Kemp Mill Elementary School

Posted: April 18, 2025

I loved this school, the teachers and all the people in this facilities are very welcome.

Posted: April 18, 2025

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Posted: October 7, 2022

Es muy buena escuela, el Director es una persona bien preparada y siempre esta al tanto de todo, personal administrativo es una excelencia, siento que mi hija esta en un lugar seguro y lleno de amor y cuidado.

Posted: October 7, 2022

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Posted: April 9, 2022

Our experience at Kemp Mill has been very good. This is a TWI (Two way Immersion) school where all grades are taught in both English and Spanish. This is a strength of this school, as the requirement to speak another language beyond English is a critical skill in today's global workforce. Being bilingual is here to stay and that is a good thing!

The teachers, who tend to work in teams of two, are caring creatve, engaged and patient. We have had wonderful teachers in our three years here, including during COVID, when we were all remote. The school uses Class Dojo to connect with parents.

The front office is fully bilingual and they are professional and responsive. The Parent Coordinator is AMAZING! There are also opportunities with afterschool programs with Linkages to Learning, which is led by a wonderful group that is creative in connecting with the diverse community at KMES.

If you are looking for a TWI school and live in the Kemp Mill area, this is a great place!

Posted: April 9, 2022

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Posted: February 27, 2020

This school has a serious issue with LICE !!!
The nurse will call you to pick up your child but yet parents are not informed that there is a LICE breakout in the classroom. When I asked why not, the nurse stated they would be informing all the parents,,,,, never happened, every year for the last three years , same thing ,
Not proactive at all , school should inform all parents in the classroom once an outbreak happens so we can all be cautious and take preventative measures.

Posted: February 27, 2020

Posted: February 27, 2020

Some are , some not as much

Posted: February 27, 2020

Posted: February 27, 2020

Posted: February 27, 2020

My daughter was bullied and nothing efficient was done

Posted: May 17, 2019

Many of our child's teachers have gone above and beyond. Our child struggled in the language program and will leave at above grade level proficiency in both languages. However, many of my child's teachers have left (see below) so it is uncertain year to year what the quality of the teaching staff will be. We have been fortunate to always have good to great teachers.

Posted: May 17, 2019

My child has been bullied with mixed results in resolution.

Posted: May 17, 2019

KMES has had the lowest climate survey of any elementary school in the district, with very little improvement, for several years running. The school averages 12-20 teachers/staff leaving in any given year, which is detrimental to the language program and students. I have zero faith in Dr. James' abilities to appropriately support staff or students, and the fact that the school has lost close to 60 staff during his relatively short tenure speaks very poorly of his leadership. This is one reason why the number of teachers with more experience is lower than average. It is sad that MCPS accepts this.

Posted: May 17, 2019

While I have not specifically had many issues, I am also aware of parents who had to take legal action and/or had a multi-year fight to get their child an appropriate placement or educational supports.

Posted: May 17, 2019

Several students continue to bully my child off an on, as they have for years. Our child has not been physically harmed and the teachers don't tolerate it, but it feels like there needs to be a bigger push from the top to get to the root of it. Many of the students come from poverty and presumably have additional needs and stressors. The school has had 4 counselors in as many years and went without a counselor most of this school year, so there was no counseling support for either the bullied or the bullies. The principal can be difficult to reach.

Posted: May 17, 2019

Our experiences in the past with different administrators were overall more positive than our experience under the current principal. I think the language program has merit, but be aware that MCPS has done away with English only options at the lower level. You should be prepared to move your child if you do not want to participate. It is opt out, not opt in. The principal's first year he was so focused on test scores and so out of touch that he caused great harm to the program - students received little to no Spanish that year, even if they were on target in English. I give him no credit for the improvements to the program. Some of the changes have been directives from central office.

I think the school suffers from a bad principal who frequently passes blame from himself to teachers, and puts too much emphasis on test scores and pet projects that make him look goof. The school cannot retain good teachers and there is a constant shuffle of teachers to fill gaps. Teachers may be new to the language program or new to the school or new to the grade or a combination of the above. The school would be greatly helped by better morale and a stable staffing situation. I think everything would improve with a better administrator. He seems very out of step with the school community. I would have rated it lower, but our earlier experiences with KMES were more positive.

Posted: May 17, 2019

Posted: August 28, 2017

My children have been bullied tirelessly since Kindergarten-2nd grade with no help from the school. The school is majority hispanic and my children are mixed with black and hispanic but they look black and were bullied because of their hair type and color

Posted: August 28, 2017

If you want your children to go to a hispanic school this is the school for you. Diveristy is an issue and they push spanish speaking on everyone. My children were placed in a spanish program without my consent and it took 3 years to remove them with no help from the school. PTA is great and the teachers are very nice and do an ok job. If you like re-teaching your children the homework every night this is the school for you

Posted: August 28, 2017

2nd grade was a complete struggle for both of my children. 1st Grade did not prepare them at all for 3rd grade and the majority of the work fell on us as parents to teach our children how to do their homework everynight. It was awful

Posted: August 28, 2017

The line of communication is open with the teachers and they did an average job of teaching

Posted: August 28, 2017

Lots of bullying issues that have gone unresolved

Posted: August 28, 2017

I do not like the new principal. We have gone to him with a number of issues and he always brushes us off and nothing gets resolved

Posted: August 28, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

This school has a excellent language immersion program.

Posted: June 9, 2017

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Posted: May 13, 2016

This is our first year at KMES and our child has had a wonderful experience. She is reading at an advanced level and has really enjoyed the Dual Language program which is challenging and I am pleasantly surprised by how much she has learned in Spanish. The new administration has made some key advances in strengthening the Dual Language program and it seems like a strong plan for the years to come.

Posted: November 19, 2015

Posted: November 19, 2015

Posted: November 19, 2015

Posted: November 19, 2015

KMES has a turn over in administration. Some of the staff still is use to the old administrations way of dealing with issues. However, The new principal, Dr. Bernard, has slowly started to change that culture of the school. This is good news.

Posted: October 7, 2015

Posted: October 7, 2015

Posted: October 7, 2015

Posted: October 7, 2015

Kemp Mill has a warm, safe, and friendly atmosphere. The school also offers an unique dual language program so students can learn Spanish. There are many after school clubs and "specials" during the day such as STEM. For those that need it, the YMCA has affordable before and after care. There is new administration this year which so far seems to be very positive.

Posted: September 16, 2014

Good teachers ,Bad administration office and secretary, the office need to be educated if they will have a roll in a elementary school

Posted: September 16, 2014

OPINO QUE LOS MAESTROS SON EXCELENTES, PERO SI QUE TENDRIAN QUE PONER A GENTE MAS CAPACITADA , PARA TRABAJAR EN LA ADMINISTRACION , SI A MI YA ME HA PASADO QUE LA RECEPCIONISTA ES MUY DESAGRADABLE ,NI PORQUE ES HISPANA NOS DEBERIA DE TRATAR MEJOR A LOS HISPANOS, PERO SIEMPRE RESPONDE DE MALA GANA Y SOLO CUANDO VE AL DIRECTOR CAMBIA EL SEMBLANTE DE SU CARA COMO QUE FUERA LA MAS BUENA Y AMABLE DEL MUNDO ,PURA HIPOCRECIA , Y EL DIRECTOR QUE NO SE PERCATA DE ESO TIENE QUE SER QUE SOLO LE IMPORTA GANARSE SU SUELDO ,PERO ES ASI COMO NOS TRATAN A LOS HISPANOS , COMO BASURA

Posted: May 14, 2013

This is a great neighborhood school. It has a dual language program, so your child can learn Spanish. The principal, Floyd Starnes, is so warm and welcoming. The teachers are great - especially Barabara Schwartz, who does this very cool STEM program that Mr. Starnes initiated.

Posted: July 19, 2010

My daughter is a rising fourth-grader, and loves being at Kemp Mill. She is both bright and difficult to manage, but the staff have been up to the challenge of keeping her engaged. The principal is responsive to parent concerns and strongly believes that each child can be successful. I would like to see more parents involved; the PTA is very limited in the support it can provide to the school because only a handful of parents are active. Typically only a half-dozen or so parents attend the monthly PTA meetings. After-school programs typically supported by a PTA have been discontinued or never offered for lack of a parent willing to serve as program coordinator.

Posted: May 10, 2010

I currently have a student at Kemp Mill and am extremely happy there. She has homework every night and her teacher is extraordinary! I, personally have found the Principal to be responsive to any concern I may have. He always has time to meet with me and discuss any concerns I may have. I have watched children move to accelerated classes during the year if not being challenged. The teachers are fantastic at identifying which students need extra help.

Posted: May 2, 2010

Kemp Mill has declined over the past few years. The current principal does not support homework, the accelerated curriculum is not as advanced as other schools in the county (yes, I have compared with other schools in the county) and last school year, my child reported witnessing other students curse directly at the teachers repeatedly. If your child is bright, above average, and you live in this part of the county, then consider private school.