FORTRESS Ct
Hampstead, MD 21074

This a great school with wonderful teachers! Both of my girls went here and both were sad when they had to leave. Not sure why the great schools rating is so low.

The school is great, the bully system they have in place not so much, it’s a joke. I don’t know how they can’t handle a couple of bullies but they’re put in charge of kids. the teachers have their favorites, some teachers are stuck in their ways and some are still there because of their love of kids and learning but far and few in between and so far all the students I’ve spoken to, remote learning is harder since they can’t interrupt teachers with what they can’t understand by raising their hands. Seems like females are still undervalued, unseen and overshadowed by the males and feel mute in some cases. There’s no integrity compassion or respect. The kids have too much stress and leads to depression trying to keep up with their standards. Besides that the school athletic department is one of the best. If you want your kid to come up on top and be seen by scouts, this is one of the schools I recommend. They have a winning streak.

I'm writing this with my friend and although we've both hardly ever had classes together, we have very similar opinions on how all of this is run even though we've never had the same teachers. We're both class of 2027 and we've both already left this school, but not without a negative opinion of it. I recommend this school if you're interested in sports or the gifted program, but overall, if you have a choice I suggest going somewhere else.Learning- Honestly in my two years at this school, I've only actually felt excited to "learn" or go to my classes very few times. How excited I will be to learn or go to these classes heavily depends on the teachers and what kind of activities we'll be doing. If I'm going to a class with a negative teacher I will not be excited to go, usually regardless of activity.Teaching- I've had very few teachers that I've felt actually meet all the points of this question. Most teachers will be very de-motivating (especially those with excessive homework and quiet work times) But, there can sometimes be great teachers who will try their best especially considering the amount of disrespect the receive.Social-emotional support- I don't believe this school has any sort of real consideration for their students. They seem to care mostly about test score ratings and sports more than student's mental health. I've had to report concerning behavior in my friends to the counselor over three times before anything was actually done in order to help them. And the "help" wasn't even help. They just told their parents and that was mostly the end of it. And in cases of bullying, the school does not care in any aspect even if good teachers themselves try to report bullying.Special Education- I believe this school does do well in terms of special education, but it can be very difficult to get them to consider accommodations in the first placeSafety- As i mentioned previously, while the school keeps everything clean and generally does their best to prevent dangerous contraband, they do not provide any punishment for bullies or school fights, and if they do give punishment, they punish everyone equally regardless of their position in the altercationFamily Engagement- The school only really contacts parents if there is an issue, never for anything positive

Very disconnected school. Staff and school administrators. Bullying is AWFUL and not taken seriously. There are some great teachers but the lack of control or action on the bullies and poor behavior creates an ineffective learning environment. LANDIS RUN has become the problem child of the district and has caused lasting harm and detrimental effects on students at this vulnerable age. Other parents have taken their children out due to bullying and toxic learning environment. Its unfortunate, as the other schools in the district are wonderful.