Kent Gardens Elementary School

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

Posted: April 22, 2026

I have a second grader at this school and we have had a wonderful experience at Kent Gardens. The principal is about as engaged as can be and many of the teachers are long-time veterans who are so skilled at what they do, but also still have the passion after so many years of teaching. We have been thrilled with the teachers who go above and beyond. We have regular communication with them and I really get the sense that they care. Even though the French immersion classes are rather large in comparison with non-immersion classes (both at KT and other schools), they have extra help in the classroom and no one gets left behind. My child has attention deficit challenges and her teachers recommended her for special education. My child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and we think the special education chair and her staff are really wonderful and supportive. When my child was testing behind the mark, the school rallied and organized small group work during 'PRIDE' time, set up the goals for improvement, worked with a counselor to learn some time management type skills during special lunch sessions and we supported as much as we could at home. My child had incredible growth in a very short time because of this.

The school promotes respect, inclusion, diversity, and kindness. They have green, yellow, red, etc. houses representing different values that they promote and the kids and teachers are really enthusiastic about this. They also have a 'buddy system' pairing younger kids with older kids at the school, which has been a hit. Sixth graders are often put in leadership positions at the school and it is fun to see them thrive. I disagree with previous commenter about a 'toxic' environment. I haven't seen that at all.

This school is special and the French immersion program is such a great offering. 5 stars!

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Posted: December 9, 2025

Kent Gardens is an excellent school with caring teachers and a welcoming environment. Highly recommended!

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Posted: July 31, 2024

Kent Gardens has allowed a toxic environment where bullying and hate clubs are rampant, creating a hostile and unsafe space for students. The administration fails to address these issues effectively, neglecting the emotional intelligence and social development of students. This lack of action and support undermines the fundamental principles of education, leaving students without the necessary tools for personal growth and well-being.

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

Posted: September 2, 2023

We have been very happy with the Kent Gardens School. We have had many very good teachers. Good communication. Nice after school programs and a great principle

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Posted: June 10, 2022

Not what I expected. Bad experience for my kid.

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

My children are in K and 1st. Their primary teachers are very caring and effective. Mrs. Crawford is a child whisper and able to inspire through song learning far beyond anything I could do at home. They do yoga and games and it is very engaging. I've only put 4 out of 5 stars because they had a really hard time finding a sub for my son's teacher during quarantine...which was expected...but having succession plans should be put in place and it was a real disorganized scramble that pretty much wrecked this whole year for him. I also don't love the immersion French style of teaching and found it to be really ineffective for how my children learn. Clearly it works for some...but not for mine. I have complete confidence this school will prepare my children for middle and high school and I look forward to having them here for many years.

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: June 21, 2021

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: December 17, 2019

The teachers and resources are unmatched. Great school in a great neighborhood.

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: December 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

The best decision we made for our daughter education was to send her to this school. Let's start with the teachers... from the lower to the upper grades, they are top notch. Some of them have 10, 15, 20 years of experience at this school. Other teachers moved there from other school districts, or even from teaching in Middle School, attracted by this type of school, with a French immersion and Advanced Academic Local programs. Some teachers stay for the academic performance of the students, others for the leadership of the Principal, or the PTA well spends funds in teacher training or in technology for the classroom. Another great thing about this school are the students, atracted to this magnet school from the entire county. The school has 1,100 students, most from in boundary, but some out of boundary. The kids have very unique talents and interests, and is so great that they come for different backgrounds and cultures. For example, some of them love music, and can get the chance to explore the Choir, or Strings, or Band, with the guidance of dedicated teachers. The school also offer Advanced Strings or Band to the kids that want to challenge themselves and enjoy music. Other kids that are interested in Science or Math or Chess, meet and train together with am expert, as part of the after school enrichment program. In this school environment where positive culture is nurtured, deep thinking is instilled, kidness is valued, service based learning is practiced, doing the best work encouraged, and erseverance appreciated, my daughter has thrive with a love of learning that is insaciable. She has learned seven instruments over the years, one of them self taught. She also has learned six languages, and self taught herself Japanese and Korean, just for fun. Most importantly is a happy and social kiddo with loving friends. What a magnificent gift this school has given her.

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: December 20, 2018

They do try very hard. I don't know how much sinks into the kid's heads. My son has had issues with being bullied and being punched. The bully has been dragged into the principal's office Every time. Nothing changes. It's a public school. There is not much they can do.

Posted: December 20, 2018

The principal is more focused on French immersion and music programs. There has been one STEM related extracurricular activity at KG in the past 3 years

Posted: December 20, 2018

They are really great in making accommodations for special needs kids

Posted: December 20, 2018

It's a public school. They can't do much besides lecture the bully. They do that quite a bit.

Posted: December 20, 2018

Homework is not very challenging for my son. He usually blows through ut in an hour

Posted: December 20, 2018

There are some really stellar teachers at Kent Gardens and some very mediocre to even bad ones. Unfortunately, STEM is not a focus at this school, and the mediocre to bad teachers do science and math

Posted: December 20, 2018

Kent gardens is really great with accommodating special needs kids, or kids who just need just a little accommodation. The principal and teachers are very supportive.

They have a French immersion program which is great if you are into that. We are not.

They have a great music program. My son had a got quite good at his instrument. The music teachers are stellar. The principal herself plays with the kids during the concert.

STEM is not a focus at this school. In the school we were in previously, there was a teacher who was dedicated to organizing STEM focused classes. Not so here. Usually, the junior most teachers do math/science at KG, and the good/experienced teachers do French immersion, language and social studies. In fact, last year they hired a teacher for advanced math class, and he had problems standing in front of the class and talking. It's absolutely disgraceful that a teacher with 0 experience is given the advanced math class.

Overall, if I had known that STEM is not a priority here, I would have waited to move to mclean when my kid was going into middle school. My son used to love math before he came here. He is not into math anymore.
The school is great if your child us into French and music.

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: June 9, 2017

Exceptional school. Mrs. McGuigan has brought positive change and improvements.

Posted: June 9, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

Posted: April 8, 2017

There is hardly any homework and what little they do get it is not even graded thoroughly in order for the student to understand .

Posted: April 8, 2017

This school has really gone down in the past few years. The principal does not care about inclusion and is unsympathetic about it or related bullying. She just does not care. She has a vaneer of doing good through a "word wall" as you walk into the school but that's really all it is a wall of words that means nothing because they are not teaching the students to be nice or inclusive. As for the education it too has gone down . There is no instruction . All this school cares about is SOL scores and to teach kids how to take the SOL test. The French program is lacking too. My child was in it and we ended up pulling them because if the parents do not have a background of French knowledge it's impossible to help your child when the directions are all in French. French is given throughout the school even if your not in the immersion program but it's a joke. It did not help my child at all later on . As for the type of family's that have kids in this school I would say they are a group of extremely elitist , judgmental fakes that are not raising nice children but instead a bunch of spoiled, mean natured children . I can not recommend this school.

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Posted: March 7, 2017

Fantastic school with great options for different students! Dedicated teachers. Immersion program is a great resource and option for students who benefit from the challenge and for families who value the many benefits of language learning.

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

The principal backs the teachers and does not care if the child's issue is fixed.

Posted: November 17, 2016

I cant say that for sure yet.

Posted: November 17, 2016

Some are and some are totally not. The biggest dissapoiintment is that many of them don't care.

Posted: November 17, 2016

The homework assignments in French immersion are awful. Even fluent french speakers cant understand sometimes what they are asking.

Posted: November 17, 2016

Well if you want to know why America is number 32 in the world on education send your kid to Kent Gardens. My daughter has been here three years in the French Immersion program. She doesn't understand what the teacher is saying in class and there are no vocabulary lessons to support what they are learning. The teachers simply don't care either. I had a problem with my child doing bad on tests while showing exemplary progress in class. I could always get an opinion from them on what was wrong just never any solutions. I am leaving the school. They should be ashamed of themselves as a school

Posted: November 13, 2016

depressing school, my kids used to love learning now after 2 years they just feel anxious. The teachers hate their job and we can feel it. The French immersion is a joke, your kid will learn nothing. They even have a French teacher who bullies first graders. Everybody knows it but nobody cares. Fairfax county schools are the best.... yeah not anymore.....

Posted: November 13, 2016

It depends on the teacher.... unfortunately... it's a lottery.

Posted: November 13, 2016

How can they effectively deal with bullying when they protect some of the bully teachers? That is the question....

Posted: November 13, 2016

Posted: November 13, 2016

Posted: November 13, 2016

Posted: November 13, 2016

Posted: October 6, 2016

PLEEEAAASE le me laugh!
I had to teach my son self defense to survive!
he was bullied all 3 years he's been there!!

Posted: October 6, 2016

Yes the special aid department is not too bad!
No complain there.
The case manager of our child is actually quite nice and involved!

Posted: October 6, 2016

Forget it!!
The teachers run the school because the principal believes everything they say and she backs them up 100% putting "ALL" the blame on your child!

Posted: October 6, 2016

yes and no!
yes because they tell them to act that way and no because there is very little sanction for children who do not!

Posted: October 6, 2016

depends on which one, but some give up easily on children with special needs and stick them in the back of the class to be forgotten!

Posted: October 6, 2016

homework and not consistently corrected in class by the teachers and the instruction don't always make sense!

Posted: October 6, 2016

The French immersion is a huge disappointment!
we drive from Herndon so our child can go there but the french teacher who are supposed to speak 100% in french to the students, simply don't!!! they speak french 40% if at all. I complained but the principal said that my child "perception" was altered!
I told her that I had polled all the parents in my child's class and to that she replied that it was just a false perception too! Bottom line she supports 100% her teachers no matter what and let them do whatever they want!!! so get used to it!
Talk about driving for nothing! >:( >:(
The principalMrs. macGuigan is not the principal who implemented the French immersion program she came along later and she doesn't understand it or support it but more like "suffers" it!!!

Also, my child who has ADHD get exclude from the class and his teacher has him sit in the far back of the class alone like an outcast when everybody sits in groups of 4!
talk about Kent Gardens being "inclusive"!!!

My child was bullied for 3 years and whatever action was taken had little effects!

The school has excellent SOLS rating though but that's due to the fact of social and economical stays of the family who lives there who are very educated and on top of their children's progress!

I am so disappointed!

Posted: May 28, 2016

Posted: May 28, 2016

Posted: May 28, 2016

Posted: May 28, 2016

My daughter is in the AAP program here and loves it. In terms of teachers, she's in her fourth year and had two pretty good ones and two great ones. The only weakness is that the teachers of some of the "Specials" like art and music and PE and the substitutes aren't really as good as they should be. Some are really good but others aren't. The best thing about the school is probably the new principal - she's extremely capable, competent, and motivated and its really great to see the impact.

Posted: May 22, 2016

My son improved in his personal skills especially in the last couple of years, which was with the help of one fifth grade teacher and now with all the sixth grade teacher that he has classes with. He shows respect to us and other, more than he used to. He knows that he is supposed to do his homework, and cannot cheat about it because his sixth grade homeroom teacher knows the best way to teach them how important it is to finish a task that was given to you.

Posted: May 22, 2016

The Principal who started at this school in 2013-2014 is amazing. I never met the previous Principal, because we started with this school in 2013-2014 school year, so I cannot coment on the previous years. The Principal observed the teachers in the first year and she did a lot of changes in how this school works. The teachers undestand my childs needs and guide my child in the most appropriate way. The next best thing about this school is it's diversification. Kids learn about other cultures from all around the world everyday. Highly recommended elemantary!

Posted: May 22, 2016

Posted: May 22, 2016

Posted: May 7, 2015

We have 2 children at KG. Both are thriving in their classes and are able to continue participating in extracurricular activities. We are most pleased with the staff & the academic programs. Additionally, we appreciate the teachers providing our kids with the week's homework schedule in the beginning of the week which allows our kids to get work done ahead of time. This is especially helpful since some week nights we are jammed packed with sports or other commitments.

Posted: April 28, 2015

Despite some good teachers at Kent Gardens, the administration allows harassment to thrive at this school. As a former school teacher I cannot recommend sending children to this school.

Posted: April 7, 2014

Kent Gardens has always been a strong school, but this year it has improved by leaps and bounds. The big change was the retirement of the highly divisive long-time principal. The new leader is much more popular with the faculty and parents and is really responsive. I have been a parent at this school for ten years and have never been happier with it than I am now.

Posted: February 10, 2014

We really wanted to like this school, but there were so many issues with lack of teacher involvement and caring. My daughter was not happy there. We moved to MD, to a school with a GreatSchools rating of 9, and she and her sister adore the teachers, the environment, and the rest of the students who are very down-to-earth. Our kindergartener was reading at 4 yrs old in the preschools here (our oldest, who attended Kent Gardens was not reading after her year in preschool at Northern Virginia Childrens Christian Shool - NVCCC - which is a private preschool just up the street from Kent Gardens; she also was not reading at Kent Gardens when she staretd kindergarten). We could have stayed there, even with a slight job move, but we decided that the school isn't all it is cracked up to be. Fairfax seems to have its nose in the air so much that it is letting its school ratings fall (Kent Gardens seems to be falling on its rating over the years). One year, a little girl went missing at the open house. The teachers had let her wander away from the school. The police found her hours later at her home - terrified, bc she and her family had just moved there from NY and she couldn't find them!

Posted: July 31, 2013

Warning, this school is NOT a French immersion school. My daughter came from a French immersion school and she lost about 90 percent of what she knew here. Children are only taught Science and Math in French and are not required to respond in French. I know this school is considered the creme de la creme of Fairfax County, but I think that this has more to do with the socioeconomic group that it pulls from than the teachers. My daughter attended for two years and while one year was a good experience, the other was HORRIBLE. The teacher was rude and abusive to her students, and didn't know how to teach to anyone who was above the top level. We've moved from the area, and our experience at this school is the main reason we moved. I did love the STEM program, but the think tank changed for the worse over the past year.

Posted: May 28, 2013

Our kids attended KGES for 4 years. My older child had great teachers for several years and then got a teacher who was not able to manage classroom behavior. As a result, bullying became an issue in her classroom. However, she refused to acknowledge it was an issue. Then, we raised it to the Principal (whose philosophy seems to be circle the wagons vs. get to the bottom of a situation). She refused to admit there was an issue. Finally, another boy came to my child's defense and emphatically stated there was a problem and at that point a counselor (again, relatively junior) was called in to speak with the class and the situation became tolerable. However, other behaviors (e.g., persistent cursing) continued which made it clear the teacher was either checked out or not able to handle behavior issues. That was our experience. The bigger picture is that there are two huge issues at this school: 1) the principal has a "my way or the highway" approach that alienates parents (and the parents are afraid of her for fear of retaliation!) 2) there is constant turnover in staff so as a result teachers are coming and going frequently and the majority have less than 7 years experience