2304 Gerken Ave
Vienna, VA 22181

I am shocked at some of comments made by the September 30th Parent/Gaurdian reviewer.First, it appears by the review that this parent has only one child at Flint Hill Elementary and that child is a Kindergartener during the virtual learning period. So I suspect half of the trite and uninformed comments arose from an exceptional experience that affected everyone, but the other half must be attributed to the ignorance of this person.We have had 10 years experience with Flint Hill Elem. and while I would not claim that the school is perfect, what I can attest to is the effort, diligence, integrity and caring shown by the teachers and staff. The principal that the other reviewer derides stands out as one of the most conscientious and professional educators that I have met. This principal and I have not always agreed, but I always respected her viewpoint. The other reviewer's assessment of the principal as someone happy with sub-par instruction could not be further from the truth. This principal spends many hours obsessing over giving all of the school's students the best instructional services within the school's resources. Second, the other reviewer comments on the special education services at the school, but admits to having no child receiving special education services at the school. Again, trite and uninformed comments by someone who appears to be an irascible person.

My 3 sons graduated from Madison. They are very different students and all had fantastic experiences. Madison is a special school where the teachers really care about their students, the administrators work well beyond their scope, and the community is supportive and highly involved. We chose our home because it was in the Madison pyramid and we are so grateful our boys went there.

I feel compelled to write a review after seeing some of the recent comments. My son is now a 9th grader at Oakton but he absolutely loved his time at Thoreau. Did they have issues with vandalism? Absolutely! But so did every middle and high school thanks to a stupid TikTok challenge where kids broke soap dispensers and ceiling tiles and posted evidence on social media. This issue is not the school’s fault. I thought it was a good idea when they started locking bathrooms to ensure more adult supervision in less bathrooms. My son had wonderful teachers both years! My only complaint is that they don’t give enough homework. But he has no homework in 9th grade either so I guess this is the new educational trend. He was very well prepared for high school! Special shout out to Mr. Loht, Mr. Firestein and Ms. Shewmaker. My son talked about them in particular and loved being on their team! They made learning fun. I didn’t have the opportunity to interact with the principal, but her communications to parents were excellent and I always heard my son and his friends say they liked her. She did a lot to show the kids why it is important to celebrate cultural differences. She also met with kids to get their opinions on how to improve the school so I know kids appreciated that she cared. We never had any issues with bullying but again this is the most common complaint of any middle schooler in any school. My kid always knew that if he or his friends had issues, they could see their counselor at any time. They are really nice to the kids and my friend used to rave about Ms. Gallagher and she credited her with helping her daughter deal with anxiety and an eating disorder. I could not imagine working with 13 year olds all day, but it is obvious to me that the staff at Thoreau are skilled at working with this age group. We will always speak very highly of my son’s time at Thoreau. Hope this review gives another perspective