Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School

Horrible. The school is fundamentally flawed in more ways than one. Everyone in my grade agrees that the school makes everyone miserable, and we even joke about it being Hell. I want to go to a different school, and I have no clue why this school system is so highly praised.

We recently moved to the area after 10 years in Indonesia and have had a wonderful experience so far. The teachers are fantastic and the curriculum is challenging. I also like the close association with George Mason high school.

Two of my children went here for a combined total of three years. It was very safe and they both really liked it. It's quite small and the community is unusual with a lot of internationally based parents moving in and out of the district in about three year increments. This makes for a pretty accepting environment which is great for new kids. The academics seem fine. As always, if you have a motivated kid, they can excel, but I don't :) and they did just fine too! Administration is not perfect because of a lot of turnover, imo, but that's a small price to pay for a solid, middle of the road, safe middle school experience. Community seems very concerned about education and politics and seems to create unnecessary drama under the guise of trying to better a system that is already pretty great, but who knows, maybe that is why it's a good system in the first place! Many great teachers and staff. Lots of intelligent and empathetic and hard-working souls there.

We transferred into MEH after school began and were nervous for our son. We chose Falls Church City for the smaller schools and community atmosphere, but sometimes that can mean new people have a hard time fitting in. Our experience could not have been better. The faculty and students welcomed him right away and made the transition smooth. Academically, the school is on par with what we'd experienced in private schools out-of-state.