557 Oak Grove Rd
Chesapeake, VA 23320

My daughter went to this school from Pre kindergarten to 1st grade. Teachers in all grades were super awesome comparing to the high rated schools she is in now.

I would not recommend this school to anyone! Your children deserve better. Please homeschool your kids, have them go to the free online public school, or move to a different area. It's disappointing because Chesapeake is a great place to live, but this school needs to do better. They are also NOT military friendly what so ever. They claim that they are but they really don't understand the struggles of a military child. The school treats these children as if they are prisoners in their own school. They were not helpful in our transition. My daughter never had behavioral issues until she went to this school. We are currently at a different public school (Thank God) and she hasn't had any behavioral problems and everything is so smooth! Either Crestwood is insanely strict, or the staff/teacher were bullying my child (or both). My daughter let me know her teacher grabbed her by the arm really hard and forced her to the office. I almost had to take her out of the school and homeschool her. The only reason I didn't is because the counselor was such a big help. She really was the only person in that school who seemed to care about what was going on. The Vice Principal is terrible, she treats the children as if they are high school teens. If you have to keep your kid in this school, then please advocate for them. Half of their work wasn't even finished in the classroom, because of other kids interrupting and it being too loud. A lot of the school work had to be done at home in addition to the homework. There were not any opportunities to volunteer or interact with other parents either. It honestly seems like this school is hiding something. Every day that I dropped my daughter off at school, the staff looked so depressed to be there. No smiles, no positivity. Then they wonder why some of the children are having issues. They need to understand that the environment and leadership of the staff plays a big part in the children's attitude. The superintendent needs to get more involved in improving this school. I hope it gets the funding it needs and I truly hope that they do better for future students.

Many of the things mentioned already over the years are still apparent. School spirit is great, the IB program is rigorous and has sent students to top colleges and universities across the nation. I agree with previous reviews about the favoritism and politics which hold the school back as well as principal Paul Joseph and his aloofness unless he feels like engaging with you. Personally, I can say that since he has been there, he has never responded to one e-mail I have sent him for various reasons (none negative or complex, some even positive and upbeat), but I guarantee if is related to his high-profile football program he cannot reply and act fast enough. The crown prince of the Oscar Smith "good old boy" club is Ray Collins, an obvious beneficiary of this insular clique: he has run off many dedicated and experienced coaches (more than any other school in Chesapeake it seems). He is regularly unapproachable, generally incompetent, and simply has no business being an athletic director. Apart from these problems, the school has gotten way too large (2,300 students) and this makes the school less personal and too many students and staff get lost in the masses - not the way it used to be on Rodgers Street at the "old" school. In all honesty, Chesapeake Public Schools should build another high school in the Greenbrier area and reduce Oscar Smith to around 1,500 students maximum (1,200 would be even better).In more positive attributes: the community does a great job supporting the school and many students are more civic minded than your average high schooler. Many graduates go out and distinguish themselves in the world and some come back to share their past and current experiences with the school.

My daughter is in 8th grade this year, one day i came to pick her up and 7 calls with bomb threats were made but no lockdown occurred and my daughters mental health has been declining severely she meets with the guidance counselor every week and it never improved the only time her mental and physical health improved was during lockdown.