Rock Creek Forest Elementary School

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Posted: December 28, 2022

Just an incredible school with great resources and communication! We have been here for 2 years and love it. As many have stated, the principle Ms. Lowndes is amazing. The teachers here care so much about the development of the children in all areas. They are very responsive and seem to know every kid like the back of their hand. Very high paced and intensive curriculum especially in reading/writing/math. Our child absolutely looks forward to going to school everyday.

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

My kids have been in that school for the past sevan years. First of all the whole staff is wonderful but the most amazing one they have is the principle Mrs Lownes. She is so caring so friendly and the day that she really impreesed me was when a explosion happend and she came to the center to stay all evening to night and made sure that everyone was all right. She welcomes everyone with warm hugs and a loving smile. So I would definely reccomend going to Rock creek forest.

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: March 17, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

Posted: January 26, 2022

I could not imagine a better place for my kid to go. Being a Spanish immersion school, the staff and teachers are accepting of all kinds of students from very different backgrounds. They really try to make the school a special and accepting place for each child and it shows. My daughter has blossomed into a well rounded and smart little person in no small part to her time at RCF.

Posted: June 19, 2020

It took two reports for them to finally transfer a student with serious oppositional/defiant issues who was physically abusive. If we had board-certified behavior analysts working in MCPS, we could effectively address behavioral issues in home schools without having to transfer students to specialized programs.

Posted: June 19, 2020

Though the teachers who have the advanced math and reading are solid, general education teachers are extremely uneven from year to year. It's probably fine if your child is a strong self-advocate. Social dynamics are weird: the kids in the Spanish immersion program form one unit, and gen. ed. kids form another. I have chaperoned many field trips at a number of elementary schools over the years, and the RCF kids were by far the worst- behaved...embarrassingly-disrespectful to tour guides. The Autism Program is inexcusably bad. Teachers have no training in Applied Behavior Analysis and have only a vague understanding of some of the ABA terminology. No effective, systematic, measurable approach to functional communication, behavior interventions or social skills development. It looks like daycare at best. Leadership hasn't the foggiest notion about what goes on in the autism classrooms or what teaching and learning should look like in them.

Posted: June 19, 2020

In our experience, they trumpeted the unrealistic idea that everyone should be "friends." Better to teach that it's okay not to like everyone, but that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and should learn and work productively together at school. Social dynamics are weird: the kids in the Spanish immersion program form one unit, and gen. ed. kids form another. I have chaperoned many field trips at a number of elementary schools over the years, and the RCF kids were by far the worst-behaved...embarrassingly disrespectful to tour guides.

Posted: June 19, 2020

It took almost a year for administration to solve a huge safety problem for many of the special ed. students. They didn't even know where the special ed. kids were going on community-based instruction days. They also badly mishandled a bullying incident which we had reported. Only after a similar incident occurred a second time, did they transfer the offending student from RCF to a school with better "behavioral support."

Posted: June 19, 2020

They don't know how to educate students with autism, in spite of having an "Autism Program." They have irresponsibly co-opted terminology from applied behavior analysis without knowing how to put any of it into practice (no BCBA's, not assessment-driven, no systematic Functional Communication Training, no A-B-C data, and they don't even have a systematic approach to determining what a student finds reinforcing.) I saw heavy over-reliance on edible reinforcement...terrible for the teeth and sabotages meals for kids who struggle to eat nutritious food. They took a whimsical approach to community -based instruction (CBI) and for years did not even plan the outings in advance. Their unskilled approach made behaviors much worse. Home-school communication is super-spotty, and getting written daily reports is like pulling teeth, even when you have it in the IEP. But the absolute worst thing is that they don't know how to teach safety skills to autistic learners which help prevent elopement or bolting. They don't recognize these as life-threatening behaviors, and they maintain a cavalier attitude about it. I saw it first-hand too many times. They offer a program which pairs 5th grade gen. ed. students with an autistic buddy. Sadly, the teachers are so woefully untrained when it comes to autism that they cannot adequately prepare the 5th graders, and some of them received the occasional bite or scratch, because they didn't recognize non-vocal cues of the students with autism...who aren't being taught to communicate! There is less staff support during lunch and recess, so staff can't meet feeding challenges or facilitate social interaction on the playground. And if you want a special-needs parent support network, you'll likely have to build it yourself. If your IEP team recommends placement in the MCPS Autism Program, you're probably better off requesting a referral for "private placement at public expense." I saw nothing resembling a F.A.P.E. for autistic students at RCF.

Posted: June 19, 2020

I wish we had never sent our kids there. We have had vastly superior experiences at other schools.

Posted: June 19, 2020

It's fine...it's homework. One of the projects was super time-consuming, and I suspect most kids needed a good bit of parent support to complete it.

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

Posted: July 23, 2019

The principal and vice principal are incredible. My son is in the Spanish Immersion program and the teachers that he has been assigned have been fabulous. He has learned SO much! The parents and PTA are also very active. My only slight disappointment comes from their ultra PC stance. They don't celebrate any of the holidays for fear of excluding people. Valentines day is considered "Kindness Day", Halloween is strictly forbidden. Instead they have a "Fall Festival" and Christmas isn't even acknowledged. It's a very minor thing, I know. Overall, I'm pleased with the faculty and staff.

Posted: November 19, 2018

Posted: November 19, 2018

It was fabulous. As a sixth grader now I’m really glad to have gone there. The full Spanish immersion program is really helpful, and the spirit of the school in general is really great. It’s VERY accepting and open to students of every race, gender, sexuality, religion etc.

Posted: November 19, 2018

I really don’t know okay uh it’s gud

Posted: November 19, 2018

Posted: November 19, 2018

Posted: November 19, 2018

Posted: November 19, 2018

There is PEP and autism programs. The kids also aren’t completely separate! The fifth graders have the choice to spend time with them.

Posted: June 14, 2018

I never heard anything about bullying from my kid. I think teachers and principal deals with it very effectively.

Posted: June 14, 2018

yes they do. My kid is advanced in Math and English than his grade level. His teacher keeps him challenged so that he wont get bored easily. Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Morgan is really excellent in taking care of kids with learning differences,

Posted: June 14, 2018

School is really great and Principal Ms. Jennifer Lowndes is amazing. She is highly encouraging and knows every student name. You can always she her either interacting with students or with their parents. I never met such an amazing, great, caring and responsible principal. Teachers here are also great. Very kind and responsible. They take care of kids very well. My kid loves to go school. Not only principal and teachers staff at the front desk are also very good. They are very nice and answers your every question patiently.

Posted: June 14, 2018

Right amount of home work for kids

Posted: June 14, 2018

Teachers are very effective, responsible and carning

Posted: June 14, 2018

Teachers here make sure that Kids always follow integrity, compassion and respect. Its basically their theme. I like their approach.

Posted: June 14, 2018

Posted: April 16, 2018

I am unable to give an opinion but the principal seems to be very involved.

Posted: April 16, 2018

The principal is just amazing. Amazing. Always encouraging and present all the time. Promotes integration of programs, everyone is equal in the school. No distinction between Spanish and Academy programs.

Posted: April 16, 2018

Posted: April 16, 2018

Right amount of homework. Good balance with work in class.

Posted: April 16, 2018

Involved and caring. Always responsive and on top of kids needs

Posted: April 16, 2018

Posted: April 16, 2018

Our experience having joined later in 4th grade, has been outstanding.

Posted: December 1, 2016

They have a bullying form and take every incidence very seriously.

Posted: December 1, 2016

They have all the external support they need to guide these kids.

Posted: December 1, 2016

Teachers and staff believe in the values and vision of the principal.

Posted: December 1, 2016

One important step they take in developing integrity and compassion is by have special needs kids in regular classrooms and putting peers in charge of helping them. The kids are very proud of their role helping these children and people with disabilities are humanized and equalized from them. My son used to play with a little blind girl with half an arm because, according to him, she made up the best games.

Posted: November 30, 2016

They are well trained, invested and care about the kids at every developmental stage.

Posted: November 30, 2016

Some teachers are more lax about it than others. It's challenging but I think prepares kids well.

Posted: November 30, 2016

The principal and teachers are amazing! Our child is challenged and loves school.

Posted: April 13, 2015

The RCFES Team is amazing. Our child is in the 4th grade in the Spanish Immersion Program. The school's much needed renovation and implementation of Curriculum 2.0 has been a welcome improvement. The PTA, teachers, Principal, and staff have an excellent communication system, and work cooperatively with the parents that make the choice to be involved. Very loving and diverse environment that encourages rigorous academic achievement. As a second generation MCPS student we know our child (and other children) is in a wonderful learning environment.

Posted: July 7, 2014

RCF is our neighborhood school and has seen positive changes over the last 5 years. We have 3 kids and volunteer a lot - we have personally witnessed the transformation that is taking place. Our new principal has been a fabulous addition to our community. She connects with parents, children and staff in a way that makes everyone want the school to thrive. Our school has a strong, generous, loving community that exposes kids to many different cultures and opinions while instilling good values. Our older kids are at the middle/HS and I can honestly say they are ready for real world experiences, are able to think/work independently and appreciate the many people we live among. They have made friends from the other elem schools and are performing well in the highest level classes - so clearly their foundation was solid! Our community is filled with solid citizens and just nice people who go out of their way to make a difference. And coming January 2015 - a brand new building!! It is going to be fabulous!!!

Posted: April 10, 2014

Hello, I am a parent considering moving to the neighborhood from DC. We have a 1st grader at Lafayette, and we're very happy with the school, but we may be moving to MD for other reasons. I am wondering if there are any RCF parents by chance who may have had experience with Lafayette or another DC elementary school who can compare it to RCF. It would be very helpful. Thanks!

Posted: April 13, 2013

will be undergoing a much needed renovation in 2013-2015. I had 3 children go to this school and it was great. It has the Spanish immersion and a regular English education component. I would not hestiate to send my children here. The school is what the parent make it also. This school has very involved parents and staff.