Rossville Middle School

This is my son's second year at Rossville. If I could rate the sense of community & family engagement separately, I would give this school 5 stars. The staff is warm & inviting - they have fun extracurricular activities, events & volunteer opportunities. The PTO is phenomenal. However, the academics are severely lacking. My son is in 1st grade & doing math equations with a number line - he mastered this in private pre-K and does multiplication tables at home. We were fortunate last year, my son's kindergarten teacher recognized he needed more than the standard curriculum & she ensured he had extra assignments that challenged him. This year, no such luck, the teacher does the bare minimum. Speaking to his 1st grade teacher to address our concerns, has yielded no change. We met with the Baltimore County head of advanced academics & learned most lesson plans have material included for advanced students readily available for teachers to access - our Rossville 1st grade teacher has not made any effort to include this material for our son or the other kids who could use more challenging work to meet their abilities. We also learned we could have him advanced to a higher grade level for math, or have him advance the entire grade, so that he gets more advanced instruction. No mention of this by the school staff at all, that we have these options available to us. My son scored in the top 1% on all standardized testing, for two consecutive years & nothing is being done in the classroom to challenge him. What is the point of these tests if the school does nothing with the data to identify & support bright kids as much as kids who are struggling? GT programming doesn't start until 3rd grade, are the bright kids to stand still or regress until then? We are right on the district line between Perry Hall & Nottingham - when our home was redistricted to this school, we thought the new school would mean better resources & academic opportunity. What a disappointment! This academic school year has been a complete waste of time. We're moving mid-year to a better rated school district, far from district lines, rather than deal with the subpar academic focus at Rossville any longer.

My son is in 5th grade this year at SCE! He has attended this school since kindergarten. The educators and school administrators here are truly wonderful. They care deeply for the children that attend SCE. A large percentage of the schools children live in lower income households, and our principal is always providing parents with helpful information & events pertaining to free/reduced services in our community. We have a food pantry in front of the school that is open 24/7 for anyone who needs to stop by. I personally believe that children are better off attending a school with a diverse student population. Children from all walks of life attend school here. I give partial credit to Jacobs experience at SCE, for his humility, compassion, understanding, and willingness to help others. All of Jacobs teachers have been so kind and helpful to him during his years at SCE. They are all great at communicating important information to the parents. Jacob has told me many times how much he loves it at SCE. It’s a relieving and happy feeling to know that your child is not only being taught academics at school, but he is also being taught many life/ socials skills daily, and is always supported and encouraged by his peers, teachers, & other administrative staff members.

So sad that the culture of this building has been destroyed in less than 2 years since Mr. Juan Moreno was promoted and they hired Mr. David Corey. So many families, students, and teachers have been run off from this (now) toxic environment. They can't keep staff and it's just a revolving door of people. It used to feel like a family, but with the changes all it's done is destroyed the community that other principals/staff/families worked so hard to build. This school has lost so many good teachers and students over the past 2 years.

I have had the best experience at East Lake. The teachers and administrators are some of the most caring and dedicated individuals in Hamilton County. They strive to make sure students have the tools they need to succeed and grow. I would definitely recommend East Lake Elementary School to others.

No school is perfect, but I have been impressed by the genuine attempt of the school to handle issues appropriately, both with grace and with consequences. I have worked in the MS for six years, and I believe the school is heading in the right direction as it seeks to challenge students academically and spiritually. Come take a tour and I believe you'll see the heart we have for your students.