11689 Camp Jones Ct
Bristow, VA 20136

This establishment and it’s so called teachers completely and utterly take the fun out of llearning. The English department does not teach, they outsource the teaching to ridiculous on-line programs like NoRedink. My child did NO writing this past year. The Math department also very weak. They zoom through lesson plans to make sure they are teaching to the standardized test. The teachers justify their salary by creaming the kids with “busy work”. With the exception of the horticulture teacher, which was actually engaging the kids, there is no real learning happening. I could print worksheets and present them to my child too, but that is not what REAL educators do. I cannot believe my tax money went to PWCS for such low quality education. In fact, we are moving on to private school. Unfortunately, for all the other kiddos out there that parent’s cannot afford private school, my heart goes out to them. They are getting robbed of a real education.

This review is long because I have a lot to say. Marsteller has a negative environment overall. There are some great teachers, but also some terrible teachers. One that comes to mind was toxic, entitled, and manipulative. This teacher would mention religion not in a historical context at some points, which was inappropriate. Many have a problem with this teacher, meaning they are afraid of them because of the environment they created. Favoritism was a major problem, and some of their students would be ignored. Everything was a competition. I will not say the teacher’s name because I do not feel the school would do anything about it, and I do not want to give them away. However, I had this one great teacher who was funny, but also great at teaching. I am super grateful for this one teacher. The kids at this school are rude, entitled, and careless. Rumors are a problem. Most are disrespectful to the teachers and staff, and would not respect each other. Pretty much all the students I encountered made an environment where if you did not “fit in”, you would be alone. Therefore, I flew under the radar, so I watched the smack talk happen. Fights are an issue. I have heard about at least 5. The teachers do a good amount of teaching. Some teachers have a problem controlling their classrooms, which affected my learning. A specific (different than before) teacher had an environment where it was constant free days and barely any learning. The kids in their class were out of control. After someone getting harassed, the teacher did nothing. They did nothing until the last week of school. The dress code is too much to the point you cannot even show your shoulders. The music program is hit or miss. This school has decent clubs, and I would like to shout out the great custodians, but I did not feel safe at school in general. There was a lot of yelling from the staff. Marsteller has bad food, but it is somewhat diverse, and influences diversity. The homework amount is not too bad, and I probably spent 1-2 hours a night. The principal does not take care of problems very well, but there is one administrator who was great and helpful. The staff were contributors to the environment. The principal was passive aggressive. The busses were constantly late, with one of the busses I rode not coming on time until the third quarter. Overall, I would not recommend Marsteller Middle School.

My children have been at this school for four years. I have experienced all grades, K through 5. Although I’d recommend this school, there are some major caveats to be aware of. The test scores at this school are heavily biased- not only do they have a month of review homework prior to the standardized test, but they are now requiring the homework, removing recess from children who do not complete their required weekly homework. I followed up with administration and they stood up for this bizarre requirement. Otherwise the school works well, but the populace is quite affluent, and therefore their activities and plans for school events are biased towards expecting a two parent household with a stay at home mom. Children are not allowed at back to school events, with no child care provided. Annual field trips cost between $25 and $60 per child, mindblowingly higher than any other school I’ve experienced. The gifted program is simply awful. My children were bored and I wasn’t impressed with the main teacher. Her assistant was well liked by my kids though.