McNair Elementary

I've had a mixed experience at this school. These stats seem off. The school is 70% Indian so not sure why the breakdown is between whites and African Americans. It is a very cultural diverse school (which is great) but it is very overcrowded. There is no emotional connection either which I find bothersome. My daughter has had fantastic educators heading into the 3rd grade but my son with special needs has fallen through the cracks. In his case, I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of support he's needed. All emphasis is on testing and AP students. This is the main reason why this school maintains its higher ranking.

My son has been going to McNair since Kindergarten. Last year, he was in the 3rd grade and I felt like there was absolutely no learning that happened during the school year. McNair has too many kids and the learning is no longer the focus. There is no oversight on the class teachers and the kids read some thing on their own during most of the school days. The home work that my son got took him literally 3 minutes to finish each day. They were so basic and whole school year was not at all challenging.

With more budget cuts on the way, I am really concerned about Fairfax county schools.

The good...
- school has good SOL scores
- AAP center
- for the size (1,200+ students), is reasonably well managed

The not so good...(this is LONG list)

The Teaching:
- Doesn't happen much! Its essentially "outsourced" to the parents. The teachers think the parents are committed to their children's educations, so very little actual instruction happens in class (let the parents figure it out themselves)
- Most of the new teachers do not have any patience, they shout at the children
- The school recently started a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, and was expected to use personal iPads etc. that the kids brought from home for instruction, class lessons, etc. None of that happened. Instead, the kids just play app games during recess time on their iPads

Homework Machine:
- Their concept of teaching is "show a video" and give LOTS of homework, the parents will figure it out at home
- Sometimes, even on Fridays and during vacation days, the students get homework!

Admin Staff:
- Quite rude, treat parents like a nuisance
- Some parents/families close to the PTA get "friendly" treatment
- For all others, this is a bootcamp, my way or the highway
- The environment is not friendly that you can even raise any issues in the PTA meeting...not sure how the school will react

It may get good grades, but the administration staff is horrendous. Principal and staff are rude, look down on you and could care less about the child.

Have a look on google, on great school , on school diggers......there have been complaints about their rudeness since 2011 and clearly no one has done anything about it.. If you want your child to be happy and love school then this isn't the place.

my son goes in KG he was in different school in past i never got any complaints about his behavior in fact the teacher was sad loosing her good student in previous school , but here the teacher seems to be incompetent to control a kindergartner and i know my child very well, one strict look is enough and he is obedient he does his home work , he likes to scribble all the time , he's good in studies he's been going to school ever since he's 2 its not something new . well , i am frequently getting written complaints about him talking , not doing work in class room .

when asked my child he says "teacher doesn't understand what i want and she doesn't know all" he said i don't know how to do that work "OK i know he's a kid but can't ignore what he's trying to express . also the class room seems pretty unorganized and clumsy sitting arrangement is bad i mean if u stick kids together will they work c'mon they are 5 yrs old Its Teachers JOB to maintain the discipline 2 teachers can't handle kids its a shame !! my child is not hitting pushing scratching just talking ..pheww Can't wait to get out of this community i am not liking Mc Nair at all . not because of complaints but from the day one its clumsy at least the KG part !! Also not me many parents are unhappy about the teachers in Mc nair i don't know why they don't raise their voice even i am sacred to tell the teacher directly she may start complaining more it may have negative impact on my child's he will misbehave more .

McNair is the best elementary school in Herndon school community. Teachers are Outstanding.