Buffalo Trail Elementary School

Posted: June 17, 2021

Terrible administration. Buffalo Trail did not hold up their end of our child's 504 plan, which was not a very difficult plan to follow. Our child came out below grade level in reading and math after two years at this horrible school. Buffalo Trail is overcrowded, and the Principal/Vice Principal and Dean only care that the kids sit down and shut up. A few teachers do their best, but there are many who are just hanging on until retirement. One teacher made a comment in front of me about a child (whom did something a bit ridiculous) "the world needs plumbers too". Nice attitude. During lunch the staff screams and yells at the students berating them. It's not the kids fault that Loudoun County has allowed this school to be overcrowded. During recesses the supervision of the children is nil. I've seen it personally. They let the kids play unsupervised which has led to bullying and scraps. They also let the children wander far off so no intervention can happen if an issue comes up. So happy to be out of this school.

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: June 17, 2021

Posted: May 19, 2021

Administration is extremely rude. We got special permission to remove our child from this school because it was so bad. The teachers seem unhappy. The turnover of teachers is significant every year. This all boils down to terrible leadership and a lack of morale. All of this trickles down to the children.

Posted: May 19, 2021

Posted: May 19, 2021

Posted: May 19, 2021

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Posted: May 19, 2021

Posted: June 11, 2019

Posted: June 11, 2019

I've heard the negative reviews but my son has done very well at Buffalo Trail and we love the teachers and staff. There is a new PTA board this year that has really worked to bring the administration, parents and teachers together. In my opinion the school had issues in the past that have carried forward and the ratings aren't reflective of the current scores or experiences. Additionally, I just heard that Buffalo Trail was one of only a few Northern Virginia schools to receive a state award for the 2018/2019 school year.

Posted: June 11, 2019

Posted: December 21, 2018

I agree with the other parents. My child has experienced bullying every single year while riding the bus and the administration only chooses to address the situation after the fact. In some cases, I document the incident in an email and never hear a response. We, as parents, educated our child as to what bullying is and how to handle the situation because the school has not done anything in this regard. A counselor at another LCPS Elementary school informed me they have an anti-bullying curriculum that's taught in every class per grade level. So why does BTES severely fail in this category? It's crystal clear based on the other comments related to leadership.

Posted: December 21, 2018

Not good. Staff is disconnected with teachers and bullying isn't being addressed holistically.

Posted: September 20, 2018

I agree with other parents: the office staff is disconnected from the teachers, but also teacher and substitute teacher were disconnected from the students. I got an impression that they don't like children. The exception are PE teachers, they treat children well. And yes, bullying among kids is high, and teacher didn't get involved. She explained that she wasn't there.
There is no trail to get to the school for the walkers, the only way for my kid was to take a sidewalk along the road, which wasn't safe. Moving to a different school now.

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: November 1, 2017

Posted: November 1, 2017

Posted: November 1, 2017

Posted: November 1, 2017

Posted: November 1, 2017

Posted: November 1, 2017

The office staff is highly rude and there is a complete disconnect the office staff and the teachers.

Posted: May 31, 2017

As described in the other areas, bullying is rampant, the leadership is weak and the teachers are ineffective. Only reason the school does halfway decent on testing is that parents are very involved and the children intelligent.

Posted: May 31, 2017

Posted: May 31, 2017

Posted: May 31, 2017

Bullying is not addressed by leadership. There are multiple known issues and the principle is scared to address it because she's afraid of offending the bullies. She's the worst principal I've ever had the displeasure of leading my children's school.

Posted: May 31, 2017

Posted: May 31, 2017

Posted: May 31, 2017

See comments on leadership above. Bullies are allowed to roam freely since the principle is afraid of the perceived repercussions of correcting a child that is not her same race .

Posted: May 11, 2017

Posted: May 11, 2017

Posted: May 11, 2017

The principal is highly communicative, a strong organizer, and demonstrates she knows who the kids are.

Posted: May 11, 2017

Learning positive and appropriate behavior has been central to the curriculum and approach.

Posted: May 11, 2017

We have had amazing teachers at this school who are both highly effective in their lessons and genuinely care about the students.

Posted: May 11, 2017

Homework is assigned in an appropriate amount and reinforces learning.

Posted: May 11, 2017

The principal, teachers, and administrators at this school are all outstanding. This is a big elementary school, but everyone knows our kid by name. We have been very pleased with Buffalo Trail.

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

This school does not (yes) support students with learning differences

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

Special educators do not know what they are doing.

Posted: November 17, 2016

Posted: November 17, 2016

If you have a special needs child, I strongly suggest not to go near this school. Administration is terrible and have least respect towards the special needs kids and parents. 2 parents and a previous employee warned about the administration and staff. Still I sent my kids because it is my home school. After 2 months we moved to another school. In 5 days we saw tremendous improvement. Please stay away.

Posted: August 16, 2016

Both my sons went to BTES last year and I have been thoroughly disappointed. There are a couple of staff members at the reception who I have never seen smile. They are always grumpy and rude.

The teachers for my kids were pretty good though and planned the curriculum well.

Posted: April 1, 2014

Amazing infrastructure, great teachers and exceptional levels of commitment. I have a 2nd and 5th grader in this school and they really love this school.

Posted: March 9, 2014

Buffalo Trail has been more than just a school for my children! The staff, both teaching and administrative genuinely care about the children. The Principal and Vice Principal are exceptional in running the school. I have a 5th grader that has attended from 2nd grade and a 1st grader in her second year here. My kids not only excel, but are confident and happy students. In my opinion it's the best in Loudoun County!

Posted: March 6, 2014

This is a wonderful school! The community here at Buffalo Trail is fantastic too! I have a kindergarten and fourth grader and they have enjoyed every bit of what the school has to offer. We are so grateful for a top notch school!!

Posted: October 28, 2013

Buffalo Trail is an amazing elementary school. My daughter is in her third year at Buffalo Trail. We have had three outstanding teachers, all of them have been top notch professionals who my daughter responded well to. The art, music and PE programs are fabulous. The families that make up the BT community are very supportive of the school. Its a beautiful facility and my child is very happy there.

Posted: October 9, 2013

Great school. However the secretary, Brenda, is unfriendly, curt, and unresponsive. They should consider hiring someone that is customer service oriented especially since she is the first person you see when you walk in.

Posted: September 4, 2013

My son is in 5th grade and this is his 3rd school (because of our moves). We previously lived in a west coast city where all schools there were highly rated, and then we also lived in Fairfax, VA. I can definitely say that Buffalo Trail is the best the school my son attended, much better than a greatschool's rated-9 school in Fairfax from our experience... This school's environment is very good, and teachers are extremely helpful, supportive, and accessible. We are glad that we moved to this school boundary.

Posted: September 2, 2013

This is my child's second year at Buffalo Trail Elementary and I am very pleased with its staff and teachers. They are very helpful and have been very prompt in taking action about any issue that was brought up. My child has learned a lot in just 1 year and is always excited about going to school. Keep it up!

Posted: August 24, 2013

Buffalo Trail is a newer school open in the Loudoun South Area. It has an active PTA, caring teachers.