9832 Vale Rd
Vienna, VA 22181

I am shocked at some of comments made by the September 30th Parent/Gaurdian reviewer.First, it appears by the review that this parent has only one child at Flint Hill Elementary and that child is a Kindergartener during the virtual learning period. So I suspect half of the trite and uninformed comments arose from an exceptional experience that affected everyone, but the other half must be attributed to the ignorance of this person.We have had 10 years experience with Flint Hill Elem. and while I would not claim that the school is perfect, what I can attest to is the effort, diligence, integrity and caring shown by the teachers and staff. The principal that the other reviewer derides stands out as one of the most conscientious and professional educators that I have met. This principal and I have not always agreed, but I always respected her viewpoint. The other reviewer's assessment of the principal as someone happy with sub-par instruction could not be further from the truth. This principal spends many hours obsessing over giving all of the school's students the best instructional services within the school's resources. Second, the other reviewer comments on the special education services at the school, but admits to having no child receiving special education services at the school. Again, trite and uninformed comments by someone who appears to be an irascible person.

My 3 sons graduated from Madison. They are very different students and all had fantastic experiences. Madison is a special school where the teachers really care about their students, the administrators work well beyond their scope, and the community is supportive and highly involved. We chose our home because it was in the Madison pyramid and we are so grateful our boys went there.

As a current 8th grader about to graduate, I have a few thoughts about it, and I'll start with the positives. You can really find some awesome friends and teachers here. A good percentage of teachers do actually care about you and are honestly really chill. The electives, especially performing arts, are fun and you meet a lot of great people that way. There are plenty of after-school clubs, although most aren't very academic (still awesome,) and the teacher who helps manage is great (shoutout Ms. Carter.) A few miscellaneous good things: the school feels really open compared to others with its library (my favorite place), courtyards, outdoor fields, and its fancy chairs (they're 500 dollars each I hear,) and higher than average ceilings. Now for the things that I don't think are really that great. My bus in 7th grade had some racism and just general mean people who I saw nearly every day and nothing every got reported and solved. The environment can be really messy at times and you have to avoid the kind of people who get you in trouble. The school lunches look inedible 90% of days and is probably way overpriced. The school doesn't have an actual auditorium but rather a cafetorium. Overall, I think if you stick with the right people and focus on your schoolwork, Thoreau really isn't a bad school.