White Oaks Elementary School

This is a great elementary school! My son spent all 6 years, K-5 at WOES. The teachers are absolutely wonderful. They go above and beyond helping student achieve educational goals.The special education teachers are like family to us. Parental involvement is great. Some volunteers whose children have left WOES to go onto middle school still volunteer. PTA has the best school dances and bake sales. I'm so excited because I have a little one starting WOES soon.
—Submitted by a parent

The time my children spent at White Oaks was a blessing. They have an amazing Gifted Resource Teacher and I love that my daughter who is Identified Gifted could receive her services right there at the school with her friends and in her community and not be shipped off somewhere else. My other daughter who received services under the direction of an amazing IEP staff who were willing to make specific accommodations for her needs even when I decided to homeschool her. The IEP team I had the pleasure of working with always made me feel like I was in charge of my child's education as it should be and they were the tools for me to use to achieve the educational goals I chose for my child. The Speech teacher there is top notch and I love her for all she did for my daughter! Every teacher each of my children and I ever had the pleasure of working with was wonderful. We were there K-4 for one child and K and 1 for the other. We have been at our new school (due to a move) now for almost a full school year, and all I can say is don't take what you have there for granted if you have a student at WOES, get involved and enjoy being a part of a school that is trying it's best!
—Submitted by a parent

Single parent of a rising 5th grade girl -- Pros: --Excellent gifted education, love the gifted cluster classes --High parental involvement (military district, so lots of Navy wives/moms as parent volunteers & a good PTA) --Attractive campus w/ good facilities, diverse student body, easy for both military & non-military kids to fit in and find a niche. --Great extracurriculars like dances, talent shows, carnivals, Chik-fil-A and skating fund raiser nights, a few great extracurriculars & clubs offered. --More great, caring teachers than not --Academic achievement & good behavior stressed and well-rewarded Cons: --Could use more extracurricular for grades K-3 --New principal next year--Mrs. Coston will be missed --Administrative response to problems sometimes leaves a little to be desired --Could use better/timely overall communication & website updates
—Submitted by a parent

It has ggod teachers. But not enough extra activies for the students
—Submitted by a parent

The teachers at White Oaks are nothing less than caring and dedicated. All three of my children have attended White Oaks and all three have thrived because of the high quality of education they've received at WOE. My two oldest are now attending middle school and they were well prepared and in many cases - ahead of their peers who came from other elementary schools - both public and private. I can't say enough about my children's teachers - they're just wonderful!
—Submitted by a parent

I am very disappointed with the standards of this school. The teachers are lazy and don't apply themselves in teaching as much as I would like.
—Submitted by a parent

My husband and I have been nothing but happy with White Oaks Elementary. My daughter is currently in second grade and she has loved all of her teachers, especially Mrs. Stafford who was her first grade teacher. The front staff are very nice and helpful and I have found all of the teachers so far to be genuinely concerned with my child as well as any concerns that I may express. I do stay involved in the classroom and volunteer with trips and I feel that this makes the experience all the better. We would recommend this school to any family moving to this area.
—Submitted by a parent

My oldest daughter went to White Oaks and it was bad when the One female principal was there and now it is great. I have two currently in and it is a complete 180 degree turn around. The teacher really care about the kids. My wife is a teacher and she pulled my oldest out and home schooled her but she is very happy with White Oaks and so am I. It helps if you are very involved in your childs education. All taechers have a lot to deal with and raising our children is not one of them. Again, I love this school.
—Submitted by a parent

White Oaks is a good school. I have two children currently in the school. Teachers are wonderful.I agree parents must open the lines of communicatin to get results. I have couple of concers. There is not enough supervision. I have lunch with my children often,and the children behavior at lunch is horrible. Staff is not doing enough to correct the situation. If the staff would address the behavior issues perhaps having lunch with my children would be more pleasurable. The release of students at the end of day also needs more supervision especially when older kids are pushing the young ones. Safety is the main issue. Yes teachers are great but no one should worry about their children safety.I have voiced my concerns several times.
—Submitted by a parent

I recommend staying far away from this school. In my personal opinion this has been the worse school my children have ever attended. The school does an adequate job on putting on a decent charade. I myself hold a Bachelor in Science and I am a licensed teacher. From my experience with public schools I recommend looking into an alternate school if you move into this school area. My children will be homeschooled until we move into a better school area. The school seems underfunded and the staff does not seem passionate about their students. In addition, from experience with my Autistic son- the special education department is not staffed properly. I wish someone would have warned me about this school before I moved into the area.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is currently a student at White Oaks, I am very pleased with the progress that he is making. I am actively involved in his learning process and his teacher and I have an open line of communication. I also help reinforce what has been taught at school. White Oasks is an excellent school, I would definitely recommend you take a look for yourself, don't go off the negative or positive reviews of others experience the school for yourself and then make an informed opinion.
—Submitted by a parent

I've been living in an adjacent community now for four years and just became aware of this website when we put one of our rental properties for sale. This site needs current reviews! Our three children currently attend White Oaks and it is an excellent school. I hold BS and MA degrees; my wife has two BAs and two Masters degrees and we consider ourselves adequate judges of prepatory education. We chose to place our children in this particular public school because of it is an excellent school. The faculty and administration are superb and have truly improved the level of education over the years. However, one thing needs to be noted... parental participation is crucial!!! One doesn't need any form of higher education to help their kids be responsible with homework or enjoy school. Anyway... it is a great school!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is approaching the end of her first year of Kindergarten. Due to negative reviews and assessments from parents whose child(ren) attended White Oaks several years ago, there was much apprehension about sending my daughter to this school. Clearly, the change in administration (particularly the current Principal)has dramatically improved the quality of the school in terms of test scores and parent/teacher communication. I encourage all parents who are considering sending their child to White Oaks to disregard the old data on this school and consider the many positive changes and improvements that are the direct result of the new administration and caring teachers. I encourage parents to take the time to visit the school and talk with the teachers and administrators. The teachers are experienced and enthusiastic. My child has thrived in this school and I'm fully convinced that she is receiving a quality education that has far-surpassed my expectations!
—Submitted by a parent

My son has attended White Oaks since k and is curretnly going into the fourth grade. I must respond to the parent who has not met the principal, every school function I have ever attended the principal has been at. The school dances, open house, parent teacher night, all the breakfasts for the student of the month, Santa's workshop night, etc... I have NEVER had a communication problem with any teacher or office staff at this school. I have been VERY pleased with this school and its staff. My personal opinion is if a parent is having a problem with the school maybe the parent is only getting out of it what they are putting into it!
—Submitted by a parent

my son is currently in the 1st grade at white oaks. i am very unhappy with the lack of communication and the fact that when they are at school, they are plain and simply at school. i also do not feel that they do as much as possible to brighten the childrens horizons. they do not seem to encourage any kind of other learning experiences, except for what is taught in the classroom. i am very unhappy over all with this school and if you or anyone has the resources i would recommend sending your child to school elsewhere.
—Submitted by a parent

White Oaks Elementary is fully Accredited! White Oaks is made up of a diverse group of students,staff and parents that share a common goal, the importance of educating our young people. If you are considering sending your child or already have childen in White Oaks, you can rest assure that ALL children being educated at White Oaks are being taught by highly qualified teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

I feel I must respond to the communication issue again. I have had children in White Oaks for six years now. I have seen great improvements over the last few years. I have no issues with communication at White Oaks. There are several sources of communication that parents can obtain information from. school website, school and PTA newsletters that are sent home with the children monthly that list ALL activities for the month, special notices sent home with the children, marques inside and outside of the building. Some teachers send home everything for the week on Friday while others send it home the day it is placed in their boxes. Check your child's backpack, you would probably be surprised what you would find.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is starting his third school year at White Oaks and I must say that for the most part I have been pleased with the school. Now that there is a new Principal the changes that have been made I think are for the better. Now there is a Principal who will communicate with parents so far so good. I have had my son in school's that don't even compare in quality. It has also been a benefit that my son has gotten a chance to get used to one school, that is important. White Oaks continues to try to improve areas to make it a better learning facility.
—Submitted by Monica Waldo, a parent

White Oaks is the only school in VA Beach that is not accredited. Instead of taking responsibility for educating our children, they put the blame on the type of students attending (see May 31 Virginian Pilot article). My children have not made appropriate educational gains while attending this school. I do, however, feel that most teachers are dedicated but the school lacks administrative support. However, the school did get a new principal this year. Hopefully, he will make beneficial improvements to the school. Communication at the school is very poor. Overall, I would not recommend White Oaks Elementary School to anyone at this time.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is 'fine', not good nor real bad. I don't like the fact my childred have been there over one year and I've failed to even meet the principal or vice principal. On one occasion I tried to contact either and they were always either in a meeting or 'unavailable'. I left messages, but of course, I recieved no call. My son's IEP was very rushed and not very informative. Not very good communication in the school. For open house we were supposed to know becuase it was on the board in front of the school!
—Submitted by a parent