209 Driftwood Ln
Downingtown, PA 19335

My daughter is in her second year at DMS. First, the new bussing situation is unacceptable. Children must walk to and from busses through the busy high school parking lot, to the high school next door. For this reason I now drive my child both ways each day. One thing DMS does we'll is teach kids how to manage their time and schedules. Academically though I am not impressed with DASD at all. We move frequently and both of my children are far advanced in English, Science and History. My child has learned no new material in these subjects since we moved to Downingtown after 4th grade. Her current 7th grade history teacher does not teach, but babysits while the kids copy text from photo copied material in folders. We are at the mid-term of Q1 now and all lessons have been taught this way. I'd estimate that at least 50% of the work is project based and done in groups with inadequate supervision. This typically results in one child doing the work,a fair amount of social drama and no real learning. Considering all the accolades DASD receives, and the tax rate for the district, I expected more rigorous curriculum and a better learning environment. We have been disappointed.

My son had a difficult Senior year adjusting to the Zoom Class environment. Prior to his Senior year, he was a 3.0 Student. He fell behind in his SR year and thank God for people like Mr. Barr and Dr. Barker for stepping up to help students who had problems with the Covid way of life. DHS is ranked #53 out of the 842 High Schools in PA for a reason. Our leaders care for all of our children. When I read a couple students feedback, I felt badly for them based on their experience at DHS. Even if 1 student has a bad experience, it’s too many. Their feedback matters and I know the DHS Leadership takes this seriously. I truly am sorry to the few students who had a less than desirable experience. What I do know with certainty is that Colleges and higher education institutions, recognize DHS with high distinction. At a minimum, you have that on your side and the DHS Community is rooting for you in your next journey…..

We moved to the district after listening to a lot of positive feedback from other parents. It's been 4 years for my child at Shamona creek elementary and I can definitely endorse all that feedback. Everything seems to be well balanced here.

Something about the great schools scoring grade here is a complete disconnect. This school is a truly impressive collection of teachers and administrators who clearly love their kids and what they pour into the classroom. Could this rating be fouled up by some Covid metric. No way this isn't a top school. Period full stop. My kids LOVED the 6th grade center and its focus on scaling elementary kids into the next level. Brilliant right down to the right sized desks and lockers FOR THE SCALE of 11 and 12 year olds. Amazing trips, intro to sciences on a more mature scale, social adaptation, self responsibility on and on. Sorry raters, this unique school for transitioning elementary to middle is BRILLIANT. I give it a 9.5