Douglass Valley Elementary School

4610 DOUGLASS DRIVE

School District

Academy No. 20 in the County of EL Paso An
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
Type

public

School Map for Academy School District No. 20 in the County of EL Paso An

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 12, 2018

Very high turnover within this school. No real consistency.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2017

Terrible. The school is terrible, and district 20 is the worst to deal with. A lot of people with what seems to be a "God complex" sitting at a desk, making life more difficult because they can.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2017

I am not sure how others have expressed such a poor opinion. DVE is GREAT! I have 4 children and am a teacher myself. I found the staff to be friendly, the resources are abundant and readily available to all those who need them. My children have had occasion to eat school lunch and were offered real food and a full salad bar. Parent/teacher communication is EXCELLENT! If I had to say something bad about DVE, I would say the playground needs updating.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2016

My kids have been to a number of schools due to moving frequently. This school has by far been the best. The only complaint I would have is the age and appearance of the school but I would take an aged school with personable staff who are not quick to judge and who don't care about who is who any day over a new school with the opposite. I am a highly educated parent with a higher income. My family provides structure for our children and we consider ourselves pretty classy. We are picky about who we and our children associate with. We have some children with special needs. We have always picked schools for the upscale neighborhoods and types of people we would want to associate with but have had bad experiences with teachers because they did not want to put the time in to deal with a special needs child and/or like one of my children - a child with poor social skills/awkwardness. Then we found DVE. They, with the exception of maybe one teacher, have got it when it comes to our kids. They don't treat us like we are the problem (because that could not be further from the truth) and they do not treat my child like he is can control something that he cannot. They get boys for being boys. They don't have to sit still for hours on end and be called to the principal's office for fidgeting or annoying a teacher who expects silence. At the same time they have called me a time or two to inform me when another child was being inappropriate to my child. Of the teachers we have had so far I would have to brag about Ms. Crosswhite - talk about a teacher with a passion for teaching and children. I don't think there was ever a day she did not have a smile on her face. She has such high energy which is a must for kindergarten children. She gets that they are little and little balls of energy and that it is normal to be this way at their age. I won't bash on the teacher we had who I would not recommend but I will say that if that's as bad as it gets at this school then it's pretty good. Also, my kids were initially enrolled in an off base D20 school because I wanted them close to home and in a nicer, newer school. That school was IB. It was a terrible experience and I was so glad to leave. The teachers had no patience for special needs or children who did not fit the mold. I was worried about the academics at DVE but they were the same as the other school off base.
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2016

The teachers, like many of the other families on a military base, are just passing through. For many of the teachers this is just a first stop after they've graduated college, and our children are the unfortunate test subjects. It's not just the teachers that are the problem. There are a great number of immature house wives and husbands who contribute to the poor atmosphere around the school. If you've ever lived in an established community off base with mature responsible parent's and experienced teachers, this school will be a joke. The blind leading the blind. Children teaching children.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2014

We love Douglass Valley! My girls started there when we moved to the AFA in January 2013. Even coming in in the middle of the year, they still felt welcome and the their teachers really helped them adjust and get their bearings. The teachers we have had have been WONDERFUL and they certainly do communicate with me via e-mail, notes sent home, chats at dismissal, or over the phone. The office staff is friendly and accommodating. My oldest struggles with a severe reading delay and is receiving ample extra help in that area. Everyone at the school truly wants the kids to succeed. We are considering moving off of the AFA now that we're a little more familiar with the area but I am really struggling with it because I would love for my children to remain at DVE!
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2013

DVE is a great school. I am not sure why the previous posters have had so many problems and negative experiences. I have three children in the school and one of them has been attending for three years. We have had a great experience with this school, even being contacted by the teacher when one of my children needed additional help with some of her work. Having seen the schooling available in other states, I would have to say this is one of the best.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2013

I would have to agree 100% with the last post. Just because this school is on base does NOT mean it is a great school. I too will choice my children into another school next year. They are not challenged at this school academically. There is absolutely no parent teacher communication. The principal will not return emails. There is a teacher that will not punish the handful of students causing problems, but instead make the entire 2nd grade class run 3-5 laps around the playground. This happens more than once every week. They also have no organization when it comes to the pick-up and drop-off area. In fact I was told there was only a drop off area only in the morning. Apparently in the afternoon you are required to park your car. Then you have to walk to pick up your child from the playground area. Never have I been to a school without a designated pick-up and drop-off area (car rider line).
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2012

This is one of the worst schools my children have ever experienced. We started out the yr with my son need additional help in reading and language, they ingorned records from the previous school. The teacher ignored my requested 5 times to have my son tested and finally I had to go to the specialist myself and finally in Feb (3 months before the school yr ended) they decided he really needed the help. Too late for anything to do any good. The teachers are completely out for themselves and the staff is very inconsiderate. They do have a good deployment support but that about all this school has going for it. We as parents have a choice of where in D20 to send them and my children (all 3 of them) will NOT be returning to this place. The principal and assistants are very disrespectful and do not care. I would urge anyone to not have to learn the hard way like I have. We moved off base and am at a good D20 school where the teachers want to be there and are thinking of the kids and their futures. This is just a bad school in the midst of good D20 schools.
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2011

Had my kids here for one year and it was one too many. The administration at this school is unbelievable. I was yelled at by office staff on more than one occasion. The administration ties the hands of the teachers that care about the students and the other portion of the staff just doesn't care and I had students from K - 5. I had to teach my oldest how to multiply and divide again when we pulled them from the school.
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2011

Don't believe everything you here! My child had the time of their life last school year in 3rd grade. The teacher she had was very caring, worked hard, and always took time out of his day. I absolutely loved whn I would get a random phone call explaining the positive things my child was doing in class. Yeah, my child did have a lot of work to do but goals were set but my child came a long ways with her academics! Great work Douglass Valley!
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2011

I found this school to be only adequate for my 3rd grader. While I feel the principal and vice-principal provide positive professional leadership (and are genuinely looking to the best interest of students), I did not feel the caliber of teachers (that I frequently encountered) performed accordingly in their ability to interact positively as role models and trained educators. I would have liked to have seen more of the characteristics of the principal/v.p. (both awesome) trickle down through the teachers. However, my son gave rave reviews of the TAG teacher and Art teacher, both of whom serve as great role models and truly love the students. Another positive is the support provided to students of deployed service members - truly outstanding! In my experience there were often gaps in critical communication which led to some safety concerns and even missed events. The academics seem positive although there is a high reliance on worksheets rather than hands-on learning which did become monotonous to my student. Overall, my son did feel safe in this school but did not feel this was his best school experience yet.
Submitted by teacher on February 05, 2011

Douglass Valley is a wonderful school! We provide the best support for military families I've ever seen or heard of ( I was a military kid who moved many times and a military spouse) . The PTO provides bags of goodies for kids when a parent deploys, we have a group that meets weekly during school hours, we have a "Wall of Honor" where pictures of deployed parent are posted during their absence. Also, the school has a full-time counselor (sometimes 2 people part-time fill this role). The reading support is exceptional with 2 full-time reading specialist in addition to the classroom teachers. Our goal is to make your child's time with us the best years of school they have anywhere.