Garrison Elementary School

We had high hopes for our son's first year at Garrison Elementary, particularly after Principal Kip spoke so highly of the staff and described the 4thgrade class that my son would be joining as "unusually kind" . My son's experience has been far from kind. Garrison failed to meet my expectations of providing a safe learning environment for my child, which has now resulted in an unexpected mid-year withdrawal.Bullying/School SafetyBetween August-December, my son has been bullied on more than one occasion. I met with with Principal Kip after the first incident to express myconcern regarding my son's safety and more specifically, that no one from the school had contacted me to inform me of the incident. Theschool officer was on the playground during recess and was aware of the incident, but the incident was never reported.It's now January and yet another bullying incident recently occurred on the playground during recess. An adult eventually intervened and escorted my son to see the school nurse. The school officer was made aware of the incident and yet again, no one contacted me to inform me that my son was being seen by the school nurse in relation to this incident (not the nurse, the school officer, or anyone else from the school).CommunicationCommunication needs improvement, in addition to the lack of communication related to the above-mentioned incidents. I raised concern with not having a parent teacher's conference. Principal Kip assured me that a parent teacher conference would be scheduled the following week. Still no parent teacher conference was ever scheduled. Communication concerning field trips has been minimal. For example, permission slips have been sent home for signature, seemingly more so focused on waiving liability to DCPS rather than providing adequate details beyond the date and location. Other pertinent info (i.e., departure and return time, plans for lunch, method of transportation) was never shared. The fourth grade class rode the Metrobus for their last field trip due to financial constraints rather than for a learning experience. While I can appreciate the creativity of the teachers making it happen, perhaps the PTO or individual parents may have been willing to support if this was communicated in advance.On a positive note, I do have to say the IEP team (Ms. Dorn, Mr Saxton, and Mr. H in particular) were genuinely committed to doing what was in the best interest of my son throughout the IEP evaluation process.

My son is thriving at Garrison thanks to truly excellent teachers, a vibrant community and strong leadership (the Principal really fosters student excellence and has prioritized parental involvement and engagement in the learning process).

Garrison is wonderful school environment with terrific teachers and a Principal is is a great leader. Our child is thriving in a nurturing and stimulating environment.

My son has been in Pre-K at Garrison for the past six months. I could not think more highly of the school, the teachers, and the Principal. We feel so lucky to be here, in this strong community.

We are new to Garrison this year and have three children enrolled: Helen (2nd) Frank (K) and June (PK-3). We previously came from a charter school, so we are also new to DCPS. I can’t say enough wonderful things about our experiences with Garrison. Starting at the top, Principal Kiplinger brings a focused and warm energy to the families and staff. He always encourages parents to speak out with concerns about any aspect of the school, and more importantly, follows-up with action to make sure that those concerns have been addressed. Communication at any school is vital to ensuring an engaged school community, and with the newsletters and classroom updates, I feel very connected to what’s going on, what’s expected and how I can get involved. I’ve also been to a few of the school gatherings (Back to School Night and Summer PTO Playdates) and I’ve had the opportunity to speak with families who have been with Garrison for years. The one thing I keep hearing is that Garrison is like an extended family. There are lots of ways the school seeks to support students and families, whether it’s through warm greetings at the front door, offering Spanish language interpreters at school events, the accessible support staff, top-notch teachers (who all did home visits and spent an hour each at our home!), work-friendly hours for school events (AM or PM) so that working parents can still participate, and on and on that lend to that family feel.