Stoneleigh Elementary School

900 Pemberton Road

School District

Baltimore County Public Schools
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Baltimore 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 other on August 29, 2024

This school did not give my child the educational support needed and legally deserved. Holding up IEP processes on technicalities, red tape, inconsistent attendance at requested meetings, sloppy documentation and the principal never got involved. We did not stick around to see if they got their act straight and are much happier with the decision we headed into while still remaining in a public school that is more diverse, smaller, more nurturing, respectful and communicative. Our IEP was immediately assessed and adjusted and he’s grown tremendously in the new school. He had a great teacher one year, who really advocated for our child, which helped some. The leadership seems to care more about the facade, testing scores and keeping up neighborhood property values than education.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2023

I have never had an experience in the Baltimore County Public School System as horrifying as with Stoneleigh Elementary School. The administration, expressly the principal, has no control over her faculty and staff, nor do they show compassion to the diverse community. Their ability to manage the large school and the diverse community is the worst instance of public school leadership in this school system. Much of the community does not embrace diversity. Educators within the school are not held accountable for their actions or the education they deliver to children. There needs to be more consistency across grade levels. Parents enter each year hoping for the best class placement for their child(ren), only to find imbalanced classrooms - children without issue put into specific classrooms, children from diverse backgrounds placed in other classrooms. Parent communication is limited—no consistency or respect for working families beyond the DEI committee's one event this year.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2022

Despite being in a vibrant and affluent community, this school has gone remarkably downhill. The quality of teachers has suffered greatly and every year it seems like more and more of the best and most experienced teachers leave. There are little to no enrichment opportunities in or outside the classroom, no traditions, and nothing unique or innovative done here. School spirit and morale among the students and teachers is low. The rate of teacher absenteeism is so high, many teachers seem to be on extended leave and the class is left to substitute teachers while learning and consistency suffers. Many teachers do not respond or communicate with parents and seem to only be able to do the absolute minimum. The PTA's mission seems to be very unbalanced and is way more focused on supporting teachers over students. Also, if just one parent claims something is inequitable in any way, they just decide to shut everything down, so no one benefits. The money they raise seems to go more to the teachers and less to the students. Except for celebrating teachers, student celebrations are far and few between with no classroom parties allowed past 2nd grade and no celebration of Halloween/Christmas/Hanukkah/Winter whatsoever. The administration is not responsive, the principal flat out ignores emails and when she does responds replies in an unprofessional and condescending tone and finds excuses on why the situation is the way it is. She seems incapable or unwilling to find an out of the box solution. The communication from the principal is last minute and often incorrect. This school provides a basic bare bones education and not much more,
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2020

In short, the school trades on the neighborhood's upper-middle class reputation, but is woefully underwhelming in its performance. I had two kids in the school (K and 2nd), but recently withdrew them and enrolled them in a local Catholic school. Some of the reasons for withdraw are as follows: - inexperienced teachers (of the four total teachers my kids experienced, 2 were first year and another was less than two years);- curriculum was underwhelming with little to no help for advanced or accelerated learners;- though anecdotal, teachers appeared bureaucratic and disinterested (especially in response to the pandemic);- like many upper middle class public schools, the parents (PTA) and teachers are going hyper "woke". So if your concerned about fundamentals such as reading, writing, arithmetic, and less concerned about 1st graders learning about alleged "systemic racism," go somewhere else.If you're the type to research reviews like this (as I am), and you've done so for a long period of time, you'll notice Stoneleigh school's rankings are dropping. And for good reason. Living in Stoneleigh, I know first hand the interest that people in this area have in hyping the local elementary school. People here are smart enough to know the relationship between the reputation of their elementary school and property values, and will exaggerate to maintain those property values. But for many that banked on saving money during the elementary years in order to send their kids to local private schools for 6-12, many end up disappointed with the school, and pull their kids from the school earlier than originally anticipated, thus straining their personal finances. Because this school has been such a disappointment, we're considering moving to an area with better bang for your buck on housing and more reliable public schools.
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2020

Our daughter has loved this school! We were thrilled with her kindergarten teacher and her first grade teacher as well. They are so kind to the kids even when kids make mistakes, they kindly help them. They are very respectful.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2019

Stoneleigh has a very big population. Their are many parents that are involved . Most of the teachers are veterans with many years of experience. They are caring and understand what students need and how to make most parents happy. The school is a green school and has many school activities like steel drum band, chess club, and any rec. council activities.
Submitted by parent on June 20, 2017

Stoneleigh is a very high quality public elementary school. However, I think this has more to do with the demographic of the students, the high education level of the parents, and the higher parental involvement in the school. I think the administration is much more interested in County bureaucracy than student well-being. Furthermore, though located in an affluent area, the Baltimore County school system operates county-wide so resources can still be stretched. High need and high achieving students on either end of the spectrum are well-served here, but middle-of-the-pack kids can get lost in the shuffle and are just moved along. Nevertheless, the recent renovation of the plant and the great parent involvement make this a very good public school option in Baltimore County.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2016

The current principal, Heather Hollenbeck, does not truly care about the students. In every interaction I had with her this year she unprofessional, rude and condescending. When I tried to voice concerns, she did nothing to help or address them. The school is riding on their reputation and as other reviewer's have said, it would be difficult for the students to not be successful because the parents are so involved. The school just maintains the status quo. Aside from a few teachers such as Ms. Lane (4th grade teacher), the staff does not go above and beyond to challenge and excite learning. There are a lot of worksheets being passed out. Students are not taught how to think.
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2015

My son just finished his second year at Stoneleigh, and I couldn't be happier with the quality of education he has received. The teachers do an excellent job of communicating both issues and acheivements, and are quick to respond to inquiries via email. Another great aspect is the high level of parental involvement with the school. So lucky to be part of the Stoneleigh community!
Submitted by parent on November 08, 2013

I have 2 children currently enrolled at Stoneleigh, and I am thrilled at the attention and quality of the education they receive. I find the Principal to be knowledgeable and extremely helpful. She runs a tight ship but she has a great deal of children to educate and protect. One of the aspects I love about Stoneleigh is the strong parental involvement and active PTA.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2013

Any school with the demographics of this school would do well on standardized testing and school work. Because of parental involvement the school is a success. The principal is more concerned about county politics and how the school appears rather than actual students. She is a snob and turned down involvement of certain volunteers because of how they look or how artsy they are. The teachers are nice but have a pretty easy job considering how active the parents are in their children's education. It is definitely geared more toward how girls learn rather than boys. If I had to do it all over again, I would not have sent my children there.