Cardinal Forest Elementary School

Our son's second grade teacher is very involved and proactive. She helped identify the areas we needed to work with our son because his Alabama first grade experience was well behind Virginia standards. We find the school administration and staff very professional and pleasant to deal with.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is in kindergarten at Cardinal Forest. Our experience has been great so far. The teachers have done well dealing with discipline problems and the curriculum seems challenging and interesting. My only concern with the school is the overcrowding. My son's kindergarten class has 27 children in it. His teacher is very experienced and is making the best of it, but it makes the environment harder.
--Submitted by a parent

I have two children and both transferred out. The Principal is terrible to deal with and while they certainly have some quality teaching professionals, others are lacking. This use to be a top school, but it has fallen off as evidenced by them being on the list of Fairfax County Schools not making the grade. This school underperforms!
--Submitted by a parent

My son attented kindergarten and had wonderful experiance, what a great staff at cardinal forest
--Submitted by a parent

The principal sets the tone for the school. Mrs. Kenna is the best! She is a fantastic principal. Our child's teacher is great!
--Submitted by a parent

I had 2 children at Cardinal Forrest (2006-07). One in 6th grade and one in 2nd. It was our first year at the school. As we were coming from abroad I was worried that they might be behind the Fairfax County schools. I home schooled for about a month in the summer to prepare them. My 6th grader regressed in math. It turns out they learned more during the summer than they did all year at school. Thankfully I am able to stay on top of things at home. I feel for the parents that both work full time. My 6th grader graduates out and I have transferred out my 2nd grader. The experience is enough to make me want to home school.
--Submitted by a parent

I love the school, my daughter is in 2nd grade(2007-2008). the teachers, and reading buddies have helped my daughter to develope good reading habit.
--Submitted by a parent

I love this school. My daughter is currently in 1st grade (2005-06) and so far it's been a great experience. The teachers are fabulous and the academic programs great, both during the regular school day and the before/after-school programs. There's a very active PTA and lots of parent involvement. The school recently hosted Heritage Night to celebrate the many cultures and nationalities represented in our school. They've also hosted events such as Math & Science Night, Partners in Print, Economics Night, Patriotic Night, and more. The SACC program is wonderful. I was very nervous about putting my daughter in a county-run before and after school program, but they really do a great job with it. My daughter loves it and has made some good friendships outside the classroom. The West Springfield community is great too -- very much a small community feel in massive Fairfax County. I'm not going anywhere.
--Submitted by Paula Pierce, a parent

My daughter has been a student at Cardinal Forest for 3 years now. She had many difficulties as she had ADHD and instead of just thinking she was a problem child, they worked with me until we were able to get her the testing that was required to diagnose her and worked really well with me to make sure she progressed in her studies as well as got taken care of for the needs that she had. They even tested her on other levels to make sure we caught everything and that we could move forward with a sucessful academic career. I thank them for all their hard work and effore and I wouldn't change schools for anything unless I move out of the state.
--Submitted by Stephanie Kullman, a parent