Providence Elementary School

Posted: February 19, 2026

Worst school your child may enter, worst.

Posted: February 19, 2026

Posted: February 19, 2026

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Posted: May 24, 2024

We have been very happy with my son's experience at PES. We had an excellent Kindergarten teacher and IA. The principal Mr. Phillips is great. The school has an active PTA and puts on several great family events throughout the year. My daughter also loved all the specials. The School has a beautiful library and a really neat courtyard in the center of the school.
I highly recommend PES. PES is one of the finest elementary school located in center of fairfax city. We are very happy with my son's experience in kindergarten class of 2023/2024. Kintergarten teacher Miss Kim and miss chunk are excellent teachers and very kind. My son also loved all activities and school environment, my son was more happy to go school than staying home even he feeling sick. ThevPrincipal Mr Prat is great.
Thank you PES family.

Posted: May 24, 2024

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Posted: December 17, 2022

Its a bad school because my son had flee and that traumatized him

Posted: December 17, 2022

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Posted: May 14, 2022

Terrible school, they don’t deal with bullying specially with special needs kids.
Office are not welcoming.
Discriminating kids with disability and against race.
I do not recommend sending your kids there. My son was traumatized and we had to pull him off.

Posted: May 14, 2022

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Posted: July 12, 2019

Our Kindergarten teacher was wonderful. My daughter learned so much and absolutely loved school.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Yes. They have age appropriate lessons in being good citizens. There is a community work day at the school.

Posted: July 12, 2019

The Principal is great and very involved in the school and community.

Posted: July 12, 2019

I don't have experience in this area.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Posted: July 12, 2019

I have been very pleased with my daughters experience at PES. We had an excellent Kindergarten teacher and IA. The principal Mr. Phillips is great. The school has an active PTA and puts on several great family events throughout the year. My daughter also loved all the specials. The School has a beautiful library and a really neat courtyard in the center of the school.

Posted: July 12, 2019

Kindergartners did one family project a month, very small project that was a part of a bulletin board. They also asked that we regularly read to our child. We did not need to keep a log. Education research shows that young children shouldn't have a lot of homework.

Posted: January 15, 2019

Very high. Everyone treats one another with respect and my son has had a great experience so far.

Posted: January 15, 2019

Teachers expect students to use their agendas and homework is given at the teachers discretion. The workload is steady and consistent.

Posted: January 15, 2019

All of my interactions with teachers have been professional, honest, meaningful and constructive

Posted: January 15, 2019

The schools Motto is choose kindness and students are very receptive to this message.

Posted: January 15, 2019

The schools office administration and teachers are welcoming each time I visit the school.

Posted: January 15, 2019

My 6th grader has an IEP and each time I have visited with his teachers we have been able to discuss ways that his learning needs are being met and the progress that he is making towards his learning goals.

Posted: January 15, 2019

I have not heard anything in regards to the topic at PES.

Posted: January 3, 2019

Terrible school. Has no structure whatsoever. They don't check homework or return it on time. Not sure what the 5 star reviews are about. Don't be fooled by them. The test scores are a good indicator of whats going on here.

Posted: January 3, 2019

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Posted: September 17, 2018

Great school teachers students everything location neighbors

Posted: September 17, 2018

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Posted: June 10, 2018

My son was borderline with reading and they made sure that they got him into the extra help program in kindergarten so that it would not be an issue in higher grade levels and thus hurt his school experience, he has since tested out of need and now helps those who need

Posted: June 10, 2018

The work very hard with problem children to make sure they don't get lost in the endless circle of disciplinary actions, there are some children that sadly can not be helped out of such a cycle but I have noticed that those kids are sadly the ones who's parents left it all to the school

Posted: June 10, 2018

Posted: June 10, 2018

Posted: June 10, 2018

I believe their hands are tied due to parents filing complaints when they assume their child is a saint and nobody has the right to discipline them. I have even seen the ACLU get involved and make non-racial incidences more than what they are, sadly hurting the very children they pretend to be helping

Posted: June 10, 2018

Both of my 2 older kids have been there since K, now rising 5th and 6th graders, I am happy to say I will without any hesitation send my 3rd when he is old enough. Staff and admin who really care

Posted: June 10, 2018

Each teacher holds it under discretion, if they feel the class as a whole is capturing the ideas then the homework is held back, and handed out when harder topics need extra work

Posted: February 17, 2018

Providence Elementary is an excellent elementary school . The low rating great schools has derived for this school is very surprising. We have found Providence very much caters to student learning and adjusts to meet their need and challenge them. The also have an award winning Stem lab that all classes attend at various points during the year. And, the offer Foreign Language in Elementary Schools, teaching Mandarin to all students starting in kindergarten as one of their "specials" multiple times a week. I do think the rating is lowered by the fact that FCPS utilizes "centers" as part of its advanced academic program, so starting in 3rd grade students classified as "advanced" switch to a different elementary school in the area, so the average test scores for this school unfortunately do not take into account scores for those students, while schools that are centers then have a disproportionate number of "advanced" students scores factored into the rating. Our son is in his third year at PES and we are very happy with the overall "feel" of the school, its teachers and administration!

Posted: February 17, 2018

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Posted: January 20, 2018

Posted: January 20, 2018

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Posted: January 20, 2018

Posted: January 20, 2018

We’s sad to have experienced a number of bullying issues with the students so early in our kindergarten and 1st grade experiences. While the teacher and counselor effectively have partnered with us to handle it, it shouldn’t have haptic the first place and so frequently.

Posted: March 8, 2017

My daughter loves this school so much. She speaks our language at home. She did not know English much but after K she was able to read books. At 1st grade, her reading level is at equivalent to a 2nd grader. I am very happy that the school can help her that much.
I could not understand why the school has a very low rating. The principal is very nice. The school is new, big. We really love the school. The school does have an advance program for kids being talented. it has reading math groups for kids at every level.

Posted: March 8, 2017

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Posted: January 5, 2017

Don't look at the rating, it's misleading. Part of the rating if not all is derived from academic achievement testing results. Providence allows their top tier students to attend an alternative school (Mosby Woods Elem) in order to receive specialized instruction. Obviously, this lowers the overall academic scores of Providence by removing the top scoring students.
Also, Schools within the city get what I call double funding. Providence is ran by FCPS. Fairfax County Public Schools offer funding to meet each school's needs. However, if Mr Phillips asks for more money to hire another teacher in order to reduce class size, FCPS may have to deny that request based on lack of funds. Mr Phillips then petitions the city for the money. The city is able the fund requests that have to be denied by the county, and we all know more money being allocated to our children is definitely a plus.
Believe me, your child will receive great instruction and an overall great education from Prividence.

Posted: April 5, 2016

We love PES! Mr. Kraft, the principal, is very caring and works very hard to make PES great. Assistant principal Mr. Phillips is equally great. Our son had an amazing kindergarten teacher and we love his first grade teacher now just as much. We can't wait for our youngest to start kindergarten in the fall! The PTA is very active and hosts tons of activities/events for the kids and overall I find the parents of my son's peers/friends to be very involved. Field trip parent attendance is great, and my son often has a parent involved in some way or another each week. All the administrative staff we've encountered has been great as well. My son missed 2 days of school during his kindergarten year for illnesses and this was during the second to last week of school in June. So far in first grade, he hasn't missed a single day due to illness. The custodial staff keeps the school very clean and we're not aware of any issues resulting in repeated illnesses, as one parent posted a few years ago. We really don't have a single complaint about the school. We feel extremely lucky to have purchased in our neighborhood without knowing a lot about the school itself, outside of FCPS being a great district.

Posted: January 21, 2015

I go here and it is awesome!!!!! #2015 6th Grade!!!!!! hello and here are the rest of my fifteen or more words.

Posted: September 17, 2014

The school is awesome, great staff , the teacher are so helpful , my son takes classes in special education and general , booths are great. I don't have complaint at all, my kids loves the teacher and the school.

Posted: July 2, 2014

PES has proven to be a blessing. The administration, teachers, and parents are all extremely involved as a team to ensure their students success. No complaints at all!

Posted: July 2, 2014

I have lots of positive comments, that can be shared by other reviewers. PES is a fantastic school as it challenges the students daily, and works well to encourage parents involvement.

Posted: January 21, 2014

We are extremely fond of the teachers here. Many of the positives have already been listed out. Highly recommend!!

Posted: January 21, 2014

I've found the academics and social aspects of this school to have a very fair balance to keep kids motivated and craving to learn.

Posted: October 9, 2013

This is also my daughters first year at Providence, and let me tell you it has change our lives! We love this school in any aspect, teachers and staff are the most nicest people can meet. Last year we had a terrible time at Braddock in Annandale, this year my daughter is so happy that she doesn't want to come home! Most of all, she calles her teacher "a pretty angel" and she is loving the learning time and loves her friends. They are great with children with disabilites, they really do care for the walfere of our children! I hope to have many more years of peace of mind. And to watch my child to go to school happy, and ready to learn.

Posted: February 21, 2013

Providence Elementary is a fantastic school. The principal is an excellent leader and is truly passionate about the school. Every teacher we have had so far has been excellent. My children love school, have been challenged at their academic level and have made great friends.

Posted: February 20, 2013

This is my son's first year at Providence, and he is having a terrific experience. His teacher is a lovely person, first and foremost, and she finds new ways to challenge him every week. He has made great friends, and the kids seem to be respectful and happy. The PTA sponsors fun family events, and parents seem to be very involved. We love Providence so far, and have nothing but good things to say about the principal. He has been available several times when we needed to talk, and my son tells me that he visits his classes all the time. For what it is worth, my kid hasn't had a day out of school for illness all year.

Posted: February 19, 2013

Worst school ever!!! We will be done with PES after Kindergarten. Our teacher was good this year, but the administration is abysmal at best. Our child had bronchitis, strep, lice and every cold virus you could possibly get in a two month period at this place and by the end of the 1st semester we were being harassed over absences. Get a clue folks, if you force sick kids to come to school then EVERYONE gets sick. This has cost me a ton of lost time at work and worst , our child now hates school because she is miserably sick on an almost daily basis. If you can afford it, check out one of the wonderful private or parochial schools in the area. That's what we'll be doing next year.