40222 Breton Beach Rd
Leonardtown, MD 20650

The school prides itself on its test scores. Unfortunately, that's the singular priority for administration. We've had students at Leonardtown for 7 years and what was a lovely school has been very negatively affected by high staff turnover since the current principal started. Discipline is incredibly inconsistent. Each of my kids has had a bully in their class, and little to no corrective action has ever been taken. The discipline is haphazard and blanket punishments means kids who are behaving suffer the consequences of those who are not. Meanwhile, kids with actual special needs are punished for behaviors they cannot control. I was told more than once that my child's ADHD and SPD issues might be solved with "better discipline at home." Parent input is welcome as long as it's hours and hours of volunteer time or effusive praise. Efforts to engage in addressing problems result only in the family being flagged as problematic. My neurodivergent child needed a 504 and it wasnt until he moved to another school that the staff put in the time and care to make it a useful tool for him. Blanket solutions were all Leonardtown could offer. Student initiative is discouraged. The 5th grade wanted to have an end of year ceremony, the principal said the school board banned them. I have yet to see this in writing anywhere and other schools are having them. A student put together a petition and before even reading it, the principal went into each 5th grade classroom and tried to convince the students they had been deceived by a classmate because "no one wants a ceremony." The petition had signatures from about 75% of the class. Students were afraid they'd get in trouble for signing the petition. For a school that preaches "above all else, respect," I've personally experienced very little of that from Leonardtown Elementary School.

I have had problems with bullying, and they do stuff about it. It doesn't always work but most of the time as long as you inform the administrators it does. And when the have fights they separate the kids in the ISI (In-School Intermission/Detention) so they both get the same amount of time, but on different days. The test scores overall are better than they say they are too. The teachers will definitely threaten to email parents if the students don't behave. They also encourage positive reinforcement. Overall, very good school. Especially compared to Esperanza which has a lot of fights and Spring Ridge which is where all the expelled Esperanza kids go.

As a former student at Leonardtown High School, this school should be your last option. They have an emphasis on sports and not merit. Even then, if you are not a overperforming athlete, you are given little attention. Parts of the school are in disrepair but they instead pour their money into sports, ignoring everything else. If you are not in any AP classes you are not encouraged to do better and instead you are pushed through the class and given work like its day care. Students had such underdeveloped critical thinking, writing, or reading skills that the teacher would end up just taking over or giving them the answer. Most of the student body would rather smoke in the bathroom, disrupt class, or not even show up. Those who did show up to class were on their phone the whole time with no consequence. It doesn't help that on average a class size would be well into the thirty's. Students are packed into the school like sardines in a can, walking through the hall was often an awful experience. You would be pushed up against another person barley moving. If you were failing the class, parents would receive an email or would schedule a conference, so parent engagement was not scarce. There was often no discipline at the school at all. If you were caught smoking or being disruptive in anyway you would received two days or more of in school suspension. This would do absolutely nothing as the behavior is not discouraged, it is just as good as "don't do it again". Bomb and school shooting threats which were taken seriously and security would be bolstered. Making friends at the school is not that hard if you find the right group. However there were often "groups of friends" that would be disruptive, rude, indecent, and at times racist. These were often the people that would instigate fights or rev their truck in the school parking lot. If you were lucky enough to get a parking pass, the parking lot was usually full, and people that counterfeited parking passes did not help the parking shortage. The Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center( The Tech Center) which is on the Leonardtown High School property is excellent and provides indispensable skills. Overall, the education at this school is below average, there is weak enforcement of rules, and the staff is incompetent.