College Gardens Elementary School

Posted: June 1, 2026

They allow children to be bullied and get assaulted and won’t do anything about it. They’ll punish your child if you child defends themselves against bullying but won’t do anything about the ones bullying and assaulting your child

Posted: June 1, 2026

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Posted: May 26, 2025

The school district is great but sometimes needs a bit of pushing/inputs from parents to determine what requirements and what needs should be met.

Posted: May 26, 2025

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Posted: October 14, 2023

Posted: October 14, 2023

Posted: October 14, 2023

Posted: October 14, 2023

I have two kids at this school who are polar opposites when it comes to needs. One is naturally high achieving and never disruptive. The other has significant ADHD, an IEP, and is extremely disruptive. We have worked closely with the school over the past 5 years to ensure my kids' needs are met. I have gotten to know many teachers and staff and especially the principal, Mrs. Rogovoy. Let me first say that, even for Montgomery county, like most public schools in this country, they don’t have enough resources to meet their needs. They do an amazing job with the resources they have. Mrs. Rogovoy is an amazing principal, and I have seen her handle many challenging situations with such grace and diplomacy. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude and respect for her and the school is what it is because of her. There is a range of quality in terms of teachers and staff. They have some truly amazing teachers that have worked with my ADHD kid in an amazing way. The IEP team is excellent and they have come up with creative interventions and implemented them. My kid is succeeding because of their incredible love and support. My high achieving kid has been placed with some less impressive teachers, but this kid doesn't need a lot, so has been fine. It's is important to recognize that there is a shortage of teachers in general so they are working with what they have. The classroom sizes are too large and there are too many kids who need more attention that the teachers just don't have to give them. This is not the school's fault. It's a systemic problem that affects every city in this country. The staff are mostly amazing. They are loving and kind when my child expresses a need. Anytime we have expressed a concern over something, Mrs. Rogovoy has addressed it immediately. The school is also safe. While there have been a few unusual incidents, they are minimal and were handled quickly and well. Bullying is minimal, if it exists at all. I had one instance where my kid was targeted and it was quashed immediately. I have many connections to the school and bullying is not a problem that exists here in my experience. Generally speaking, the school is very child-centered in their approach and is excellent overall. I can't recommend it enough.

Posted: October 14, 2023

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Posted: January 11, 2023

Beautiful school, great teachers. We are coming from a county in where resources were limited, and this school has far exceeded my expectations. I'm impressed by the number of resource teachers who are in and out of classrooms offering extra assistance (freeing the teacher up to teach). My child is happy and is excelling.

Posted: January 11, 2023

Posted: August 4, 2022

My 3 children attended this school, and one is still at College Gardens ES. The principal and teachers are amazing. The building is very bright and airy. I am not sure why people are leaving reviews for Bar-T on Great Schools - this is a separate entity from the school and should be a separate review. We do not participate in after-care, but take the amazing afterschool clubs that are offered in the Fall/Winter/Spring. I think some of the negative reviews might speak more to the MCPS politics and way of where the Curriculum 2.0 is really heading. But the school and community at College Gardens are amazing.

Posted: August 4, 2022

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Posted: June 27, 2022

Posted: June 27, 2022

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Posted: June 27, 2022

Posted: June 27, 2022

DONT ENROLL here! Worst school and (perhaps district) I’ve ever had my child in! I can’t move fast enough! I’m moving just to get my children away from this subpar education. I have a 5th grader and incoming K …..I’m sorry to say but your kids are better off not in any school than being exposed to an “education” at college gardens

Posted: March 2, 2021

My three children attended CGES from K-5. They are all very different kids with different learning styles. They all had a great foundation starting at CGES which prepared them for middle and high school. The teachers, staff and principal were all warm and caring. The IB approach to learning was very nice and encouraged the kids to step out of their comfort zone. We will always be grateful for the experience at CGES.

Posted: March 2, 2021

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Posted: October 22, 2019

We had an excellent experience at College Gardens. The principal is extremely dedicated, responsive and very approachable. Most of the teachers that my daughter had were enthusiastic and positive with supporting and teaching the children. I would highly recommend this school to other families. My daughter is now a 6th grader and misses the school and her old teachers!

Posted: October 22, 2019

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Posted: December 2, 2014

Teachers are not responsive enough to take care of kids. I had to write multiple emails to teachers just to explain what they can improve on.

Posted: March 22, 2014

Overall, i like they teach kids to make their own decisions and respect them as well... seeing the progress in my kid, it feels great.

Posted: October 12, 2013

This is one of the best schools in the the area. With the PYP program the students are able to understand about the world beyond just traditional learning. The teacher and stuff are all very good at what they do as educators.

Posted: October 5, 2013

College Gardens is a fantastic school, my daughter is now in third grade. Her teachers have been excellent year after year. The new principal is devoted to the students and it really shows all throughout the school. The parents are also very involved which makes a wonderful learning environment for the kids.

Posted: September 2, 2013

Phenomenal school! Not only does it post a rigorous IB curriculum, but it offers what ALL schools should offer--caring staff, a fabulous principal with an open door policy, terrific parents, and a great community of parents and kids. My daughter and son are receiving a great education, and making great memories at their school. Go Gators!

Posted: August 8, 2013

I love, love, love College Gardens. My kids are now entering 4th and 5th grade and have been there since Kindergarten. I am so sad to only have 2 years left. The teachers and staff are awesome. Our current Principal, Mrs. Rogovoy, is just the best. Responsive and compassionate while leading the school with enough structure and guidelines to allow everyone (students and teachers like) to flourish.

Posted: July 21, 2013

I completely disagree with the other negative comments. This school has been a wonderful place for our children (7 & 9) over the last two years. The curriculum implemented provides engagement and rigor that keeps children interested and excited about school. The teachers we have had in both 2nd and 4th grade have been amazing with instruction and communication. Overall, we have been very happy with the administration and PTA. Our family enjoys the IB program and the units of inquiry. Furthermore, our families love the additional after school activities such a lego club, run club and the talent show.

Posted: November 10, 2012

I dont think this school understands what it means to be an IB school. Staff and principle is aloof. Children are little bullies as another reviewer also mentioned. Your child will come home having learned many "bad words" from the kids you thought would be the "good kids from good families"

Posted: June 14, 2012

Horrible school! Our daughter was there for kindergarten and we quickly took her out where she did very well in another school in the area. The staff is appallingly rude and abrasive. The children are rude and little bullies. We had a horrible experience there. The staff yelled at me for every little mistake and yelled at my daughter in my presence. It was a horrible experience. There is a strong NAACP presence in the school which makes one think about the schools tolerance and fairness. This is a very poor excuse for an IB school. The staff does not demonstrate any of the IB principles. We are very happy to be out of that school.

Posted: September 7, 2011

I had two children at CGES (1 was there for the last 2 yrs. and the other one from K - 5). This school is the 2nd school in the US that has a vertical IB pathway (from ES through HS). From the education standpoint, the school is absolutely fantastic. Students are taken to the maximum of their interests and abilities, using the state of the art technology (the school building is also new and opened only two years ago - now, the fact that the student population has grown beyond any expectations and the building has already become too small for the existing student population is another thing), and the staff is excellent for most part. With the exception of two homeroom teachers out of eight that my kids had between the two of them, I would say that 6 were absolutely fantastic, that one of the eight was OK and that the eight out of eight was not as good (she lacked both enthusiasm and teaching experience). The new school principal is fine. The disciplinary policy is not as children friendly and sometimes misused by aid staff members, but all in all, the kids are great and most often they behave within the expected parameters. The CGES education programs & student diversity are superb

Posted: June 23, 2011

After 2 years at CGES my son will NOT be going back again. A poor excuse for a school. We will not be sending our 4 year old there next year when its time for kindergarden. I am just sorry that we kept our son there as long a we did. I hate to even call some of these people "teachers"

Posted: May 24, 2011

Teachers are very busy with the big class size. With immersion and IB program, teachers have hard time to organized themselves and get everything done. As parents, we are not fully informed of what my kids is doing at school, what/when the performances are.