Countryside Elementary School

Posted: February 18, 2026

Extremely scary environment with the employees they hire

Posted: February 18, 2026

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Posted: June 26, 2023

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Posted: June 26, 2023

I used to go to this school, It was extremely terrible, I started when I was in 4th grade and my teacher was extremely mean and not helpful, I once sprained my ankle during recess and I wasnt allowed to go the nurses office. A couple days later I had to go the doctor because it got worse. I ended up having to switch classes that year. Next year in 5th grade all the teachers were gone. It took forever for my family and me to convince the school they needed to go. In 5th grade it was OKAY, we did have a lot of homework though. I got bullied a lot there too and im so happy to be out of there, I would never go back to that place. Dont even get me started on the cleanlines of the bathrooms and water fountains there....

Posted: September 4, 2020

One star? Based on my interactions with teachers and other staff members and my observation on their behavior, many lack humility and I get the strong impression they are there just for the pay and the good benefits they get (paid vacation and the like). AH, ah, this applies to the entire LCPS District. STOP CANCELLING CLASSES JUST BECAUSE THERE IS A 1% CHANGE OF A LESSTHAN 1 INCH OF SNOW FALL IN WINTER! Good thing kids won't loose so many days of learning due to the county closing school for the slightest thing.

Posted: September 4, 2020

Some times they leave homework, some times they don't. They do not review it the next day or do actual follow-ups with students from what I have gathered.

Posted: September 4, 2020

Effectiveness comes from children learning meaningful things/content. I am appalled to see how many stupid projects our kids are sent home with to do which basically we parents end up doing for the most part.

Posted: September 4, 2020

Integrity, I give them the benefit of the doubt; compassion, ok yes; respect, not so sure about this one. I have witnessed how teachers want to 'teach' respect to the students... by calling parents for every little stupid things kids may do.

Posted: September 4, 2020

If most teachers are not good, then Leadership is not good either. As simple as that. Rudnick needs to handle things differently and worry more about kids learning rather than on social events like book sales, and other activities that teach nothing to our kids.

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Posted: May 23, 2020

Our 2 kids went to school. It has nice teachers and seems like a well organized staff.

Posted: May 23, 2020

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Posted: August 15, 2019

I really liked one of my children’s teachers, the others were ok. Not bad, but not amazing either. The pta works really hard to put on some good events. The playground needs some serious help. There is so little play equipment. Recess outside is cancelled on a whim, and then the kids are allowed to watch YouTube their entire recess time inside. The principal is awful.

Posted: August 15, 2019

Posted: August 15, 2019

Posted: August 15, 2019

Posted: August 15, 2019

Mr Rudnick is terrible. We had a couple issues come up last year that required principal intervention and he handled them all so poorly. At school events, he speaks to know one but the other staff at the school. It’s very telling that most of the teachers at this school don’t last very long. There is such a high teacher turnover.

Posted: August 15, 2019

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Posted: May 28, 2019

Where shall I start........complete failure on all levels. The arrogant and "we are all perfect" attitude does not help. They need to understand who pays their salaries and who they actually report to. It's not who they think.

Posted: May 28, 2019

Posted: May 28, 2019

Posted: May 28, 2019

Highly negative. The faculty needs to be desperately replaced as do most of the 5th Grade teachers. It's a shame really because there are good teachers at this school who get dragged down into the gutter because of the attitude of the leadership.

Posted: May 28, 2019

Posted: May 28, 2019

5th Grade teaching is just horrible. I will not name names, but the assigned teacher this year was quite frankly a bully. She screamed often, made non-stop threats and seemed to be mentally and emotionally unstable. She does not belong in a school. She belongs in a prison as a prison warden. I've also noted other complaints from parents about other 5th Grade teachers. Clearly there is a problem with this grade.

Posted: May 28, 2019

It starts by example. There is much progress to be made here.

Posted: July 26, 2018

Teachers are overwhelmed and under qualified - they always have an excuse why students are under performing and try to place blame on the parents. The teachers think the parents should be full time teachers, although we did not go to college to be educators. The AP and Dean are very nice and caring, but the Principal leaves something to be desired. Check out all the other elementary schools in the area, they are leaps and bounds ahead of Countryside.

Posted: March 5, 2018

Our kids love CES. We love the CES community, students, teachers and PTA are awesome!

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Posted: October 24, 2017

The principal here really needs to go. Countryside needs a major update.

Posted: October 24, 2017

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Posted: May 12, 2017

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Posted: May 12, 2017

My child enjoying school very much.Teachers are great.

Posted: November 6, 2015

My child's teacher right now is probably the best teacher he has ever had, it is astounding.

Posted: November 6, 2015

It is enough to challenge the student but not overwhelmingly so. My son learns new things everyday

Posted: November 6, 2015

Posted: November 6, 2015

I couldn't be happier at this school. My child has done so much better this year, not just academically but socially. This school is not strict about unnecessary and petty things, they focus on what's really important and anytime there is a slight issue they will call you and ask you how they can help. They truly care and I recommend Countryside to anyone who wants the best for their child. Specially if their child needs extra help.

Posted: August 11, 2014

There are a lot of really good public schools in the DC area. Compared to that standard, Countryside has its pluses and minuses. On the positive side, we've met some really great families with kids at Countryside; caring, motivated parents who want their kids to do great without putting them in a pressure cooker (like many schools in this area). I adore a lot of the parents at this school. We've had mixed experiences with the teachers - we've had great ones and ok ones. None that were bad. We've had one or two that weren't a good fit for one of my children, but generally the teachers put a lot of effort into placing kids with someone who is a good fit. The office is well run. We've had great experiences with the school nurse. Our biggest complaint has been with the principal. He seems to spend a fair amount of time hanging out around the students, but makes very little effort to have an impact on their education. He seems to want all children to fit into a one-size-fits-all program and doesn't like anyone who stands out as different. As long as everyone is behaving and doing ok on their SOLs, he doesn't seem interested in whether or not learning is taking place.

Posted: December 8, 2013

The new Principal has been here a few years now and the change is palpable. The good teachers/staff are moving on fast whilst the others are hanging in, barely. Doesn't seem like there is much support. He is slowly whittling away at the fun and personality of the school. No santa at the Winter Bazaar after ALWAYS having one, no input when in years past parents were asked to fill out info at the end of the year to explain what the children's strengths and weaknesses are for placement the following year. The method seems to be just silently taking things away and hope the parents and staff don't notice. It's sad to see.

Posted: July 8, 2013

Two years ago a new principal took over and he has made some disturbing changes. First he took away the school's fun Friday which upset numerous parents. This incentive helped to promote the positive behavioral system by allowing students to earn free time for fun on Friday afternoons. The great thing was that in the system students who needed additional help or didn't finish assignments were excluded, a built in positive consequence. Now the motivation seems to be "earn stuff" which isn't as effective since this doesn't motivate all children and creates the "what is in it for me" mentality in some. A more disturbing change is the tranasparency-- or lack there of. Don't expect to know what is going on in the classroom-- their idea of communication may differ from yours. Parents are not encouraged to see what is going on in the school or classroom, infact your pressence in the classroom is often discouraged. The amount of transperancy when volunteering is controlled by the teacher (some are fantastic and still appreciate parent involvement)often parents are given busy work such as coppies to keep them out of the classroom. BTW,the principal is not open to constructive feedback.

Posted: May 8, 2013

This is the best school ever. My child was in Countryside. When we moved to an other school, she was so upset. Anyways this school is awesome.

Posted: April 4, 2013

I wish I knew what was going on more in the classroom, get emails from the PTA, get phone recordings from the principal, but nothing from the teacher. I have no idea what is going on in the classroom, sometimes I ask my daughter but she is 5 and doesn't say much. My friends daughter at another county school gets a weekly letter of what is being done and what is going to be done. I would love to know what they are doing so I can work on at home as well.

Posted: July 7, 2011

Wonderful School with excellent support staff. Exceptional PTA with members volunteering on an almost daily basis. Our family loves Countryside Elementary!