Forestville Elementary School

We have been struggling for 3 years at this school. My child is doing very well in school but is not challenged and the pace of learning is slow and not engaging. We have never really felt welcome as parents and we don’t feel the administration has ever made an effort to know my child. Some grades give homework and other grades don’t. Teacher communication differs by grade level. But I often don’t know what my child is learning or how they are doing until the report cards come out. The kids are constantly being tested on skills they have not been taught. The testing is a bit excessive. There is a lot of teacher turnover as well as a lot of part time teachers. There is a lot of non academic time including screen time as early as kindergarten. The PTA is very present and constantly fundraising. Every event is for raising money. However instead of focusing on opportunities to benefit the students most of the budget is geared toward teacher perks. They do arrange after school classes but they’re very expensive and probably a fundraiser too. The principal is overly supporting teachers over students. This school has a Japanese immersion program but the parents treat this like a separate private school. The entry is by lottery but it seems the majority of the class is made up of local kids. I believe the school would be stronger without the language immersion program. It seems to segregate kids. We don’t feel any community at this school and it’s sad because it’s a small school that has the potential but communication and family engagement is poor. There are several PTA members that are heavily involved and don’t seem to welcome newcomers.

Our three children attended Herndon Elementary more than 30 years ago, and my husband and I, now grandparents, volunteer at the school once a week. The demographics may have changed, but this school is still a wonderful place for students to learn and grow. The teachers are dedicated, the administration encourages everyone to do their best, and there are wonderful resource teachers for any child who needs a little extra help. Statistics do not always tell the whole story. These amazing and talented students are on the way to bright futures!

I don’t recommend this school ever. It’s so bad that there is bullying every day and don’t do anything about it. I filled a complaint took my information down No ONE bothered to call me back and update me about my complaint. If your child bullied or cyber bullied don’t even bother to call them , they tell you it’s not their responsibility to take care of it. Worse school ever. ZERO STAR

This school has no clue what is going on ever within the student body. My special needs son has a bus he takes, we get told there’s an app for it. Cool. Bus is late, get to Aldrin, report it. Get a snide response from the secretary going “that’s a transportation problem” as if students not making it to class is a big deal. Strike 1. Other me secretary tells me “yeahh we dont know when the busses are delayed and we rely on parents to report this.”Strikes 2 and 3. You not only don’t know, but you rely on people who also don’t know whats going on to report on it? Where is the logic? Is this place run by mice in tutus? Seems so.Secretary in closing out right states “yeah for some reason this bus driver never reported a delay”What the heck? So these drivers can just muck off?

My daughter only attended MSH for a year, but we noticed a vast difference between how she was at the beginning of the year and at the end. She was so shy and scared on her first day, but by the time the holidays came around she started getting upset because she wanted to stay at school longer! By the time summer came, she was so confident and independent, it was like she was a new kid altogether. MSH gave her so much love and special care and helped her come out of her shell, and we ware eternally grateful that they've gotten my daughter ready for the rest of her life.