5800 Quantrell Ave #919
Alexandria, VA 22312

We had to leave. The leadership was so poor from K-5, so I only hope things are better under the new principal. My child was bullied (physically and verbally) all years (except during Covid) with no effective response. Learning became a bore based on what leadership pushes the teachers to teach. The teachers were amazing but their hands are tied on how much they can do. There were no extracurriculars at all and my child was bored. Any activities that were provided, not consistently, are not fun anyway if you are bullied and don’t feel connected.

I'm reviewing this school based on my experience alone, as a parent who's two children went to school here after going to private school from K-8. I learned over the years that the reason Alexandria City has one high school is the city's decision to have one high school for all, not several high schools, of which there's a "bad" high school in the lower income areas and a "good" high school in the higher income areas. Because of this, there will be a handful of kids who create trouble. But my two daughters never felt unsafe at this school and love the diversity (not just in meeting students from different ethnic backgrounds, but also socio economic backgrounds). They've really thrived at ACHS, both academically and socially and have gone on to amazing universities (and got accepted into highy sought after universities as well -- Univ. of Michigan, Univ of Chicago, UVA, VA Tech, Georgia Tech....etc....mentioning this because I think ACHS gets a really bad rap for its academics and being a problem school) If your student wants to learn, they will learn. The teachers and resources are amazing, and they really do care about the success of the students. In comparison to the private school that our children attended from K-8, the teacher qualifications are unmatched. Private schools set their own bar, which means they can hire whoever they choose. The steps to become a public high school teacher is rigorous and far surpass what's needed in a private school. We've had a really wonderful experience sending our daughters there. I will say that parent engagement is very low....but I think that's also because a lot of the parents hold multiple jobs and are not able to engage because they also have smaller children. And the population is very large, so if your child isn't good at being independent and figuring things out on their own, maybe it's not the right place for them. That said, it's the perfect launching pad to the next stage in their adult life -- whether it be a university, trade school, or other.

My experience at William Ramsay has been phenomenal! It is truly unfortunate that the rating on greatschools.com is a 1 out of a 10 because that is definitely not a true reflection of the character of the school. Initially, I had hesitations when I first read the reviews online to have my son attend William Ramsay, however; after personal experience with not only the teachers, but also the office staff, the principal, the school nurse and other faculty and staff members, I have nothing but positive feedback for the school! I highly encourage other parents to take the time to write their own experience with the school to aid in turning this negative rating around!Thank you to all the staff at William Ramsay for upholding the No Child Left Behind model! The role of a teacher and any other school staff member can be very challenging and I genuinely appreciate what you all do because the salary you are compendated with will never be a true reflection of how much you should truly earn! My personal sentiment is that you all are very much underpaid! Folks, please take the time to appreciate the people that are taking care of your children during school hours because it can be very challenging to manage a class of 15 plus students at one time. Teachers and school staff members are the epitome of patience, hats off to you all!!!