Hidenwood Elementary School

Posted: February 17, 2024

1 Star , 2 at best. The 5th grade classes are are total chaos.(Not much the teacher can do) 2024 , Hidenwood Elementary is not representative of the area. I'm not sure where these kids are bused in from..The Hidenwood neighborhood I'm at is nothing like the school demographics, hence, the school has been chaos since I was there 2008 until 2024.

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: February 17, 2024

Posted: July 9, 2020

I have 2 children in the school right now. My youngest is average, she does not have any significant learning issues. However, my oldest has has been struggling with reading since Kindergarten, now in 3rd. I spent 2 years in meeting every few months trying to get them to test her. They refused. They just kept saying that I was failing as a parent and that she just needed to practice more. She was excelling in every other subject, to the point of being above grade level in some. The Vice Principal at one of those meetings, once again, told me that I was failing as a parent and she just needed more practice and the solution to her falling behind in reading would be to hold her back a year and not do any testing (I refused to hold her back because she was at grade level or higher on all her other subjects so holding her back would create boredom and a new host of problems because of it). She also, told me that I needed to be my child's advocate (she obviously wasn't going to based on her actions) and that she was not going to do anything to help her besides call me a bad mother, tell me she "just needs to be submerged in reading". she basically wanted me to mentally exhaust my child (and me) over reading. We scheduled the next meeting at the end of that meeting, the Vice Principal made the appointment in front of me and directly handed me the reminder letter. I went to the school on the day and time on the reminder, that the Vice Principal gave me, just be told that I was not on the schedule and I should not be there. They would not look at the reminder letter I had in hand and told me I needed to leave. I had to go to the School Board and have them call for me to be able to have that meeting. The next meeting after that, I would not allow the Vice Principal in the meeting (or any meeting thereafter) and I finally got the approval needed to get the testing done. But they still would not help her because her IQ tests results were too high (high end of average), even though she met the criteria on all the rest of the issues.

Posted: July 9, 2020

Posted: July 9, 2020

They try to communicate with the parents which is appreciated but most don't actually do anything to fix a problem.

Posted: July 9, 2020

Posted: July 9, 2020

They give excuses, try and take you in circles without actually giving answers. And will straight up tell you that they will not do anything to help your child.

Posted: July 9, 2020

They do everything in their power to do as little as possible to help children with learning differences.

Posted: July 9, 2020

My children were coming home telling me kids were being mean to them at school. I would talk to the teachers and they would give excuses for not being able to do anything if it happened at recess and the student was in a different class or say they don't see it happening so it must not actually be going on.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Communicated well rather it be positive or negative with suggestions to better my child.

Posted: September 6, 2018

They push this as well as no bulling.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Worked well with me when done attendance issues arised from our family vacation.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Yes I have seen classes with special needs and spoke to the teachers.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Zero tolerance is allowed at this school.

Posted: September 6, 2018

10 out of a 10 for this school.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Very structured. Homework was given for 95% of the school year keeping my child engaged.

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

Posted: September 14, 2016

My daughter started at Hidenwood this year (2015). So far, her teacher has been amazing and the staff is very welcoming. On the contrary, when speaking to the principal regarding an issue with my child, she did not portray interpersonal skills. In fact, her tone was somewhat aggressive, she attempted to be argumentative and was overall unprofessional.

Posted: April 21, 2014

I love this school . My son is in the third grade and I've had nothing but good experiences. The teachers are involved the principal as well. They work with the kids and they are truly committed to helping them excel in learning. His teachers make sure that I'm aware of everything that goes on with him and they go above and beyond and it's truly appreciated. I would definitely recommend this school.

Posted: October 6, 2013

Hidenwood is a great place! Love our daughter's teacher and the resource teachers are awesome! New PTA this year is much more involved and active. Go Huskies!!

Posted: October 5, 2013

I am a parent of a kindergartner this year 2013, and was very anxious to send my child to our neighborhood school because I had heard and read negative things about the school online. My experience has been the complete opposite of everything I've heard. The teachers and staff are warm, welcoming, and deeply committed to creating a strong learning community. The student body is diverse, representing a wide cross-section of the families who live and work in Newport News. The principal and assistant principal mr. Hochman and Mrs. Smith are dynamic, involved, and motivating. This school is a neighborhood gem!!!

Posted: October 5, 2013

Hidenwood is a really great school. One of the things we love best about Hidenwood is that it feels like a place where everyone knows who you are. The staff and teachers are all wonderful and are really invested in the kids' success. Great school- no idea why the ratings on here are so low! Part of the challenge in the Newport News school system is that kids are still bused in from parts of the city that are relatively far away from the school itself. The Parent Involvement team is really active in getting all parents involved. We love Hidenwood!

Posted: August 9, 2013

My daughter attended HIdenwood for the 2012/2013 school year as a kindergartner in Mrs. Powell's class and I was thrilled with her whole experience..Mrs. powell and the wonderful principal Mr. Hochman both called me personally on seperate occasions if there was good news (improved reading test scores for my daughter)or concerns (my daughter did have a rough day which landed her talking to Mr. Hochman about correct behavior,which I appreciated)the staff at the school is always kind and friendly and the children for the most part all look well behaved in hallways,cafeteria,etc there were plenty of opportunities for parents to participate in activities as well..I should add my daughter did not attend any preschool and was nervous about starting school but she loved her first year at Hidenwood,can't say enough good things.

Posted: July 6, 2013

This school continues to improve under strong leadership. I notice people don't post comments on here very often and some of the reviews are very old. The school continues to stress rigorous expectations for all students and encourage parent involvement. The atmosphere is welcoming and the staff collaborative.

Posted: April 15, 2012

We're big fans of Hidenwood and enjoy the attention our daughter is getting from her teachers, particular Ms. McNichols is very nice.

Posted: January 5, 2008