Riverside Elementary School

8410 Old Mount Vernon Road

School District

Fairfax County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Fairfax County Public Schools

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 March 06, 2022

Fiorella Catalano is an amazing teacher together with her assistants Imani and Maritza! Communication is the best and genuinely caring for kids. Asset to riverside!
Submitted by parent on March 04, 2022

We have been extremely happy with Riverside for our first grader! The teachers and administrators are great - they know all of the kids and greet them by name. My child is happy, learning SO MUCH, and is emotionally safe. It's truly a wonderful little school!
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2020

Great wonderful hard and dedicated teachers, staff and principal. I love this school.
Submitted by parent on October 27, 2019

Everything has been great at Riverside and my son adores all of his teachers. They are very active with the community and my son is excited to go to school each day.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2019

I have had kids at Riverside since 2009. I have seen it at its worst. The new administration has turned the school around, and it is a wonderful, happy, safe place for my kids to be. I am thrilled with the teachers, and my kids are happy!
Submitted by parent on April 20, 2017

The new Principal is making a huge difference. Students are happy and engaged. Most teachers are smart, engaged, thoughtful and patient. Between my two children, we have had 9 teachers over the past 6 years - all have been excellent except one. The after school program has added another positive level to the kids' experience.
Submitted by parent on April 14, 2017

I absouletly LOVE Riverside!!! The new principal is a great leader. He is involved with the student and the community. The staff and teachers try really hard to get the community involved with whats going on at school. The communication to parents is phenomenal. They use all communication channels: email, letters in spanish and english, text message. I attend the PTA meeting and the teachers who attend are dedicated, and enthusiastic to do great things for the school. They recently started a food pantry, and different type of workshops for parents and students. Like I said they do a lot of community events to help students who may not have the resources at home. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK RIVERSIDE.ONE PROUD PARENT!!!!!
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2017

My son is bussed from Fort Belvoir to attend the AAP at Riverside Elementary. This is his second year and I cannot speak highly enough of the teachers, staff, principal, and program. Each staff member in the office knows the children by name and greets them accordingly. There is always a smile on their face. I see teachers interacting positively with the students and encouraging them in meaningful ways. My son has had some emotional difficulties these two years and the guidance counselor and social worker have been on the ball staying in touch and facilitating intervention. The clubs are so much fun for the children. Again, if you are considering Riverside, please do. The old reviews here are outdated and I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you give it a try!
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2016

Our daughter has had a great two years at RES with wonderful teachers. With the new principal, the overall feel of the school has improved- teachers, staff, and students seem genuinely happy to be there! Communication is from the administration is much better, and IME was already good at the classroom level. The addition/expansion of the school's STEAM program has also been very appreciated.
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2016

2 years at this school and the changes in one year have been amazing. After years of neglect from the school board, we have a new principle who is going to great lengths to change the atmosphere. Both years our teachers have been excellent. They respond immediately to my emails. Their doors are always open for meetings. They call me with positive updates. Class sizes are small and manageable. Communication lines are improving.
Submitted by parent on April 05, 2016

This school is going through a transformation this year with a new principal. The biggest change I have seen has been with the positive learning environment. My kids love going to school now and their effort has improved drastically. I also notice a major improvement in communication and community outreach.
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2014

The bullies and disrespectful students are allowed to disrupt classrooms. The most recent teacher feedback / working conditions survey indicates the Administration doesn't support teacher's efforts to maintain order in their rooms and this describes the situation i've experienced. One of my children had a peaceful classroom with cooperative children and had a great, productive year. The other had foul mouthed bullies who frequently abused teachers, and pushed, threatened, and hit fellow students resulting in a year that was not very productive. I expended a great deal of energy working to get the classroom environment improved. If the situation is as bad this year, I will move the kids to another local school. There is a high rate of staff turnover at this school. I would not consider staying here except it is our assigned AAP center. Woodley Hills ES is a wonderful school, highly recommend it... consider going there instead.
Submitted by other on October 05, 2013

Great programs and Student-Teacher communication. It helps advanced kids with the AAP program and others.
Submitted by parent on September 26, 2013

So far my child has enjoyed her years at Riverside. She is in 3rd grade AAP this year and really looks forward to school. There have been a few issues in the past and I have talked to whomever I needed to take care of the matter. Teaches and other staff have been great at helping with any of our concerns or issues. I love the ladies in the office and so does my daughter (we walk in to say good morning everyday ).
Submitted by parent on July 25, 2013

I would think twice before sending your child to this school. Then think again. I cannot say enough negative things about this school. Bullying, poor teaching methods, horrible communication on behalf of the staff on up to the principal, you name it it is AWFUL. We tried extremely hard to make this school work for us and in the end decided it was not worth the effort. If you are satisfied with mediocre teaching then fine, but if you want truely exeptional teaching LEAVE and do not return. There are far better public schools within a mile of this one that are superior. We ended up leaving after two years and feel that it was the best decison we have ever made. Our child is THRIVING at her new school and she has been there for two years and about the enter her third year. The principal is nonresponsive and blames the student. Who does that? Truly, DO NOT ENROLL YOUR CHILD IN THIS SCHOOL.
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2013

Teachers here do not communicate properly with parents about student progress. Additionally, the don't adequately address student deficits and students are left struggling. Leadership makes excuses and do not hold their teachers accountable.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2011

I have mixed feelings about this school. Out of the 6 years my kids have attended public schools, I've never had to come up to a school as many times as I've come to Riverside. The staff and principal seem to be okay and cooperative if you stay active with talking to the principal and teachers with the issues you are having. The assistant principals treat the principal like she's President Obama b/c you have to go through them to talk to her unless you are persistent to talk with her. There is one assistant principal I must say is super annoying and no matter what you come to the school for although it's none of her business she wants to know whats going on. I've personally met a counselor, speech therapist and school pshychiatrist who wasnt worth a penny with a hole in it until I got others involved from the county. I can say that all the issues I've had were solved by being respectfully aggressive but I wanted to write a truthful review that gives the pros and cons of this school. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but overall being an active parent will get you positive results in this school.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2011

not a good school. My kids are in 6th and 4th grade and they have some problems with the staff at Riverside. Some Teacher should resign if they think they cant send the kids to the office just for being kids