East Silver Spring Elementary School

Current Pre-K parent. Takoma is a wonderful school. The principal and AP are super engaged, and the teachers work really hard to make sure the students are learning and developing, and most importantly excited about coming to school everyday.

This school is average. The teachers did not communicate well with the students nor did they give the homework specified to their needs. This school was small however there was always lots going on event, teacher, and student wise. As a child who went here and had very obvious anxiety, I found the teachers were not understanding and in some circumstances made it worse. Therefore I believe that shepherd could use some more understanding of students suffering from mental health problems. This leads me to the fact that some of the teacher's (mainly in the later grades) teaching and punishment methods would leave me and other former students stressed. Adding to this the teachers would take away our break times as a form of punishment, I understand that taking away our ability to talk at lunch and our recess could theoretically be an effective response to misbehaver, however, lunch and recess is a student's one break from a day of learning and helps many of us get back into a learning mindset, therefore, this could lead to frustration or distraction throughout the rest of the day. I found that the amount of homework for elementary students was a lot and overwhelming especially because it was hard to communicate with the teachers, during and after school. The cafeteria was filthy with the food being disgusting and most of the time cold, they also did not cater to students with health problems and allergies despite being a nut-free school (however this was my experience before the renovation so they might have changed the food and cleanliness). The school was also obsessed with IB, changing the teaching protocol and making certain 'ib students' which made the other students feel left out or not as good as them (I personally do not care about this but I know my peers cared a lot about it. Lastly, I'd like to touch on the common core math method. First of all Common core made learning math 10 times more difficult as it included complicated ways to get the answer, I understand that the point of common core was to made make learning math easier, however, it often made math more confusing for me and my peers. Another problem with common core was that the teachers expected you to always use that method of math even if you found the answer using a different method, they would still expect you to show your work with the common core way. However, shepherd did have a few positives like good community events and student opportunities however the clubs were limited.

My twin daughters are just finishing fifth grade and really enjoyed it. We migrated to States last year and were welcomed at school. The teachers made it comfortable for my girls and help them settle down. They learned Spanish at school in a short duration of time both read and write which was awesome. The staff is incredible, teachers and principle is awesome.

My son loves it.... it's great schools and learning environment for kids. The principal is. Dr. Gadsden is an outstanding leader with almost all her staffs. The assistance principal and a few members need to avoid favoritism and need to be professional in their communication with kids and parents.

My son was enrolled when the principal was in her last year at Sligo. Then they got a new principal Mr. Rand. While my son was attending the French immersion program he had three teachers in kindergarten because the teacher was on leave. The substitute that they used was the beginning of an awful journey for my son. Parents called the school to tell stories of their kids being terrified to come to school because of her. I'm assuming they chose her because she was fluent in French. She was awful to the kids. So much so that a parent who was fluent took over the rest of the school year (and I am forever grateful!) First grade was ok. The teacher was stern but seemed ok. My son cried a lot but it got better. Second grade the teacher was literally the worst teacher that I have ever encountered. My son was a thumb sucker and she shamed him one day by calling him a "baby" in front of the class and threatened to send him back to kindergarten. She admitted to me that she did do this. The principal did nothing. We had a conferences where she told another parent that she should advise her son to get better friends than my son. Of course the parent came to me and told me this. Again, outraged and the principal did nothing. I wrote a letter. So did other parents. NOTHING happened. The principal lasted two years and is gone. The second grade teacher (there are only two per grade) is STILL teaching. My advice? If you have a son who doesn't just sit when commanded, who likes to talk, then this is not the right program for him. For some reason parents of boys did not jive with her. I was warmed. Another student in his class told his mom, "madame---- hates ------." "She makes him sit alone." As a teacher I am still outraged by this!The curriculum is also antiquated with its worksheets "Becky est si jolie." Zero diversity in their teaching methods. We finally took him out so he could attend 4th grade elsewhere. Worst experience. So very sad. Not all the teachers are awful but you don't get to choose their teacher so there ya go.