Charles Barrett Elementary School

The school has made several changes to the administration and teaching staff. Overall we've been very happy at Abingdon and our kids are both performing at and above grade level. The school is diverse, the teachers are generally very caring and communicative, and the administration is implementing positive changes to increasing communication and community engagement. Issues are dealt with care and support services are easy to obtain/engage with. It's a very large school so supervision during playtime activities has been a challenge but the overall quality of the teaching our kids have received has been wonderful.

My daughter attended Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School during the year 2025. In general, we believe Arlington Public Schools are good, and we wanted this school to be a positive experience for our child. Unfortunately, we had a serious incident that changed our trust in the school.One day, our daughter came home with a large bruise on her face. We immediately reached out to the school to understand what happened. We asked teachers, staff, and even met with the principal. The only answer we received was that they “didn’t know what happened.”We understand that accidents can happen and that sometimes kids might accidentally hit each other. If the school had given us a clear explanation or at least some information, we would have understood. What concerned us most was the lack of communication and the fact that no one could tell us how a child was injured so noticeably while in their care.Because we weren’t able to get a clear answer, we made the decision to move our daughter to another school. We still believe Arlington Public Schools overall are good, but our personal experience at Drew left us feeling unsure about the supervision and communication regarding student safety.

There were several instances where I felt unsafe for children at Oakridge and recently had to withdraw my son because a child in his class repeatedly touched my son in his private parts without any repercussions. The administration team is laughable. The principal wouldn’t even come into a meeting to address the sexual abuse that was taking place at HER school. Shame on her. I have called CPS and the superintendent, but I would steer clear of this school.

We have been so happy at St. Rita. It's an intimate, involved community, with almost universally shared values. The administration is very focused on healthy childhood development, particularly on protecting the children from the harms of technology. It's a deeply and authentically Catholic community, so families trying to raise their children in the Church will feel supported and their children's faith deepened. The classical curriculum is and academics generally are strong.