Old Colony Montessori School

This school has caused great harm to my child. If your child needs special services, I would recommend you to go to this school. But if your child wants to grow up happily and study safely in school, you should make a careful decision.

As a parent, in-class parent volunteer, parent chaperone (had to clear an FBI background check and get finger printed), PTA representative, I was very excited about Ross. But what I saw over 4 years, was deliberate withholding of FAPE from dozens of students especially those with any kind of dyslexia or learning disability. Why would the smallest school in DCPS, in Ward 2, always under enrolled, withhold reading supports to students eligible for an IEP? Ross leadership would not hear that 1 in 5 people have dyslexia. That people with dyslexia are super bright thinkers, and are more able to adapt because that is what they always have to do. Ross refused to offer supports to its teachers and supports that would not have come out of the Ross school budget. Ross leadership is focused on raising money from the the parents of the lower grades to pay for everything in the school. Dyslexia is usually recognized and or diagnosed btwn 2-5 grades when the work gets harder, and yet it can be detected as early as pre-k. Ross refused phonics and to give teacher training in Child Find- a federal and state law. Why would Ross NOT even support its own teachers in academic expertise? People want to teach as a small school, so why is there an intense turnover rate of teachers at Ross? For 10 years, Ross leadership refused to place a parent representative on the Personnel Committee so that the parents could have input on teacher hirings. Why? Parents, PTA, and LSAT signed a petition and sent it around to OSSE and others for Ross leadership in order to force a placement of a parent on this committee. This letter also demanded that Ross leadership hire non-white teachers, to hire racially diverse, teachers, representative of DCPS. Why did this have to happen? Ross could be a vanguard of change. It could be an incredible school for reading and writing, and why not? With this focus, students from 2-5th grades would stay rather than leave in a mass exodus in 3rd and 4th grades and/or leaving the DCPS system altogether. DC Council passed The Decoding Dyslexia bill- Ross Leadership should take everything in that bill and run with it!! It should become the top example for how the measures in that bill can turn around an entire school especially after 3 yrs of COVID school shutdown, Canvas, Teams, etc...(spring 2020, SY 2020-2021, fall 2021).

DCPS's hidden gem! Thomson has fantastic instructional leadership, including one of the best and longest serving principals in the district, who greets every child by name. She's been able to attract - and retain! - a group of high-flying teachers. The diversity is a huge plus. The parent community is warm and friendly. My child is reading and doing math well above grade level and has been continually pushed and challenged academically. The school offers great social-and-emotional education too...my son will do "rainbow breathing" to calm himself down in tough moments. The IB curriculum is rich and deep and encourages kids to ask questions and be curious. Also feeds one of the stronger middle schools in DC. (Feeder high school is another story). Would definitely recommend Thomson to anyone!

The amount of growth I’ve observed during my child’s first year at JFEC has been nothing short of remarkable. Every day at pickup she exclaims “I had a great day!” and proceeds to tell me everything that she learned. Her vocabulary constantly surprises me and her general knowledge has grown leaps and bounds. They even have basic Latin instruction for the kids! She has also learned a lot about social behavior and how to interact with her new friends. The facilites are new and beautifully maintained. They have two playgrounds and an indoor gym. Coming from a place with a less-than-stellar public school system, JFEC is hard to beat!I feel very confident in the safety of my child at this school. Her teachers love her, the security staff is thorough and incredibly kind. The only read downside is parking and the commute - both of which are worth it for the positive experience we’ve had at this school.

Our 2nd grader has gone to Garrison since kindergarten and we cannot say enough good things about the school. From the principal to even the security, everyone is engaged with the students. The principal is a constant presence and knows all the students. There is a sustained effort to communicate with the parents. We feel like the faculty is invested in our child's education. Highly recommend.