St Rita School

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.

Our family’s ILS journey began ten years ago when we moved from a military assignment in Germany to new jobs in the Pentagon. We looked for a school in which our two young sons would be immersed in a Christian and academically challenging environment. Our comprehensive search landed us at ILS. Since then, both of our sons have graduated from ILS and their sister is halfway through her time. The ILS community has truly been a blessing for our family. We have found that ILS is more than just a school—it is a place where parents and faculty come together to build a rich environment for our children. In addition to a solid academic foundation, our children learned to show genuine love and respect to those around them, an outcome that in many ways is more important than academic success. We attribute much of our children’s maturity and academic excellence to their time at ILS. If you are considering a classical Christian education, we recommend ILS. We believe it has been an investment in our children’s future that will pay dividends in their own families and communities. Chris and Jen Mulder