1118 Justinian St SE
Leesburg, VA 20175

I love this school and it is amazing. This school has taught me a lot of things this year and I hope many more for the next.

Graduated in 2018, and overall I think I had a decent experience with Loudoun County. It wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst either. My biggest issue was that I rarely felt the school provided support and safety from harsh punishment and discrimination--in my memory, I felt these issues were only ever addressed when they became significant enough problems that the school could NOT ignore them and had to act or risk pushback from the community. I also distinctly remember a significant lack of support for disabled students in need of accommodations--for example, my stepbrother required accommodations for a learning disability, and year after year he had teachers who outright refused to accommodate him until my stepmother made a scene about it and forced their hand. I did have some absolutely amazing teachers, and overall I think that the teachers are passionate and dedicated professionals who want their students to succeed. However, the teachers who were bad were *REALLY* bad. For the most part, I think the best way to sum up my experiences with Loudoun would be to say that most of its problems aren't unique, and it has a lot of good, like most of the staff. However, the bad things are issues that won't be addressed until it becomes a problem for the school's reputation, so keep that in mind.

I served as a Site-Based Substitute at EMES for 60+ days before abruptly receiving an email on a Sunday evening from the LCPS Sub Coordinator, telling me that I was not to report there anymore because a "report had been filed" and to call them "sometime on Monday afternoon to discuss further". I couldn't get ahold of anybody on Monday, but did so on Tuesday. The LCPS Sub Coordinator began the call by asking me as the LCPS Employee whether or not I knew about the so-called "report" (i.e. what was going on). LCPS HR Talent Development cited a violation of a "General Use" policy but never provided the documentation or even report with PII removed to justify their dismissal of me. I received free counsel from the Alliance Defending Freedom in crafting a Rebuttal Letter to be added to my file. LCPS HRTD never confirmed this was done. There are many wonderful, professional, dedicated people that work at Evergreen Mill Elementary School. Teachers; TA's; Lunch ladies, janitors, front office. However, they use too much "leadership by email" vs making their rounds in that tiny footprint to see teachers in-person. Admin needs work on fielding qualified (vs unfounded) complaints from teachers/reading specialists, etc about Substitutes, so that they can effectively address specific concerns. Tattling on a Substitute who has immediately made any sort of correction lacks intestinal fortitude, breeds mistrust, and risk aversion. The Music Department introduces the K-5th graders to numerous Veterans Day songs months in advance; the Veterans Day Concert is always a big "hit" with more than 60 Veterans in attendance, seated up on the stage as the guests of honor. The wall between the gym and the music room is covered with photographs of Veterans, and the Principal intentionally honors Veterans!1 teacher still had not filed paperwork to initiate an IEP for her student w/ severe issues as of DecAn immigrant student with behavioral problems routinely dumps out entire contents of bins and runs around his classroom with sharpies, marking up 1st grade classmates and walls. 3 female teachers and a male Dean attempt to corral h while the Substitute attempts to "triage" the rest of the kids up against the cinderblock wall in the hallway with chromebooks and Canva!The Principal does not enforce the Staff Dress Code Policy effectively or efficiently. Some teachers look professional; others literally come in wearing sweatpants! This does not foster self-respect or discipline.