Grassfield Elementary School

Posted: March 31, 2025

Posted: March 31, 2025

Posted: March 31, 2025

Posted: March 31, 2025

Posted: March 31, 2025

I do not recommend this school.
Everyone claims this is a great school but it is not. I have spoken to many other parents who also feel that the school does not have the students' best interests at heart and the administration would rather students be injured or embarrassed than be helped and show kindness.
The principal doesn't like young children behaving as children and the teachers are so overly focused on SPED students they ignore non-sped.
When students are injured by other students the victim is blamed.
Do not believe the 8/10 rating, it is heavily inaccurate to the reality of the school.

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Posted: December 29, 2024

Wish I had kind things to say but I don’t and I will explain why with the utmost integrity.
My daughter was sexually assaulted and nothing was done to protect her. There were repetitive signs leading up to this and no one intercepted or prevented anything. Parents have no voice nor does your child, unless they’re the bully
There was zero communication from the school. When we approached the school for further discussion immediately following the incident, they avoided accountability and was told by the counselor, in a private setting, that they told my daughter not to tell her parents.
How is this happening in a school where anti-bullying is their slogan?
After our daughter told us what happened (wished I could say this was the only incident) the boy returned the next day and punched her for telling on him.
Are there some teachers who do wonderful things for your child? Sure. But they’re being drowned out by the teachers who have zero interest in helping your child succeed and grow. Instead, they complain in front of children and make good children feel like a problem.
We have experienced a plethora of issues stemming from harassment, bad bus drivers to physical and emotional assault.
I can assure you more parents will start speaking up about this school.
Ratings shouldn’t be based on diversity and equity. Moreso, who and how is your child being supported and educated.
We relocated out of state and it’s repulsive how the Grassfield school district conducts themselves.
Your child’s foundation starts at home and shouldn’t be destroyed by the school they start their education in.

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Posted: July 13, 2024

Our kids went here a couple of years ago. The older ones got through but our youngest did not. We ended up pulling her from the school and having her transferred. There was a male administrator at the time. He was impossible to work with and always made our kids uncomfortable. it was not a positive experience at this school.

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

This school is a joke. We moved to Virginia Beach from another state and everyone told us we needed to be in the Grassfield school district, specifically the elementary school. We don't like anything about this school or the district. The only reason I gave it 1 star is being she has had a decent teacher the last 2 years. . When we first moved to Chesapeake and my daughter started going here she was very upset and going through some things mentally. She asked the guidance counselors for help multiple times, we asked them for help multiple times. We were always promised she would be seen and taken care of and she was ghosted every single time. When she finally did see the guidance counselor she was told she needed to stop crying because she was going to send a bad message to all the other kids. We had an issue with one of the teachers at first and requested a transfer and again we were ghosted by the vice principle multiple times and was only able to talk to him when we called over and over again . The principal has zero presence in this school. We have been here 2 years and I have never seen the principal, EVER. . They run their lunch room like a prison. I have been there multiple times to have lunch with my daughter and every time I have been there they have someone in the lunch room yelling at kids for talking and handing out "silent lunches" They rarely have any family functions at the school . Her previous schools would have family nights, seasonal parties and carnivals. This school offers absolutely nothing. When they do have the occasional holiday party you're only allowed one family member.
I never recommend this school to anyone and if you have other options, I would consider those. Plus the tardy policy is absolutely ridiculous . They make you feel like you're breaking the law for wanting to take your children out early or keeping them home for sick or mental health days.

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

Posted: July 2, 2023

was a student at this school, they say “they won’t tolerate bullying or assaults” but yet so much bullying and i was assaulted and they did nothing about it.

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: April 10, 2023

My son attended 3 years at this school. He had to transfer out of this 4th grade class 3 weeks before the end of the year. Teacher was a bully. She left my son unattended for 1hour 10 mins in the hall. Lucky for the school he didn’t walk home on his own. I reported this after they view the video and they offered an apology and a change of class.
Even after he transferred to another class she went out of her way to continue to bully him until I demanded her to not have contact with my son.

Posted: April 10, 2023

Posted: August 1, 2019

Posted: August 1, 2019

The school we were at before this had horrible ratings and it was the best school ever. Every single person at the school wanted to be there and truly loved all the kids. We were looking forward to Grassfield since it had such good ratings but we were just disappointed over and over again. From the teachers to the principal our entire experience was disappointing, to say the least. We should have stayed in our old neighborhood.

Posted: August 1, 2019

Too much homework considering how much time the kids spend at school. Just more busy work to do at home.

Posted: August 1, 2019

Considering my child was stuck with a horrible teacher almost all day every day I would say no. She came home miserable every day and I don't even blame her.

Posted: October 4, 2018

Posted: October 4, 2018

I love this school and all the staff.

Posted: October 4, 2018

Posted: October 4, 2018

Posted: October 4, 2018

They make sure everyone is respectful. The teachers are wonderful.

Posted: October 4, 2018

Dr Pinella and Mrs Settles really care about the school and kids. They cut the grass and fixed the morning drop off disaster. They should send newsletters to parents asking to review them on this site.

Posted: October 4, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

Posted: July 27, 2018

We’ve enjoyed our son’s 4 years at Grassfield.

Posted: February 8, 2016

A great community of teachers and parents. We have enjoyed our time at Grassfield Elementary.

Posted: November 30, 2015

Grassfield has a good reputation; however, I must admit I am not very impressed with this school. The classes are too full; for example, they have five 1st grade classes and between 28-30 children per class. With one teacher and one teachers assistant its not very hard for your child to get lost with this ratio. I recommend working with your child at home, since some of these teachers do not have the patience or resources to truly be effective. According to this website they are rated a 7 out of 10 with over 900 children enrolled...that is a ridiculously high number for an elementary school. The teachers mean well but come off frustrated and overworked. They should consider allowing children that are zoned for this school to go to other schools to ensure a good workload for the teachers. I look forward to moving and sending my child to another school for a lower class ratio and a more personable experience. The YMCA after school program is really impressive and my child prefers going there than being in a large classroom with minimal supervision coupled with overworked, highly frustrated teachers. Keep in mind other then this review...its been 3 years since they had any review.

Posted: November 29, 2015

Posted: November 29, 2015

Posted: November 29, 2015

Due to the high ratio of children to teachers... There doesn't seem to be much patience for children that doesn't have an IEP attached to them.

Posted: October 24, 2012

I throughly enjoyed being a parent of a student who attended Grassfield Elm. while Mr. Ruben was principal. He raised the bar very high for outstanding leadership, genuine compassion and caring for each and EVERY student, and going out of his way to make school a place the kids WANTED to be. The teachers are good and some are excellent. I feel my child is very well rounded and has been given unique oportunities at GFE such as Gator Clubs at enrich after school learning and create fellowship among the students. The talent show and dance are those extra special events that make GFE more then "just" a public school, it makes it special, different, unique and desirable. The new principal has ALOT to live up to and he will have to work hard to keep up the positive, upbeat atmosphere at Mr. Rubin created. GFE is a wonderful school, not because of the neighborhood or district it is in...but because of the dedicated teachers, and the support of a SUPERB principal who knew how to make things work and flow very well. He set a benchmark that other schools should use as a guide for achieving success. When a man knows every child name by heart, it speaks volumes. GFE, a school with character!

Posted: April 7, 2012

GFE has been a great experience for us. Like others have stated there are some not so great teachers but I think you'll find that in ANY school in ANY district. We've had an overall great experience and definitely recommend this school to anyone looking to take their children here.

Posted: January 15, 2011

First let me say that I love the principal at Grassfield. It is a very tough job but he knows every child by name and most parents too. He is very approachable and willing to work with parents if there are issues that need dealing with. In terms of teachers it has been pretty good. My kids have had some wonderful teachers and one real stinker. The PTA is very active and there are plenty of fun family activities to be involved in. I am glad my children attend this school and would recommend it to other parents.