Cambria

We have three children and all have gone to FBE their entire elementary school experience, including the pandemic and the academic aftermath of that period. I have great faith in and thanks for FBE. I can’t say the same for all of the Christiansburg school system. I am glad my children have the opportunity to experience this fine school, its staff, and leadership. I have had some disagreements at times with MCPS academic policy and have been open with the teachers that my home values sometimes support more wholistic learning goals than some of the more prescriptive SOL-based education. The FBE teachers have always been very understanding and we’ve been able to maintain constructive partnerships that I believe my children have benefited from. We’ve never had an extraordinary bullying experience that wasn’t appropriately resolved and there have been a couple of small instances where our own children have made poor decisions and the school has been quite supportive and helpful in correcting the behavior and helping the child understand why a particular rule exists. I do not have experience with the special education resources of the school so I have rated them in the middle of the road. I have, however, seen counselors pull my children in to help strengthen their friends when going through a particularly tough time (always after asking for our consent). I believe those experiences have had positive effects on both my children and their friends. It has been comforting to know that such tactics and resources are available should our children ever need them. The school leadership goes out of its way to develop relationships with the children and even regularly encourages them on into middle and high school. The children genuinely like their principal and vice principal. This is a wonderful elementary school.

My daughter attended kindergarten at CPS during the 2012-2013 academic year. While there, she did seem to enjoy it and made lots of new friends. This school has open classrooms. Meaning there are no walls. Classrooms are divided by storage cabinets. This was a concern for me but they actually make it work. This is a very large school with (I feel) large classroom sizes. My daughters kindergarten class was 21:1 with no teachers aid. Homework was few and far between. The classroom work my daughter would bring home had errors on it that were not corrected by the teacher. We have since changed schools. As soon as I walked into her new school I knew she was behind in reading and writing and she did play catch up the beginning of her 1st grade year. Which was frustrating for her. I did like that having lunch with your child in the cafeteria was encouraged but the front office could be much more friendlier and welcoming. They do have a spring carnival that is fun and gives parents an opportunity to meet. I think, average is a fair rating for this school.