1906 Catoctin Ter
Silver Spring, MD 20906

I am a 7th grader here, and my experience at Argyle so far has been pretty good. Most of the teachers are friendly, and they have special programs for kids who are disabled, so everyone is included. Many students enjoy activities and have bunches of activities where they can earn SSL hours. Plus, they have weekly newsletters and always send updates about the school on Remind, so you almost always know what to expect. I took off one star mainly because some of the students don't respect the teachers and their peers, and they barely let their teachers finish one sentence. Plus, I see fights at least every 3 weeks. The band teacher is extremly nice, and is very helpful, and he is very organized. Argyle is very sporty, and there are many clubs to join for all grades. There are also coding extracurriculars, and they have a tech team that is availble every time so that if you need a new replacment of a chromebook or need it to get fixed, they can do it for you. Despite a few exepsions, I like this school and it is a good place for growing learners.

My kiddo completed 1st grade and is now in his 2nd grade year at Bel-Pre. In my experience, this school has excellent teachers with trash administrative staff and leadership. Again, This rating is not a reflection of the teachers, aides, or paraeducators - Only the admin and leadership. Actually, I have NEVER felt welcome at Bel-Pre as an EFL citizen (English as a First Language) and Special Needs Parent. Upon arrival, if you are not Spanish speaking, YOU CAN WAIT. You will wait to be assisted if there are other Spanish speaking parents also waiting to be helped. At first I thought I was imagining it, but I was not. The front office staff does not even greet you until you speak to them first - Or of course unless you appear to be Spanish speaking. It's very strange and off putting. No matter how friendly you are to them, they are stone walls - unless of course your appear to speak Espanol. Does it matter how friendly the secretaries are - Definitely. They set the tone for the entire establishment. By the way - My child is Autistic and minimally verbal. Imagine the cringe of entrusting him to extremely unfriendly authority every morning. Nightmarish to say the least. In regards to the leadership - The Principle is not respected by her staff , it shows - And now I understand why. She is a one dimensional leader. Not fit for the task of ensuring that her AND her immediate staff makes everyone feel welcome - including plain ole' English speaking citizens as well as the neuro diverse community. In violation of FAPE, My child was initially turned away, on his much anticipated, first day of school because the Principle failed to prepare for his needs.(As outlined in his IEP) I was told "I'm warning you that he is not safe here!" My kid is still recovering from the anxiety of that day. (as if he does not have enough challenges) In true poor leadership form, there was zero acknowledgement, zero apologies, and zero accountability. She has followed up with the same unprofessional behavior that she condones from the front office staff - No hello, smirking and eye rolling. I had no idea that my kid would not be welcome at Bel-Pre for his 2nd grade year. If I had known, I would have moved mountains to make sure that he never returned there. Last year in first grade, His teacher, peers, and the Special Education staff welcomed my kiddo in all his unique, Autistic glory. This year leadership decided that they did not want to do the work. He was NOT welcome.

I am currently a student here at Kennedy I will say that they really do have good programs, good teachers, and overall they have really good programs and classes to take here. MOST of the teachers are nice some of them get to annoyed easily and that's why students get frustrated. The students overall are very lazy and don't like to do their work, they prefer being with the crowd etc. This school does help with non English students and that's very helpful. I think this school is pretty good tbh everything is good its just the students making it difficult to learn, that's why I think they should be more stricter especially with freshman! Many students are inmature and I think that could be fixed if the school actually put more work into it. But overall its a really good school, the staff are very motivational and want you to succeed. I think life would be easier if staff/teachers would separate the students to do want to succeed and the students who are paying attention/class clowns so the environment can be easier and so teachers know which students to focus on if that makes sense.

My son and daughter begs me to say home because their teachers are bullying them and not letting them do fun stuff