Churchland Elementary School

Churchland Elementary School is a fantastic school. They are now making straight A's!!! Their teachers show so much interest in my children, their activities in school and out. I see much improvement in the way the students are droped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. The teachers and volunteer parents have got the system worked out and I am no longer concerned for my childrens safety. I will however be happy when the construction of the gym is complete and there is a proper bus ramp so that car riders can be dropped off as they were in past years.
--Submitted by a parent

I am less than impressed with this school! I chose to live in my neighborhood based on the initial research I did about Churchland Elemnetary School. Back then (2009) the school had higher SOL scores and rave reviews about the principal and teachers' dedication to the students, but I have seen the total opposite in my daughter's two years there. She is currently attending this school for first grade and I am reasearching other district options to pull her out! The teachers are less than motivating, focus on the childern's negatives and her particular teacher seems to hate her job! I have met with her numerous times about various "issues" she has with my daughter, tried to work different startegies with her for success for my child, only to keep meeting the same result--HER NEGATIVITY and my daughter's decreasing self-esteem because of it. If you have the option, pick a better., more dedicated school. Your child deserves the best! Don't be fooled by old reviews! I was.
--Submitted by a parent

The staff & teachers are awesome, the parents are awesome and the students are awesome. The teachers take a sincere interest in the students which is why the SOL scores are so high!
--Submitted by a parent

My child is in the 4th grade and has attended this school for his entire school time. I absolutely love the school. The teachers are dedicated and very good, the office staff is extremely friendly. Not only do they know my child's name but they know mine, too. Even the janitors say hi when you walk by them in the hall. The teachers care very much for the students and really want them to do well, as do the administrators. The class sizes are starting to get a little large but it hasn't seemed to affect performance at all. Again, this school is great and I wouldn't want my child to go anywhere else.
--Submitted by a parent

Overall this is an above average school for the area. However I have some huge issues with class size, undisciplined children, zone-waivers and the lack of a gymnasium. The teachers are wonderful yet I feel they're getting overwhelmed. How can my child learn in a class size of 25+. This is not a Title I school yet children zoned for the Title I school are taking resources that would have been available for our kids. This web site states the class size is 16 per teacher which is true if you take the PreK and Kindergarten classes which have 2 per class. Even K, 1st and 2nd grade classes have 25+ students. Ofen the kids don't have PE or recess since there is no gymnasium and the playground may be wet or too cold. Our kids need to exercise their bodies as well as their brains. -Concerned Parent
--Submitted by a parent

My son is in his second year at CES and we are extremely pleased with how well he is doing in 2nd grade. We feel comfortable communicating with the teachers and administration at any time. Our son attended a parochial school K-3 through his first term of 1st grade prior to starting at CES. We were initially concerned he would not be as challenged...we were incorrect. Our only concern has been class size; our son has complained he trips over chairs and 'can't spread out to do his work'. All in all we feel grateful that CES has been a good fit for our son.
--Submitted by a parent

We transferred both our children from Churchland Academy to Churchland Elementary last year. We are on the NCLBA. (Although CAES passed SOL's, they failed to meet other criteria.) This school is wonderful! From the office to the teaching staff, it is a world of differenence. The leadership provided by Ms. Ramey (the principal) is exemplary. We could not be happier!
--Submitted by a parent

My son is currently in the 6th grade and has attended Churchland Elementary School since kindergarten. This is his last year and I couldn't have wished for a better educational experience for my child. Considering the outstanding SOL scores, the school is on par with some of the best in the state. Of course parents who don't reside in the zone want their children to attend; it's an excellent school. I haven't observed 'stressed out teachers and faculty' nor a lack of 'one on one' attention for my child. For the last seven years, our experience has been quite the contrary and my son's education certainly hasn't suffered any ill-effects due to students attending the school on a waiver. How absurd. Obviously, the most valid and important indicator of a school's performance are the test scores, not where the students reside. We will dearly miss CES.
--Submitted by a parent

Churchland Elementary is a wonderful school full of caring teachers, specialists, support staff and administrators. My child has attended CES for the past two school years. We had tried for several years to zone waiver our child here because of the outstanding test scores but were unsuccessful because of the large number of zone waiver requests received each year. My child does attend under a No Child Left Behind waiver (which is no longer available) and will continue to attend until she completes the 6th grade. She is treated no differently than any other child attending this school. My child's class size is no different than when she was at her previous school. We also love this school for the support it receives from the PTA and the entire bussiness community.
--Submitted by a parent

Churchland Elementary was, once, a great school. The biggest problem now stems from outrageous class sizes due to uncontrolled student waivers. No other city in Hampton Roads allows parents to choose whatever school they wish their child to attend regardless of the school zone in which the child resides. What this means for Churchland Elementary is simple. Stressed out teachers and faculty, less 'one on one' attention for our children, and a PTA Board with 35% of its officers being parents of children attending the school on a waiver. Something is wrong here. When does the madness stop? Every school in every school zone needs accountable and involved parents tending to the needs of its students and faculty. The district elementary schools ALL need to work together if we are to prepare ALL of our children for Middle School. Short term fixes will not, in any way, provide long term solutions.
--Submitted by a parent