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Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary

Arlington, VA 22206

Phone: (703) 228-5825
District: Arlington County Public Schools

School Review
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GreatSchools Rating

public • Grades PK,KG,1,2,3,4,5 • 417 students

Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary, a public school located in Arlington, VA, serves grades PK-5 in the Arlington County Public Schools.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 3 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.

Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary is a public school located in Arlington, VA. 417 students attend Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary.

School Ratings

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	2/10	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 Virginia Standards of Learning data from Virginia Department of Education, and using 2025 Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) End-of-Course data from Virginia Department of Education.
Student Growth	3/10	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 data from Virginia Department of Education.

Worrisome patterns of chronic student absenteeism have been identified.

Posted: February 11, 2026

My daughter attended Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School during the year 2025. In general, we believe Arlington Public Schools are good, and we wanted this school to be a positive experience for our child. Unfortunately, we had a serious incident that changed our trust in the school.
One day, our daughter came home with a large bruise on her face. We immediately reached out to the school to understand what happened. We asked teachers, staff, and even met with the principal. The only answer we received was that they didnt know what happened.
We understand that accidents can happen and that sometimes kids might accidentally hit each other. If the school had given us a clear explanation or at least some information, we would have understood. What concerned us most was the lack of communication and the fact that no one could tell us how a child was injured so noticeably while in their care.
Because we werent able to get a clear answer, we made the decision to move our daughter to another school. We still believe Arlington Public Schools overall are good, but our personal experience at Drew left us feeling unsure about the supervision and communication regarding student safety.

Posted: November 19, 2025

Good early childhood program at this school if youre looking for small class size, teachers have all been very professional and good communication so far no complaints this 2025-2026 this school year.

Posted: February 8, 2025

I am a current parent of PreK, K and 1st Grade students at Drew Elementary. I am thankful to have Drew Elementary as our neighborhood school. Drew Elementary provides a welcoming, safe, supportive and encouraging community. The schools Academic Information night event for parents provided in-depth sessions on learning strategies and support. The school and PTA organize fun events including a Back to School Festival, Read-a-Thon, Garden Days, Love is a Language Dance, Winter Showcase and more. The PTA is welcoming and makes meetings easy to attend by providing childcare, pizza and recently added a virtual option. Principal Gaither, the teachers, assistants, Encore (specials) teachers, librarian, library assistant, and literacy coach are excellent. My children have never experienced bullying at Drew Elementary. I am thankful for the kind, collaborative environment that the school nurtures. The school has an excellent reading program. I also love the schools focus on building students confidence. Thank you Drew Elementary for your commitment to students and families.

Posted: May 1, 2024

Drew Elementary has been through an incredibly challenging 5 year period, but it is a school where I would encourage my neighbors to send their kids. Following a contentious boundary realignment by the school district in 2018, the school community was just beginning to form during the 2019-2020 school year when covid upended education. The 2022-2023 school year was the first "normal" year for most of our students, where the administration, teachers, students, and families re-established routines. The teaching staff and administration have stabilized, the PTA is rebounding, and traditions feel normal again. The 4th and 5th grade choir is back to winning competitions. The band and orchestra concerts are standing-room only. We have more students on rec sports teams than before. The annual Multi-Cultural Night and end of year celebrations (including Drew Day and the Peace Walk) are supported by the community and neighborhood. New playgrounds were installed in spring 2024. 30+ languages are spoken by our families, which represent a cross-section of the world and enrich our students' experience in a way the test scores don't reflect.

Posted: March 27, 2022

Facilities are nice, some teachers great but many not experienced enough. Lack of consistency in communication, lack of holistic approach in assessing kids performance, and poor communication with parents on kids performance. Lack of use seesaw application. School seems to have improved but still has a long way to go. Need more TAs , perhaps better pay and incentives to recruit better experienced teachers, and administrators- or better pay and performance based incentives.

Posted: March 27, 2022

Posted: October 12, 2021

Drew has completely transformed, and reviews from before 2020 no longer apply. All children get to use the "Dragon Den" STEAM center to learn coding, even in kindergarden! The teachers are very experienced, and the small class sizes are wonderful. It remains to be seen how the test scores shake out post-pandemic, but now that the montessori program has gone and the school boundaries have been adjusted, Drew is a fantastic neighborhood school with wonderful teachers and great leadership.

Posted: October 15, 2019

Drew is undergoing a big transformation this year. Previously there were two programs housed in the same building. There was a significant boundary change among south Arlington schools that just went into effect, and this year is the first time the school is one united community. There is a fantastic principal, small class sizes, and wonderful teachers. Our 2 sons love going to school everyday! I can't speak to the reviews from years ago, but there is a new energy at Drew that is awesome.

Posted: October 15, 2019

Posted: October 7, 2017

My children have been at Drew for 6 years, in the Montessori program. We have had a very good experience - they have learned the necessary grade material (as measured by the standardized test), but more importantly, have developed a strong love of learning and sense of community and responsibility. I'm not sure what the negative reviews are based on, but I would caution that any review that is more than 1-2 years old is out of date, due to leadership changes at the school.

Posted: July 10, 2017

I have nieces and nephews that have attended 1 of several of Arlington County elementary schools. Drew by far is the worst. If you didn't know any better, you would not think it was in the same county school system. The approach that the teachers and staff have with the students is very dismissive and demeaning. It feels as if they stereotype and lump all the kids because they assume that just because you may come from a low income family you are unable to listen and learn. I could go on and on. I wish there were some way to get them into another school.

Posted: October 25, 2016

This is my children's second year at Drew. In their first year, my son was in the traditional Drew program and my daughter in the 3yr old Montessori. Let me start by telling you that I am beyond thankful to my sons PreK teacher Ms.Judy (traditional program), she would go above and beyond for all her students. She was firm but also loving and caring. She had an amazing sense of humor and you can tell she loves her job and tries her hardest to help her students. I am super greatful for all the help and support she gave my son while he was in her class. Going over to the Montessori side, I was also very happy with the teachers that my daughter had for Montessori. She loved going to class and she learned a lot as well. Unfortunately her teachers retired this year (Ms.Oakes) but the new teacher that was hired in her place is also an amazing teacher. Drew model school is the best choice I could of chosen for my kids. All the staff and teachers show a sense of love and care for all students. Everyone seems very happy and I have not seen any bullying and mind you I am very sensitive when It comes to bullying. If you are considering to enroll your child in Drew please give it a chance. You will see for yourself it is an amazing school :)

Posted: May 3, 2015

People should be aware that greatschools.org merges the regular Drew Model with the Drew Montessori school. Therefore, the test scores are inflated, the demographics are completely inaccurate, etc. Drew Model, you should insist that you publish your own test scores and demographics so people can really see what is happening in your school.

Posted: April 12, 2015

I have been at Drew for 2 full years and my twins couldn't be happier. They are in the Montessori program. The entire school community has been wonderful. My 5 years are getting Spanish, Art, Music, PE, and Library at least once a week,

Posted: August 7, 2014

Both of my children will be at Drew in the Fall. We are beyond thrilled with our daughters teacher. She has been an inspiration and has instilled a love of learning in our daughter that we never knew was possible. We are above the moon that our younger child will be with our daughter's teacher in the Fall. Our daughter feels safe in her classroom, loves school and even jokes at home pretending to says some words with a New York accent like her teacher. We look forward to many years to come.

Posted: April 22, 2013

Drew has alot of issues that they are working through. Compared to other Arlington schools, I think it is well below average. Just this year I know of at least 5 parents who have pulled their student out of the Montessori program at Drew because of issues relating to bullying and the qualtity of instruction. I know of at least 3 others that might do the same. There is a disconnect between the philosophy of Maria Montessori and the actual practice at Drew. The principal is well aware and is trying to address the issue of rudeness from some of the teaching and office staff towards the children. Multiple parents have complained about this. There have not been any going outs in the 4 years my child has been at that school (despite that it was in a promo video of theirs), and most of the Montessori students eat in the crowded loud cafeteria, not the classrooms due to a previous mouse problem and the teachers preference. There is a lack of community and the PTA struggles. Their budget is way below other N. Arlington schools. There are great Montessori teachers at Drew but some really bad ones too. I love Montessori but think Drew doesn't deliver.

Reviews provided by GreatSchools^™

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Twenty400	Apartment Complex	Arlington	VA	0.4 mi
2	Shirlington	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Arlington	VA	0.5 mi
3	Beverly Hills	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	1.3 mi
4	Reserve at Potomac Yard	Apartment Complex	Alexandria	VA	1.9 mi
5	Henry	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	3.2 mi
6	Burgundy Woods	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	3.5 mi
7	Rivergate	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	3.5 mi
8	Cameron Station	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	3.6 mi
9	Midtown Alexandria Station	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	3.6 mi
10	Leeway Overlee - N Arlington	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Arlington	VA	3.8 mi
11	Fords Landing	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	4.4 mi
12	Wilton Woods	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria	VA	4.5 mi
13	The VIO	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Washington SW	DC	4.8 mi
14	Falls Church City	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Falls Church	VA	5 mi
15	Belle View	Condominium/Townhouse	Alexandria	VA	5.4 mi
16	Hayfield Farms	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Alexandria/Kingstowne	VA	5.9 mi
17	Broyhill Crest	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Annandale	VA	6.1 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Pentagon City	Arlington	VA	1.2 mi
2	Old Town Alexandria	Alexandria	VA	3.2 mi
3	Arlington	Arlington	VA	4.6 mi
4	Georgetown	Washington	DC	4.6 mi
5	Washington DC	Washington D.C.	DC	4.7 mi
6	Capitol Hill	Washington	DC	5.4 mi
7	National Harbor	Fort Washington	MD	5.8 mi
8	Annandale	Annandale	VA	6 mi

Base	Distance
Henderson Hall	1.6 mi.
Mark Center Alexandria	2 mi.
Pentagon	2.3 mi.
Fort Myer	2.3 mi.
Bolling AFB Joint Base Anacostia	3.8 mi.
Fort McNair	4 mi.
Coast Guard Headquarters DC	4.1 mi.
Washington Navy Yard	5.1 mi.
Marine Barracks Washington	5.4 mi.
Defense Health Headquarters Falls Church	6.7 mi.
Fort Belvoir	10.1 mi.
Walter Reed Medical Center	10.6 mi.
Andrews AFB	11.1 mi.
Indian Head Naval Base	18.6 mi.
NRO Chantilly	19.7 mi.
Fort Meade NSA	25.3 mi.
Quantico Marine Base	29.2 mi.
US Naval Academy	33.5 mi.
Annapolis Naval Station	34.5 mi.
Dahlgren NSWC	35 mi.
Coast Guard Curtis Bay	36.9 mi.
Fort Detrick	44.7 mi.

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Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary

Arlington, VA 22206

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