Centre Heights

this school stinks they text me at 12am once BUZZ OFF

I have had two kids attend Centreville Elementary School from kindergarten through sixth grade, and our experience has been nothing short of amazing. The faculty, teachers, and support staff have been incredible every step of the way. My daughter, currently in sixth grade, loves her school so much that she's sad when each school year ends, and she bonds deeply with her teachers, who make her feel supported, especially since she struggles with change. When my son attended, he struggled with undiagnosed ADHD, and his third-grade teacher played a pivotal role in helping us recognize his needs without overstepping boundaries. Thanks to their guidance, he received the support he needed and is now thriving in middle school as a straight-A student. Centreville’s motto, "CES is the best," truly resonates with our experience. I am so proud of the caring, nurturing environment that has helped shape my children into the wonderful individuals they are today. Principal Mr. Douds leads the school with dedication and heart. I wholeheartedly give Centreville Elementary School five stars! However, I can’t give five stars for safety—not because of the school itself, but because of broader Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) issues. This is something I continue to fight for with the school board, as ensuring our kids’ safety should always be a priority. Despite this, the school does its best with what it can control, and I remain grateful for the support and education my children have received.

I loved this school and the teachers were great! It was a lot of fun and I never really saw any serious bullying

My children had the misfortune of attending Cub Run for one academic year and it was such a horrible experience that I am still angry about it two years later. First, the school is over crowded and the children are inadequately supervised. My children were in classes with nearly 30 students. In the mornings and afternoons, the children wait outside the entrance to the school completely unsupervised. On more than one occasion I witnessed kids fighting, throwing things, and bullying other kids, but no one from the school cared. This lack of supervision also extends to the hallways and playgrounds during school hours. Both of my kids were struck, unprovoked, by other children on the playground. The facility is also dirty and the lunches they serve are a violation of the Geneva convention. No child should be forced to eat that. The school couldn’t be bothered to remove snow and ice from the sidewalks surrounding the schools during winter (despite it being clearly marked as school property) and I witnessed multiple students fall on the ice. Academics are… fine? I guess? They teachers we encountered didn’t really seem to care and were mostly teaching towards standardized tests. Quieter students absolutely got lost amongst the crowd. There was also a lot of fundraising for basic things like art supplies and library books, yet the school somehow had enough money to buy enough duct tape to secure the principal and vice principal (not a small woman) dangling from the wall in a clear social media stunt. The kids liked it (it was literally the only thing my daughter liked about the school), but I found it insulting. I was expecting pitch in so my child could have markers during her art class (which took place in a trailer on the school playground), but the school could spend money on duct tape for Facebook likes? Ridiculous. I am not a religious person, but I will preach the gospel of “don’t send your kids to Cub Run” until the day I die.

This is our first experience in elementary school with my older soon being in kindergarten. He absolutely loves it, and is thrilled about learning and going to school every day. He has improved in every academic area but also in social areas as well. The teachers are amazing and everyone I talk to who goes here so far has loved their experience.

As a former student, here is my opinion of the school. Learning/teaching, sts taught things but they didn't help me truly learn, this caused me to really struggle in high school. Only a couple classes out of like 8 DID teach me something. Teachers at sts are very biased, they spend like 15 minutes out of 45 per period yelling at a specific student or the whole class. They don't discipline the students enough. Also, they always make the whole class get in trouble when there was one singular student that did something wrong. Social & emotional support: they did ok with this, they had guidance but it was literally or similarly the same exact lesson every single time "lets go over the virtue of the month", like yes, its important but we did it every single year. The school had a counselor that taught the class & you can talk about your problems, but I honestly don't think anyone goes to the counselor that I know of. Special education: it is terrible, if you have a child that you want to enroll into sts, don't. There curriculum for special needs is not good, they will literally plop your child into an ordinary class with no like helper or anything. Every single special needs kid I know, left the school. Safety: I don't know how it works but I didn't feel safe at that school, they had no like detectors for all students & just people in general. Family Engagement: they have a ton of activities that people liked at the school that includes all family & friends like galas, auctions, etc. I have personally never been to any but I bet they were inviting. Additional stuff: every single review on this page is most likely preschool parents, if you are a preschool parent, good for you but as your child grows older, they curriculum won't be fun anymore. Preschool to first grade are probably the most fun grades, so as you get older it isn't fun anymore. Next thing: they are EXTREMELY short-staffed, I was planning to go into geometry freshman year of high school but no, I was in algebra 1 because they didn't grade my test to move up. For, I think, my seventh grade year at sts, I had a substitute teacher for a very long time before they found an actual teacher (who by the way, wasn't the best). Also most of the teachers are parents of the current students attending sts. Next, the principal is not the best either, he is intimidating & takes things way too far. Lastly, mass & religion are mandatory subjects. There is mass every morning on fridays. theres def more, but ya,bye:)