Veterans Elementary School
Ellicott City, MD 21043
Phone: (410) 313-1700
District: Howard County Public Schools
GreatSchools Rating
public • Grades PK,KG,1,2,3,4,5 • 792 students
Veterans Elementary School, a public school located in Ellicott City, MD, serves grades PK-5 in the Howard County Public Schools.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 7 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.
Veterans Elementary School is a public school located in Ellicott City, MD. 792 students attend Veterans Elementary School.
School Ratings
| Category | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Test Scores | 8/10 | The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program data from Maryland State Department of Education, and using 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program End-Of-Course data from Maryland State Department of Education. |
| Student Growth | 5/10 | The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student Growth - Elementary Level data from Maryland State Department of Education, and using 2025 Student Growth - Middle Level data from Maryland State Department of Education. |
Posted: September 6, 2024
it is a great school, and I highly recommend it.
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: September 6, 2024
Posted: December 29, 2023
We LOVE VES! If you are considering a home that feeds this school do it! From the new administration to the wonderful guidance counselor the staff is so warm and caring. My child has friends who speak Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Hindi. I love the cultural diversity she gets to experience daily! I am constantly amazed as how much my child is learning. Ive gotten the chance to observe my childs classroom as well as eat lunch with her and its apparent what a well run, safe, warm community VES is. The PTA is super active and they are always having fun assemblies as well as family events in the evening. I can not recommend this school enough. We feel so lucky our kids get to experience this community.
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Veterans Elementary is a great school for kids! I highly recommend this school for parents looking for a Howard County elementary school.
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: December 4, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
I went to this school for 6 years and it was an amazing experience, I learned a lot more than I did in other schools and the staff had their priorities in check. Overall it is a great school and I highly recomend
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: November 1, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
As a student at the school for 2 years I really didn't like the staff.
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: March 26, 2023
Posted: September 14, 2022
This is an excellent school. I have had 2 kids go through this school. The teachers are amazing. They have fieldtrips, assemblies, lots of PTA events, and an amazing principal. My kids love it here and I love volunteering here. Really everything you could hope for in your elementary school community.
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: September 14, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
I think the school is pretty good.
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 24, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
My child attended RECC (PreK) 2021-22 as a peer in the Learning Together program. I would not recommend.
This school lacks community: When I approach the staff, they say "Mom" or our "Friend" is here. No one remembers my name or my child's name, or greets me. If I make eye contact with a Para (G-d forbid), no one greets me or says Good Morning.
My other child attended a Christian Montessori preschool where there was a strong sense of community. Everyone said Good Morning to each other and was friendly. I made the unfortunate choice of choosing this public school RECC based on the fact that it's run by certified teachers. If you want to drop off your kids, not be involved in a community, and have the most basic possible kind of preschool experience for you kids, this is it. The majority of the other parents in my child's class barely spoke English and avoided eye contact at drop off and pick up, despite our children being friends. No playdates, no Class Parents, no birthday celebrations. So sad. They focus on academic building, not character building - which is so important in preschool.
I don't feel that my child is cared for or advocated for here. Teachers and staff are "coasting" toward retirement - especially the principal - and just looking to cover themselves. My emails to the principal with suggestions were ignored. I had to ask the PTA president for assistance. It's no wonder several teachers quit in the middle of the school year.
When my child acted out at school, the teachers asked me if there were issues at home instead of helping my child work through the issue. They looked to blame me (the family) for his behavior. This is the opposite of what IEP or MINC kids need - but then my developmentally normal son is not assigned to a special teacher.
I highly suggest going to a Co-op style preschool with required parent involvement. Avoid Veterans at all costs, especially if you have to pay tuition for what is a shoddy public school program. For about the same price, the preschool experience is far better at a community based organization.
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: March 10, 2022
Posted: August 15, 2020
Veterans is an awesome school for kids! Don't even talk about the principal he is so amazing! AKA. Robert Bruce! I feel my kids are happy about having a nice, humorous, and awesome principal. The teachers are really nice and also really care about your child's learning tasks and things they need to work on more. All four of my girls have gone to VES until they had to get redistricted to Northfield. We love Mr.Bruce as a principal and hope all schools can deserve an awesome and caring principal like him.VES could work on the front office staff and how they handle the adults coming in and picking up, dropping off their child or etc. VES has a lot of fun activities around the year such as field day and other field trips for each grade. Breakfast is served in the mornings too. The school mascot is a friendly eagle that we can call spirit. As of the rules of the school, the keyword is SOAR that all kids like to sing the song about. I LOVE THIS SCHOOL! I can trust this school of keeping my child safe at all times even if there is a bus delay or etc.I highly recommend this school as for parents looking for a howard county elementary school.
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: August 15, 2020
Posted: March 20, 2020
Amazing, the front desk staff where ok but everyone else was amazing tome and my kid.
Posted: March 20, 2020
Because my child always came home and told me her teacher gave the whole class a reward for doing homework and I feel as if a reward motivates them or gives the a reason to get it done.
Posted: March 20, 2020
Posted: March 20, 2020
Posted: March 20, 2020
Posted: March 20, 2020
Posted: March 20, 2020
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
Posted: April 26, 2017
This school has great teaching staff, however honestly the front office staff needs to improve being a little patient with the parents whether they call by phone (or) by coming in person. I would request and recommend that the principal please take some measures in changing his front office staff (I do not want to name any) They are very rude and do not know to interact calmly with parents. With a recent forgotten lunch bag episode, I really felt embarrassed and humiliated in front of the front office staffs with their questions and looks like I am a criminal or something. I agree that the students strength of this school is high, however that is no reason to yell (or) be rude to the parents. Increase your front office staff numbers (or) hire efficient and good staffs.
Posted: January 10, 2017
I have two children attending this school, and we have been a part of the VES community since 2010. We had some wonderful teachers in the K to 2nd grade years, but now that my children are getting older, I find inconsistencies in communication. I realize that children need to take more responsibility as they get older; however, I feel that once my kids hit 3rd grade, much of the communication just stopped. The school has a large population, and although I realize they have to manage it somehow, they seem to have a 'one size fits all' approach to behavior management that doesn't strike me as extremely positive.
Posted: January 10, 2017
School is very quick to respond to any alleged bullying incidents, but I just don't know how well they can truly monitor given a school population of roughly 850.
Posted: January 10, 2017
This school is a hub for classes for children with special needs, and they do a nice job including those students. I do think, however, that they fail to communicate to parents when their own children are placed in more of an 'inclusion' class.
Posted: January 10, 2017
Principal and Assistant Principals are very responsive!
Posted: January 10, 2017
I feel that boys seem to be singled out a bit more by some teachers due to their more 'active' nature.
Posted: January 10, 2017
Most teachers are wonderful! However, these year I have found them to be not quite as invested in my children and not proactive in terms of communication.
Posted: January 10, 2017
Fourth grade homework is still way over the top at times - 90 minutes of homework is too much in my opinion - and this does NOT include reading before bed.
Posted: November 12, 2014
Overall, Veterans is a good school but it can be better. We have been at this school since it's inception and over the years, there have been positives and negatives. The most positive aspect of this school continues to be the exceptionally talented, intelligent, and caring principal. If it were not for this principal, we would have moved away from this area and chosen to go to a better elementary school. There are also a handful of teachers who stand out in having lasting positive effects in terms of building up the self-esteem and academic efforts of children. Unfortunately, there are some teachers who are not as invested in caring about the individual child's social and academic progress and instead, have reputations as being overly strict, unapproachable, biased and humorless. With the onset of common core, there seems to have developed, more negative attitudes and incompetencies among some teachers. The most negative aspect of this school, however, is the overcrowding. Our children had to endure several years of having limited access to the playground (e.g., can only walk on the blacktop), overly stringent lunchtime procedures and minimal oversight of bullying behaviors.
Posted: August 17, 2014
This school is a gem. It's filled with caring, dedicated teachers, a principal (Robert Bruce) who seems to be highly respected by his staff and by parents, and a diverse, well-rounded, engaged student body. The teachers and administration contribute to a fun atmosphere for the students. My children know that VES is a place to work hard and play hard. They have moved onto middle school without trouble. VES gave them a great foundation.
Posted: June 24, 2014
Amazingly awesome. Dedicated teachers. Smart students. Engaged administration. I can't say enough good things about this school. There are reasons that houses in this district cost so much!
Posted: February 14, 2014
I am a third grader here and I think this school is great. The teachers and staff are remarkably kind and each and every individual who works here seems willing to help any of us in any way possible. I actually enjoy coming to school because of the wonderful and positive atmosphere created by everyone. Thank you Veterans Elementary school for being here for me, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone.
Posted: April 12, 2013
This school is by far the worst educational facility I have aver witnessed. From screaming children going ballistic to horrible average test scores, this school is a wretched mess!
Posted: January 4, 2013
Such a wonderful learning community at Veterans Elementary School! My children have thrived with the support of quality staff members and a strong administrative team. We are very pleased with this school!
Reviews provided by GreatSchools™
| # | Name | Type | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Greens at Locust Chapel | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Ellicott City | MD | 2.4 mi | |
| 2 | Landing | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Elkridge | MD | 4.4 mi | |
| 3 | Maple Lawn | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Fulton | MD | 8.3 mi | |
| 4 | The Provinces | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Severn | MD | 9.5 mi | |
| 5 | Midway Common | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Fort Meade | MD | 9.9 mi | |
| 6 | Lake Village Town Homes | Apartment Complex | Severn | MD | 10 mi | |
| 7 | Shelter Cove Luxury Apartments | Apartment Complex | Odenton | MD | 13.7 mi | |
| 8 | Harvest Run | Condominium/Townhouse | Odenton | MD | 14.4 mi | |
| 9 | Norwood | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Olney | MD | 14.5 mi | |
| 10 | Piney Orchard at Pinedale Courts | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Odenton | MD | 15 mi | |
| 11 | Iverly | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Silver Spring | MD | 15.9 mi | |
| 12 | Carrollton Manor | Area of Town | Severna Park | MD | 17.4 mi | |
| 13 | DuMont Oaks | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Silver Spring | MD | 17.8 mi | |
| 14 | Hillandale | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Silver Spring | MD | 18 mi | |
| 15 | Cape Arthur | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Severna Park | MD | 18.2 mi | |
| 16 | Crofton | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Crofton | MD | 18.5 mi | |
| 17 | Westridge | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Severna Park | MD | 18.9 mi | |
| 18 | Forest Knolls | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Silver Spring | MD | 18.9 mi |
| # | Name | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hammond Hills | Laurel | MD | 8.5 mi | |
| 2 | Laurel | Laurel | MD | 10.6 mi | |
| 3 | Baltimore | Baltimore | MD | 10.6 mi | |
| 4 | Severn | Severn | MD | 11.7 mi | |
| 5 | Anne Arundel County | Pasadena | MD | 17.1 mi | |
| 6 | White Oak | Silver Spring | MD | 18 mi | |
| 7 | Severna Park | Severna Park | MD | 18.9 mi |
| Base | Distance |
|---|---|
| Fort Meade NSA | 11.8 mi. |
| Coast Guard Curtis Bay | 13.4 mi. |
| Walter Reed Medical Center | 23 mi. |
| US Naval Academy | 25.6 mi. |
| Annapolis Naval Station | 25.8 mi. |
| Marine Barracks Washington | 27.6 mi. |
| Washington Navy Yard | 28 mi. |
| Fort McNair | 28.6 mi. |
| Coast Guard Headquarters DC | 28.9 mi. |
| Fort Myer | 29.4 mi. |
| Pentagon | 29.5 mi. |
| Henderson Hall | 30 mi. |
| Bolling AFB Joint Base Anacostia | 30.6 mi. |
| Andrews AFB | 31.1 mi. |
| Mark Center Alexandria | 33.5 mi. |
| Defense Health Headquarters Falls Church | 34.1 mi. |
| Fort Detrick | 35.3 mi. |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground | 39.4 mi. |
| Fort Belvoir | 41.6 mi. |
| NRO Chantilly | 42.7 mi. |
| Indian Head Naval Base | 49.9 mi. |
