Ridge Elementary and it has been a wonderful year. The school is effectively managed and the teachers are incredible! I have been very pleased with the excellent reading program offered to the first and second grade students ~ I couldn't be happier with the level of academic support and accomplishment of the students this year. The PTA is awesome and parent volunteers are enormously supportive to the entire school. I highly recommend Laurel Ridge Elementary to all families.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had a very positive experience at Laurel Ridge during our three years at the school. My second grade daughter has thrived in the Spanish Immersion program, and I feel the quality of education she has received has been excellent. Although it's a large school, because it draws largely from the surrounding neighborhood it has a small town feel. The parents are friendly and play an active, visible and vital role in the education process. You will find moms (and dads) helping with art and PE, as well as in the classroom and behind the scenes. The teachers, administrators, librarians and others at the school genuinely care about and truly enjoy the children in their charge. Laurel Ridge is a well run school in a family friendly neighborhood. I would highly recommend Laurel Ridge to any family relocating to Northern Virginia.
—Submitted by a parent

We moved to VA from Tx in Jan & chose this area specifically because of this school & the wonderful reviews it had received. Our experience could not be more different than what the other people had posted. We are military & have moved many times & never have we encountered such resistance on the teacher's part to help the children integrate with the other children. We have a K and a 5th grader. My son was bullied in K to the extent that we withdrew him from school. The last straw came when he was hit & spit on in the face on the way to music class.The teacher was unwilling to admit there was a problem & the counselor was not consistant in following through.
—Submitted by a parent

We're military, have been all over the world and the states and kids have attended MANY different schools but we're finding L.R. to be exceptional. The new principal is well respected and liked by students, parents and peers. Asst. Prin. is likewise. Standard at this school are very very high. Highest we've experienced. Property is valued extremely high if you're in the L.R. school zone! Our kids are happy and thriving at this school and for that we couldn't be happier. We're purposely trying to extend our tour in this area to keep our kids at L.R.
—Submitted by a parent