Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School

This is our first year and so far, we’re pleased.

Our experience has been fantastic!! The test scores do not reflect the great work that is going on in the school. This year the school had a huge surge in enrollment during the school year (~10% increase) with many students from Syria and Afghanistan. Most had very limited or no english. These students still have to take all the standardized tests and their scores skew the overall results. The staff at Spellman went above and beyond to address with this unexpected influx of ESOL students and parents. Don't let test score fool you, Spellman is a great school

We've been really impressed with Spellman this year. We have a first grader. Principal Smith is strong, the PTA is vocal and active, teachers are solid and overall, the school has a positive energy and you get the sense that things just keep getting better. There are unfortunately a lot of negative perceptions about PG schools as a whole, but I wish more people would take the time to visit their neighborhood school, talk to parents and teachers and get a true sense of what is going on. We were skeptical at first, too, but now we are so glad we gave it a chance. We are thrilled our child is happy and thriving.

My kids are doing very well in the school. The fourth and sixth grade teachers are great. My only concern is the sixth graders have to walk around with a ton of books in their bags. If this school continues to have 6th graders they need to put lockers inside. The best thing is to buy your child a roller bag with wheels. The sixth graders also have a massive amounts of homework including math and on the weekends. It can be good at times but, it stresses students out over time. The principle Ms. Smith is ok, but she seems a little dismissive to the students. As a parent I have seen it with my own eyes. And, what is it with teachers not letting students use the bathroom? My 6th grade son almost had an accident coming home from the teacher not letting him go. Same thing happend to him in the fifth grade, he asked to be excused to the restroom teacher said no, he threw up all over thr classroom floor. PTA IS EXCELLENT, I take my hats off to them. Other than that school is good, I just don't approve of the tons of books with no lockers and the teachers being strict about bathroom usage. I can't really complain about my son having too much HW because it keeps him off the video games, and his phone.