Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary

3500 23rd Street South

School District

Arlington County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:9
Type

public

School Map for Arlington 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 February 08, 2025

I am a current parent of PreK, K and 1st Grade students at Drew Elementary. I am thankful to have Drew Elementary as our neighborhood school. Drew Elementary provides a welcoming, safe, supportive and encouraging community. The school’s Academic Information night event for parents provided in-depth sessions on learning strategies and support. The school and PTA organize fun events including a Back to School Festival, Read-a-Thon, Garden Days, Love is a Language Dance, Winter Showcase and more. The PTA is welcoming and makes meetings easy to attend by providing childcare, pizza and recently added a virtual option. Principal Gaither, the teachers, assistants, Encore (specials) teachers, librarian, library assistant, and literacy coach are excellent. My children have never experienced bullying at Drew Elementary. I am thankful for the kind, collaborative environment that the school nurtures. The school has an excellent reading program. I also love the school’s focus on building students’ confidence. Thank you Drew Elementary for your commitment to students and families.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2024

Drew Elementary has been through an incredibly challenging 5 year period, but it is a school where I would encourage my neighbors to send their kids. Following a contentious boundary realignment by the school district in 2018, the school community was just beginning to form during the 2019-2020 school year when covid upended education. The 2022-2023 school year was the first "normal" year for most of our students, where the administration, teachers, students, and families re-established routines. The teaching staff and administration have stabilized, the PTA is rebounding, and traditions feel normal again. The 4th and 5th grade choir is back to winning competitions. The band and orchestra concerts are standing-room only. We have more students on rec sports teams than before. The annual Multi-Cultural Night and end of year celebrations (including Drew Day and the Peace Walk) are supported by the community and neighborhood. New playgrounds were installed in spring 2024. 30+ languages are spoken by our families, which represent a cross-section of the world and enrich our students' experience in a way the test scores don't reflect.
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2022

Facilities are nice, some teachers great but many not experienced enough. Lack of consistency in communication, lack of holistic approach in assessing kids performance, and poor communication with parents on kids performance. Lack of use seesaw application. School seems to have improved but still has a long way to go. Need more TAs , perhaps better pay and incentives to recruit better experienced teachers, and administrators- or better pay and performance based incentives.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2021

Drew has completely transformed, and reviews from before 2020 no longer apply. All children get to use the "Dragon Den" STEAM center to learn coding, even in kindergarden! The teachers are very experienced, and the small class sizes are wonderful. It remains to be seen how the test scores shake out post-pandemic, but now that the montessori program has gone and the school boundaries have been adjusted, Drew is a fantastic neighborhood school with wonderful teachers and great leadership.
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2019

Drew is undergoing a big transformation this year. Previously there were two programs housed in the same building. There was a significant boundary change among south Arlington schools that just went into effect, and this year is the first time the school is one united community. There is a fantastic principal, small class sizes, and wonderful teachers. Our 2 sons love going to school everyday! I can't speak to the reviews from years ago, but there is a new energy at Drew that is awesome.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2017

My children have been at Drew for 6 years, in the Montessori program. We have had a very good experience - they have learned the necessary grade material (as measured by the standardized test), but more importantly, have developed a strong love of learning and sense of community and responsibility. I'm not sure what the negative reviews are based on, but I would caution that any review that is more than 1-2 years old is out of date, due to leadership changes at the school.
Submitted by parent on July 10, 2017

I have nieces and nephews that have attended 1 of several of Arlington County elementary schools. Drew by far is the worst. If you didn't know any better, you would not think it was in the same county school system. The approach that the teachers and staff have with the students is very dismissive and demeaning. It feels as if they stereotype and lump all the kids because they assume that just because you may come from a low income family you are unable to listen and learn. I could go on and on. I wish there were some way to get them into another school.
Submitted by other on October 25, 2016

This is my children's second year at Drew. In their first year, my son was in the traditional Drew program and my daughter in the 3yr old Montessori. Let me start by telling you that I am beyond thankful to my sons PreK teacher Ms.Judy (traditional program), she would go above and beyond for all her students. She was firm but also loving and caring. She had an amazing sense of humor and you can tell she loves her job and tries her hardest to help her students. I am super greatful for all the help and support she gave my son while he was in her class. Going over to the Montessori side, I was also very happy with the teachers that my daughter had for Montessori. She loved going to class and she learned a lot as well. Unfortunately her teachers retired this year (Ms.Oakes) but the new teacher that was hired in her place is also an amazing teacher. Drew model school is the best choice I could of chosen for my kids. All the staff and teachers show a sense of love and care for all students. Everyone seems very happy and I have not seen any bullying and mind you I am very sensitive when It comes to bullying. If you are considering to enroll your child in Drew please give it a chance. You will see for yourself it is an amazing school :)
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2015

People should be aware that greatschools.org merges the regular Drew Model with the Drew Montessori school. Therefore, the test scores are inflated, the demographics are completely inaccurate, etc. Drew Model, you should insist that you publish your own test scores and demographics so people can really see what is happening in your school.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2015

I have been at Drew for 2 full years and my twins couldn't be happier. They are in the Montessori program. The entire school community has been wonderful. My 5 years are getting Spanish, Art, Music, PE, and Library at least once a week,
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2014

Both of my children will be at Drew in the Fall. We are beyond thrilled with our daughters teacher. She has been an inspiration and has instilled a love of learning in our daughter that we never knew was possible. We are above the moon that our younger child will be with our daughter's teacher in the Fall. Our daughter feels safe in her classroom, loves school and even jokes at home pretending to says some words with a New York accent like her teacher. We look forward to many years to come.
Submitted by teacher on April 23, 2013

Drew has alot of issues that they are working through. Compared to other Arlington schools, I think it is well below average. Just this year I know of at least 5 parents who have pulled their student out of the Montessori program at Drew because of issues relating to bullying and the qualtity of instruction. I know of at least 3 others that might do the same. There is a disconnect between the philosophy of Maria Montessori and the actual practice at Drew. The principal is well aware and is trying to address the issue of rudeness from some of the teaching and office staff towards the children. Multiple parents have complained about this. There have not been any going outs in the 4 years my child has been at that school (despite that it was in a promo video of theirs), and most of the Montessori students eat in the crowded loud cafeteria, not the classrooms due to a previous mouse problem and the teachers preference. There is a lack of community and the PTA struggles. Their budget is way below other N. Arlington schools. There are great Montessori teachers at Drew but some really bad ones too. I love Montessori but think Drew doesn't deliver.