Courthouse Road Elementary School

Outstanding school with actively engaged Principal, Asst. Principal, School Counselor, and PTA. As an extremely involved parent (and yes I work and still find time to volunteer), I truly appreciate the tireless efforts of the teachers, staff, and administrators. The PTA leaders each year volunteer countless hours doing awesome work with little appreciation or recognition. This is the only reason I gave parent involvement 4 stars. Only a small number of parents volunteer their time to help at school or with PTA.
—Submitted by a parent

I feel compelled to write an updated review of this school. Our family will likely be moving cities soon, so I was here looking at schools in another state and was surprised to read these reviews of our current school. I have twins in 3rd grade at CRES and we have absolutely loved this school. It's a large school, about 900 kids, but my kid's classes have always been between about 18-22 kids. The diversity is very good: ethnically, socioeconomically, and kids with different physical/mental abilities. The teachers we have had are outstanding. My kids score well above their grade level, but have never had a serious issue being bored in the classroom. When I have had a small issue, the teachers have been wonderful in working with me and my child so they get the most out of their day. We are just getting started in the SCOPE (gifted) program, but it seems very good too. Mrs. Belako, principal in her 3rd year here, is exceptional in how she places the children with the teachers that are best for them. The office staff is wonderful. The only reason i rate it 4 stars is that a couple of the 4th grade teachers are notoriously bad.
—Submitted by a parent

I am an educator myself, and have had the multiple opportunities observing and volunteering with CRES. The teaching staff is outstanding, and the administration is the best in the county. Mr. McCrum is especially dedicated and professional. If your children are well-behaved, respectful and studious, you should not have any problems with them here.

CE is an excellent school, with motivated teachers and caring support staff. Our daughter is blossoming here, and we were so happy that we bought a home to remain close by.
—Submitted by a parent

Not happy with this school. My child is in KG and the school assumes the parent knows everything without communicating. My child knows how to read, write, and some math and I feel like she's being 'dummed down' so that the other kids can catch up. I can't wait to move out of this area and get away from this district. When I mentioned that my child sounded like she was bored in the reports we were getting from the teacher, the teacher emailed me back one sentence... She isn't bored. Seriously considering homeschooling her.
—Submitted by a parent

Our children have attended CRES for the past year. We came from out of state and have been extremely pleased with the school. The principal and asst. principal are wonderful and truly care about the children and their needs. Both of our children have excelled both academically and socially. We feel they are getting a much better education than where we came from. I am at the school frequently volunteering and have only witnessed good things. We couldn't be happier with the staff. The only thing I would change is to see more parents get involved and volunteer, but that is probaly at most schools.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is the bomb!! I would rate this the best school in Spotsylvania, VA. The 5th grade teachers are nice, great art program, great music program, etc. All and All, GREAT SCHOOL!!
—Submitted by a student

Lots of inconsistencies. Really good art program. My child's G1 teacher was good w/ center time, however it did not reflect in homework. Math & spelling are below the current school my child at now. Lots of thinking outside the box. Gifted program involvement is minimal unless your child is in 3rd grade.
—Submitted by a parent

We had three children attend Courthouse Rd. Elementary. Two of our three children had newly graduated teachers, and the adjustment time had a price on our children's education and stability. The teachers had a difficult time handling the children, and since the teachers were trying to create a routine of their own, the price for the unstable every-so-changing environment, was on the children. Our middle child had a senior teacher, and after 1/2 of the year, she commented that 'she did not feel as though she belonged, and wanted to be homeschooled..school was miserable!' The A.R. reading program is very inconsistent! Children read books, but could never test. Considering that we were an involved parents, it was a very frustrating year. We considered strongly about homeschooling. As a car-riding family, the safety for picking up children is horrible!!! The school PTA hit rock bottom! Hope for a better year at Courthouse!
—Submitted by a parent

The following represents our opinion of this school. The teacher did not appear to have control of her class with any regularity (we were in the classroom once a week as volunteers). There seemed to be very little other parent involvement. When our child needed some extra help, we discussed an action plan with the teacher and also asked for other suggestions. The teacher told us that she felt our plan was good and that the principal had been made aware of the situation. The principal later told us that if he had known that our child needed extra help, he would have made different suggestions because he felt that the plan chosen was not useful at all; then the principal wrote that he wanted our child to continue the same action plan for the summer with no changes or recommendations. Good availability of activities; poor leadership with multiple discipline problems.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is in the langauge immersion 2 yr old program. His teacher and the program are wonderful. He went from saying around 10 words in August to talking in 4 words sentences at the end of the school year. The one thing I did not like was communications from the principal tend to be old fashion. For example, when asking for parent volunteers, they asked for 'dads to help with set-up' and for 'moms to bake treats'.
—Submitted by a parent