Jefferson Middle School

Great school, I actually switched my child's school to be a part of Randolph elementary. It has been a great experience. My son loves it, and everyone makes you feel welcomed and comfortable. My son is in Kindergarten, he has learned so much.

We have had a terrible experience at Barrett. The administration is weak and ineffective. They have some serious behavior issues and parent involvement is minimal.

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.

Being relocated from another country and my kid entering kindergarten with no English at all was really difficult for him, but all the school staff made a great effort to integrate him. Now, my 2nd child is entering kinder and we are really happy with the school.

The name of this school is now Alice west fleet. It moved here five? or so years ago in to a brand new building and changed its previous name Patrick Henry to Alice West Fleet. I think it is because the name is not changed here that there are no reviews after 2017. My son has been going to this school for just over a year. I find the teachers are good, they are dedicated, experienced, supportive and engaged with parents, at least in our experience. The administrators are also welcoming and responsive to parent inquiries and concerns. However I found they are not strong in addressing kids bullying. Even though, they responded to concerns from a few parents, they didn’t take strong action so the problem was not fully resolved. I am afraid if such problem persist the school is not well equipped to address it decisively. The advanced academics (gifted) program also seems less challenging and engaging to students enrolled in the gifted program. Over all though, the school environment is welcoming and the education is good with a well diverse student community. In fact I feel the 5/10 rating it is given here I doesn’t do it justice.

My child started first grade here this year. We did kindergarten elsewhere after moving into the area. As a parent I have not felt welcome and my child has struggled to make friends. His teacher seems overworked with a disproportionate focus on test scores and “achievement”. Homework is constantly pushed on us which, although I understand it comes from a place of concern, has been very stressful. And the moment our child met “the metric” he was dropped from being helped. Also the principle is only selectively friendly. I haven’t figured that out yet. But I don’t seem to be on the “list”The best part of the school is the before/after care program which is done in house. There the teachers are warm, friendly and welcoming. They really create a positive and inclusive experience. And it shows: this is the part of the day our child is most excited about. Thanks to those workers!