Cape St. Claire Elementary School

931 Blue Ridge Drive

School District

Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Anne Arundel 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 October 23, 2024

Have had a wonderful experience with three very different children
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2024

My kids thrived in this school from Pre-k to 1st!! Then we sadly had to move but the elementary school and their teachers and the community are truly so amazing!!!
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2019

Great so far- loves all the teachers, various activities each day from gym, computers to art and music and some wonderful school events
Submitted by parent on January 22, 2019

Terrific teachers but the administration needs a complete overhaul. The principal, assistant principal and guidance counselor need to be given the boot (and not be pawned off on another unsuspecting school) and a couple of the front office staff need to go with them for their nasty attitudes.
Submitted by parent on September 14, 2015

The teachers at CSCE are outstanding. They are hardworking, supportive, and truly love children. My children like school and up until last year, my husband and I would have never hesitated to recommend CSCE to anyone considering moving to the area. I hesitate to give this school 5 stars now, mostly based on the administration. What was once an inviting school with great parental involvement and support, because parents and families felt welcome, has now turned into a place where patents dread coming into the building. The office staff is not welcoming and the principal is curt and not personable. Her communication with the parents and community and subpar. In addition, she comes across power hungry and I have witnessed her lack of support towards her faculty and staff. She seems to care about ratings and test scores more than creating a welcoming, positive environment where children want to come learn and grow. The assistant principal seems nice, however We have probably exchanged no more than 10 words in the year she has been here. As a volunteer, I have witnessed the hard work and dedication the teachers put into an increasingly stressful job. I have also witnessed comments and conversations between teachers and the administrators that show a lack of support and empathy for the continuous changes and increased workload being placed on teachers. It has made me understand why my own children are showing increased anxiety over the last year or so. Thank goodness for the amazing teachers my children have had, who know my kids and keep an open line of communication with my husband and I. I think the administration and front office staff could learn a thing or two about how to work well with others from these teachers.
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2014

My son's teacher called me to ask if I plan to send him to school on Friday. "Is it a holiday?" I asked. No, it's a field trip day and he won't be able to go because I had forgotten his permission slip. I asked if it would be an excused absence if I kept him at home. She said, "No, not without a note." Keep in mind my son has diagnosed ADHD (504 PLAN) and has issues with remembering to bring important papers home. Now, you may ask yourself as I did, "why did this teacher call to see if I would keep him at home?" I believe she wanted to make the point that because I had not checked his homework folder, he would suffer. Now, I've tried to give his teacher the benefit of the doubt. My son has diagnosed ADHD and frequently forgets important items. I often have to work evenings so I rely heavily on my care provider to check his folder. His teacher told me he tried to pay last week but he didn't have the permission slip. Why not let him pay and send an email or call me to inquire about the slip as she did to inquire about his attendance? This is a sad testament to the pettiness and caliber of people at this school.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2013

Our experience with two children in this school over five years has been mixed. The school is in a supportive and tight-knit community and refreshingly free of the many terrible issues that plague urban and socio-economically challenged schools. The teachers are enthusiastic and pleasant, even committed for the most part. The administration seems fair and sincere. The education just isn't very good. After five long years and straight A's in the 'advanced' math classes, my daughter can barely perform long division or multiplication. Her homework is embarrassingly simple, instruction scattershot, and math comprehension dubious. We receive regular emails from her teachers full of errors of grammar and diction, so I'm more than a little skeptical about the quality of classroom instruction. Looking over her tests, homework, and materials returned by her teachers, she is at least a year, and possibly two years behind her counterparts in local private schools. It's sad that these kids, who aren't dumb, won't have the skill necessary to compete at at higher level later. If we had the funds, we'd transfer to a more rigorous school.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2013

I love this school!!! Excellent staff & Caring teachers. I have no complaints or suggestions..Thank you CSCE ...Keep up the good work!
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2011

TERRIBLE ADMIN IN AN OTHERWISE GREAT SCHOOL I moved to this area because I heard how great the Broadneck schools are. For the most part, I like Cape Saint Claire Elementary. Most of the teachers are excellent but there are a couple of teachers who we all pray our kids won't get. The administration leaves something to be desired; the principal (Mrs Pergerson) seems to lack any sort of leadership skills and the assistant principal (Mrs Lorton) seems even worse. Imagine a 5 year old playing principal (but not really knowing how to do the job) and her friend just quietly nodding. Other parents and I are biding our time until they retire. The school counselors, however, are excellent and an asset to the school The school changed curriculum and I don't like it compared to the old but we'll see how the kids do. Part of me wonders if they are focusing on the Maryland State Assessments or on the overall well-rounded education of our children. The math homework my child brings home is extremely confusing for me so I don't know how she is supposed to understand it or I am supposed to explain it. Things are worded strangely and even with my strong background in math I can't help.
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2011

Most teachers are fantastic & energetic, but the administration is hopeless & lackluster. While pleasant enough, they sweep parental concerns under the rug for reasons of less-than-subtle self preservation. It is painfully obvious the top 2 administrators are biding time before retirement & don't want to make waves before. In particular, there is one 2nd grade teacher who should be removed entirely but neither the administration nor the supt's office wants to anything. I can't call her by name but she has a reputation among parents. She thinks she's a good teacher but is disorganized, rote & has major time management problems. My daughter says other teachers (gym, media center, etc.) often get annoyed by her tardiness. Children in her class have been shortchanged by not completing the same work as in other classes & many parents of students in her class feel the same. Another review mentioned the ladder system & I wonder about the children who get shortchanged by it though I feel it has nothing to do with socio-economic status. I like this school overall but it could use an administrative overhaul. Fortunately, parental involvement is very high & "green" programs are amazing.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2011

My son's classes all have over 30 students in them. This is a 'ladder' style school where the best performing students are taught by different teachers than the regular ones. Strangely, the criteria seems to change each year, and the wealthy kids always seem to be somehow above the cut-off. I would love to see them make all their classes high achievement classes. Their current implementation seems to short change the majority of the kids. Perhaps even more annoying is the number of errors I see in the homework. The grammar in many of the math word problems looks like it was translated into chinese, then into korean, and finally back to english. When I review the math homework my son has done, I have to spend several minutes trying to figure out what they were attempting to ask. I realize the textbooks in use are forced upon the school by the various lobbies at work in our state; but that doesn't really matter. Bottom line is that the textbooks are worse than the ones I saw 30 years ago.