Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences

The children are valued and the curriculum is challenging. The delivery is differentiated well for all different learners, and there is a strong sense of community. The children love the tableau activities, the movement classes are really cool, and the music teachers are fantastic. The hallways are filled with interesting art projects, and the PTA does a first class job providing fun activities for the kids.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is in the AAP program at HWES and so far I have been happy with the decision to attend HWES. In reading some of the complaints - it seems as though they are complaining about Fairfax County issues not necessarily HWES issues (# of students per class, curriculum, etc.) - these are all established by FCPS. I cannot comment on the Gen Ed classes, but the AAP classes are great and can be as challenging as your child allows it to be. The only criticism I would mention is that the AAP population is skewed male and Asian/Indian.
—Submitted by a parent

HWES is two schools in one. A majority of the students in the 3rd grade and above are transferred here from nearby schools as this is the local GT (Gifted & Talented) center I have a 6th grade child there performing work at the 8th, 9th, grade levels. Although this is a magnet school unless your your child is not in the GT program it appears this is just a regular old school. I see a lot of posts from non-GT parents who seem to be under the impression their child should be getting more challenging coursework just because they are at HWES. This is simply not the case as your child needs to ested into the program. Outside the GT program it is not necessarily a very good school as it isn't in best area. So, in short, if your kid is in the GT program it is a great school if not is just another plain old school that has less than stringent academic standards.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school with arts-integrated curriculum. The AAP program is outstanding with dedicated and creative teachers.
—Submitted by a teacher

My son went to the AAP program at HW. It was awful, extremely watered down and disappointing. He was challenged more in the general ed at his home school. Some good teachers, others are awful, lots of discipline problems. I would not recommend. Since HW is a priority school much of the curriculum is now watered down so they can pass their state tests.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has a wonderful curriculum of arts, science, and truly creative teachers. I have two children at the school and have had different experiences for both. One very positive, one more challenging. Like any school, there will be good teacher and not so good teachers. The downside to HWES is that they group all K/1 kids together which does not challenge the high achievers. The other downside is that the school is just too big. With AAP and Magnet kids coming, you lose a sense of community. I love this school and am grateful to be in the district. I think the education is good given the constraints of the size. We have seen some amazing teachers at HWES.
—Submitted by a parent

After trying for three years, through lottery, my kids were finally accepted to HWES's Magnet Program. My kids were attending Oak Hill ES which has an excellent principal, Dr. Goodloe. Well, it's been a year and my kids are disappointed with the science, arts, music and the magnet program. My daughter did more hands on art at OHES, than here. My son's science classes were all lecture with minimal hands on experience, even though we were told that he would be using the lab frequently. He did more interesting science projects at OHES. In their 4th and 6th grade classes they encountered students that did not do their homework and were disruptive in class. It seems that HWES's objective is to use their "magnet" program to attract smart students from other better academically performing schools, in hope that the high performers will somehow encourage poor performing students to improve their learning skills and lift their SOL scores. Compare to OHES. the music program is poor, with students having minimal rehearsal before a concert. Needless to say, my kids are going back to OHES. HWES has a potential to be a great school, however that may require a new leadership.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a very good school with more focus on arts and science along with other regular curriculam. Teachers are very nice and very responsive. My kid is currently a second grader for the last 2 years I don't see any issues.They have lot of after school programs which are same and different from other schools.With all these I see this school is unique and good. Principal though not a good talker but nice and is reachable to parents all the time. Front office is very co-operative and nice people.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been going for the last 3 years. We have been advised to go this school magnet program. But disappointed with initial grades. Teacher in second grade was not at all fair to all students. It has the reputation from earlier years but I am sure, it will go down very soon(2-3 years) both for general and gt as well. It is (admin and office staff ) getting little high due current reputation which is the beginning of the downhill.
—Submitted by a parent

My expectations for this school were high based on it's reputation. A few years ago they had a major change in administration and there was a huge turnover in teachers. Our experience was that in the lower grades the bar is set really low for the students. If they were English speaking and had any preschool at all or a slightly involved parent usually the kids enter K/1 meeting the end of year objectives. They teach according to the guidelines and very rarely if ever give more advanced work to the capable (and most are). The class sizes are large--29 in my sons , especially considering the number of kids in the class that require more intensive teacher supervision/guidance. The GT classes are less chaotic and more stimulating from what I hear (my kids are in general ed)
—Submitted by a parent

My son just started first grade here in HW. He got there through the magnet lottery but I'm so disappointed. The level of education is so ridiculously low. All they do in the class is coloring and a little bit of writing. So far he hasn't brought any homework and already complained to me that the school is too easy. When I asked teacher about the math curriculum I was told that they're supposed to be counting to 100. Isn't what they were doing in kindergarten? BTW, all 1st graders are together with the kindergarteners. I know it must be different for the GT kids and parents. My advise; keep your children at your home school, don't go to HW unless your child is accepted to GT.
—Submitted by a parent

We were happy with our child's previous language-immersion school, so we had a difficult time to decide to transfer to the HWES GT program. We are extremely happy now that we did. The school is a magnet school as well, so it has curriculumns and programs that other school don't have. The staff and teacher are all reponsive. After-school programs are well planned, too. My child is not only learning but having her use mutilple methods keep her thinking and she says she doesn't have time to day-dream anymore!
—Submitted by a parent

My son started at Hunter's woods GT program in 3rd grade. In the 3 yrs that he was a student I was not impressed at all. We stayed in the GT program only because of the curriculum which is better than a non-GT school. I was impressed with one teacher, Mr Adams who teaches 5th grade. He is very sincere and dedicated. The principal Ms. Totley is a poor speaker with a poor memory. Admission of kids in the GT program who come in after 3rd grade is questionable. The entire GT qualification at this school is questionable.
—Submitted by a parent

Parental involvment at this school os great! The extracurricular activities that are offered are fantastic as well. All of these things really impressed me when my daughter started attending 3 years ago. I have since noticed that some of the teachers at the school are very poor at keeping open the lines of communication with the parents. Some of the teachers will not return phone calls or emails. This has become very frustrating. It seems to me that if you are a working parent and can not be in the school during the school day, you are looked upon as an uninvolved disinterested parent.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter studied for 3 years and my son has been with HWES for 4 years. They both love the school. PTA is very active. Principal,teachers and office staff are very dedicated. Good communication and cooperation between teachers and parents. Lot of extra curricular activities. Numerous parents volunteer. Great school.
—Submitted by a parent