Fannie W. Fitzgerald Elementary School

ALthough the test scores don't show it, this is a great school! A prime example is Mr. Bloom, the Assistant Principal - he dealt with a teasing problem my son was having, and was just so compassionate and caring. I don't know the whole staff, but if he is any indicaition, they are top notch. I know he is new (from SC), but very professional, kind and caring. It's just too bad that so many parents don't get involved - this school could be so much more if they did! Great work Mr. Bloom!
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter attended Fannie (our base school) for summer school due to a deficiency in READING. The only thing she did in class during summer school was MATH! Thank God for school (we are transfer students at Montclair) of choice!
--Submitted by a parent

My son has been here two years now and he is very happy here, its a shame we have to move to another state. I feel that individual teachers make individual impact on our children. His first grade teacher(Mrs Werhman) was fastastic his second was not very good. His current third Grade teacher(Dr Weinberg) is awesom, even my son feels sad to leave and wishes he comes with us. These are some of the impact we want teachers to have on our children. The teacher commumicates very well with me and i'm very grateful for that. Don't know the principal that well but i guess she is doing a good job. Never had any problems with this school, therefore i will rate it as a very good school with excellent facilities.
--Submitted by a parent

I have had my child enrolled in Fannie Fitzgerald and found it to be a very repuable school. Although, being a brand new school it has it's share of issues. However, the Principal and her staff/administrators work very dilligently to ensure that parents are kept in the loop about their childs progress. As for the academics, they are not the Principals but the County's standards. I recommend that more parents get involved and volunteer to help support our new school and princepal rather than complaining. Everyone needs a little help now and again. And considering it is up to the parents and teachers to educate our children collectively, let's not just put it on the school. It still takes a village. Parents input still counts too!
--Submitted by a parent

The school's staff that is as welcoming and friendly as any other Prince William County school. The classrooms are well equipped, the librairy, music classroom, sportsfield, art room, outside garden classroom and gifted program are outstanding. I agree with another parent, it is the parents responsbility to get involved with the school activities and within the child's learning. This school is new and parent assistance with their own child's reading, math and conduct is needed to help the school establish the excellent category; placing such things on the classroom teacher is unfortunate. Fitzgerald 's staff is very nuturing to the students growth and positive parent participation.
--Submitted by a parent

I really want to like this school, my child has gone to this school for the past 3 years and is performing well academically because I home school him (at night) and he has had some really good teachers--although the teacher this year did not quite meet my expectations. The school itself is beautiful and well equipped with top-notch learning equipment, nice size library, computer lab, media room, activity room, big class rooms, etc. The problem I have is the inability of the school to use the resources they have to help their students excel. Their website is a drag, and rarely updated in a timely fashion to be beneficial. The other problem I have with this school is the lack of interaction between the parents and the teachers; although that is something a parent should be pushing, teachers should be open to a relationship with their student's parents. There have been times when I felt like I was being a nuisance checking up on my son's performance and asking questions. The principle and vice principle are very nice--you have to get to know them.
--Submitted by a parent

A great school has: * Excellent teachers * Strong principal/school leadership * Challenging academic programs This school has none of these things. It's awful. The principal is deserving of a come-uppance, which is overdue. The other staff at the leadership level are hampered by the principals inability to delegate, designate, or communicate. Teachers can be wonderful, although the administration they struggle under makes it inadvisable to try hard. Performance is punished. Positive behavior is greeted with punitive results for staff and student alike by the principal. Replace the current principal and the school stands a chance.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has been at this school for two years. I read the other posts and while I agree with some of the complaints, I also put some of the blame back on the parents. If you take the time to get to know the principal when you are not angry with her you will find her to be a pleasant, likable person. If you can see my rating, you will see that the lowest score is for parent involvement. Parents have a responsbility to the school and their children. It takes a village and parents are the main componant of the village. As for teacher communication, I did not have a problem last year of this year with communication. FYI-the principal pushes the teachers for better comminication with the parents so maybe you need to talk with her if the teacher is not responding to you.
--Submitted by a parent

This school leaves much to be desired. Just because it is a "new" school doesn't mean that everyone needs to act new. Aside from the nursing staff, communication is poor - from the lack of promptness in sending home info to getting feedback from my daughter's teacher (not for the lack of my trying NUMEROUS times throughout the year). A uniform survey the last couple of days of school and they had the nerve to say there was a lack of response. Seriously?! I guess it would have surprised me had they sent the survey out in a timely fashion. The music teacher, while great in his own way, doesn't seem to know how to differentiate teaching methods between the various grade levels. I'm praying that my daughter's next teacher is a lot better than this past one because I'm looking to take her out of this school if no improvement.
--Submitted by a parent

This school has horrible communication. I never know what's going on in the school and by the time the teacher sends home the flyers the event has already passed. I was also told my son thinks "outside the box" too much and needs to think "inside the box". So basically he is too creative for them and doesn't give the common answer or adds too much detail to his answer. They don't want that. . Doesn't make any sense. And now they want school uniforms which I hope doesn't pass.......
--Submitted by a parent