Violetville Elementary/Middle School

1207 Pine Heights Avenue

School District

Baltimore City Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Baltimore City 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 08, 2023

L freaking schhol man makes me mad
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2022

I wish I read these reviews before we bought our house and put our son in this school. The bullying situation was terrible. The administration did nothing about student safety or bullying. Students were physical hurt in school and on the way home and the school didn't bother to notify parents. My son was bullied by the same group of students for a week before he told his father and I. He told the teacher and principal but they did nothing. The principal refused to return calls. The other reviews are right about Ashley Esposito and the Village of Violetville. That is not a Parent Teacher group. They refuse to let parents provide input or make suggestions. None of the group members have children in the school but they will send you vaguely threatening messages if you complain or point out things that need to be fixed at the school. No other parents or parent group is allowed to do things at the school. There is no PTA. The outside school grounds are dirty and there were needles on the sidewalk several times. When I complained about this and suggested creating a group of parents to keep the school grounds cleaned I was told to stay in my lane. When my husband and I complained about our son being bullied we were told to stop complaining before something worse happens. To me this feels like a threat to myself and my son and I don't appreciate it. This isn't the way schools should be ran. My son is going to a different school this year and we will be moving to a better neighborhood. This school needs to be shut down and opened up with all new staff. The neighborhood needs a whole overhaul and new people in charge.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2022

It’s sad reading through the other reviews. This was a good school until Village of Violetville got involved. The parent organization was cancelled and replaced with Village of Violetville, which is a political group. The woman who created Village of Violetville moved to this neighborhood to run for office. The term is carpetbagger. None of the problems in the school are being addressed. They focus on spinning everything for publicity. The students and the community are basically used as props for photo ops, political pawns. All of the experienced teachers left the school in the last 3 years. 2 teachers walked out in the middle of the school year. Parents aren’t allowed to give input. There are no monthly parent org meetings. There are no opportunities for parents to volunteer or be involved. All of the clubs and activities where parents could volunteer were stopped by VOV. Bullying was out of control this year. Several fights happened where students ended up in the hospital. The school administration never addressed it. The school grounds are disgusting and dangerous (used drug syringes, broken bottles, used condoms). No safety patrols or crossing guard to get the kids to school safely.We just sold our house in Violetville and bought in another part of the city. My daughter won’t be returning to Violetville School next year.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2022

Violetville used to be a good school in a good neighborhood. This school quickly became a joke. Principal Brown and the Village of Violetville individual Ashley Esposito drove the school into the ground. They got rid of the pta. They got rid of the extra curricular activities. They don’t do anything about bullying. My son is in 7th grade. I want him to finish middle school at Violetville but he’s not learning anything. The school isn’t safe with the amount of bullying going on. As a parent I don’t feel welcome to give input. Honestly I feel threatened when I try to engage at the school. If you heard about Violetville when it was good, none of the good activities are available now. The experienced teachers walked out over the last three years. As some other parents wrote all the clubs and sports were cancelled by VOV and Principal Brown. There’s a lot of talk of “addressing trauma” and “providing support” but it’s all marketing spin. The school and VOV do absolutely nothing for the students. My son was included in someone’s social media political campaign photos without my permission, which really upset me. They stopped class time for photo ops. Parents who try to volunteer at the school are told no. We have no voice in what happens at the school. The School Family Council doesn’t meet anymore. This was a community school when my son started here. Now most families from Violetville send their kids to county schools or private schools. The students at Violetville are mostly inner city kids. It’s not even very diverse anymore because most kids come from the same inner city neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2022

My son is in 3rd grade at Violetville. The school is terrible. My son is going to private school next year. The school administration ignores parents. The teachers refuse to honor my son's IEP. The principal refuses to address the bullying at lunchtime. The school doesn't hold monthly parent meetings to discuss problems. I tried to get involved and was told no. They discourage parent engagement. The situation is very frustrating because we bought our house because the school and neighborhood had good reviews. By the time my son was ready to attend school the principal and pta were removed and replaced with Ms. Brown and VOV. The neighborhood has none of the activities advertised. The property crime is pretty high. The area around the school is filthy.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2022

I cannot recommend Violetville school. The school is not safe. There are many older students who bully younger children. There are no activities or clubs. There is no parent involvement. My son is transferring my granddaughter to a county school. Violetville Elementary isn’t what it used to be. My children attended Violetville school in the 2000’s. My granddaughter attends in 2022. It was a wonderful community school in the 2000’s. Recently the Sports Council and the Rec Center were removed. The PTA and School Family Council were replaced by Village of Violetville, which seems like a political group not a group to help the students .When I visited the school no staff could tell me about the campus or available clubs and activities. It turns out there are no clubs or after school activities. The after school program has children crammed in the gym with no supervision. They play with phones and fight. The outside of the school was dirty. There was trash, including broken bottles and glass along the sidewalk. Worst of all I saw a syringe in the gutter. I’m sadden by the state of the building. I recommend looking at other schools. This school has been allowed to fall into disrepair in the last few years.
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2022

Less than one star. The decent teachers walked out. The school isn’t safe. The principal doesn’t do anything about bullying. The Village of Violetville group ran all the good parents off. There’s no parents to help with activities. Do yourself a favor. Don’t enroll your child here. I enrolled my daughter in a county school in December. It’s January no one from Violetville school has called me back yet.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2021

I would give Violetville School zero stars if that was an option. We put our boys in private school until we can move out of this neighborhood. The school and the neighborhood are blighted. The area spiraled out of control in the last 2-3 years. The area around the school has section 8 rowhouses. Students walk past drug users on porches and in the alleys on the way to school. Mysons saw needles and used condoms on the sidewalk in front of the school. The school staff doesn’t care. No one cleans the mess. Once inside the school it’s even worse. The older teachers left last year. The new teachers have no control over the students. Both my sons were bullied this year. My younger son was punched in class and then punched again by the same kid on his way home. My older son had to stop the fight. There were other parents around and adults on the porches but no one helped him. The school never told us what happened and no one returns calls. There are a lot of students with behavior problems. The teachers don’t do classroom management. Class time is the teachers telling students to be quiet. There is no teaching. The class work and homework are printouts. There’s no real instruction. There are no clubs or sports at the school. The Rec Center was taken out and never replaced. There used to be a Science Club and a Garden Club, a soccer team, baseball and boy scouts. All the programming is gone. The building is nice from the outside but not maintained inside. My sons said there is no soap in the bathrooms, which is really bad in Covid times. The desks and chairs are broken and old. The school is not a good environment. The neighborhood is blighted. Do your research before sending your kids here. I don’t recommend it.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2021

Avoid this school. A week into the school year my daughter found a plastic bottle with drug needles in it on the sidewalk in front of the school TWICE and had her bag stolen on the way home one day. The teachers and principle don’t care. No one helped her. She got home crying. She doesn’t want to go back. There is no crossing guard, no after school programs, no clubs no sports. The older kids don’t get recess. The science class is a joke. They don’t have any foreign language classes. I went to this school back in the day. It was great back then. We had baseball teams, a school garden. Our science class had rocket club. It’s horrible now. None of that’s available to my kids. I called the school about the PTA they don’t even have that. Avoid the school. Send your kids to county or private if you can afford it.
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2021

DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS TO THIS SCHOOL. It’s a terribly school. The teachers is bad and the students is out of control. There’s no pta to help parents. Teachers don’t do nothing when kids bully your kid. The kids don’t learn nothing. The don’t even get real homework. I know it’s a pandemic but still they should get homework. I took my kids out this school. My son got to repeat fourth grade because of this stupid school.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2018

This use to be a really nice school. So sad to see the neighborhood so sad to see the school go down the drain what a waste. So glad I got my kids out when I did.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2016

This school is horrible! DO NOT send your child there if you can help it. The students are a problem in itself, but the teachers lack of discipline makes it worst. My daughter was assaulted by a boy inside of a tiny classroom all while the teacher watched a movie. The students had to stop the boy from attacking my daughter. The teacher never got up from her desk. No authority figure was notified whatsoever. The principal Mrs. RyanHol never contacted me to notify me of the incident. Instead, she let the attacker leave the school grounds along with my child who is also a walker. The assistant principal Mr.Gibbs acted as if her dad and I were getting on his nerves when inquiring about how no teacher found this to be a serious issue. He then proceeded to lead us into a room where, by this time an officer had arrived. Both the principles left the school as if they could care less about the outcome. The school was getting ready to close and they truthfully did not want to be bothered. Furthermore, NO teacher or principle called me to inform me about this incident even though my child's eye was swollen shut! My own child had to find a phone to call me. When the officer went to look for them they had both went home without ever talking to us. Another teacher pulled me aside to tell me that this is the worse school she has ever worked for. PLEASE DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE DIVERSITY!! Students are out of control and the teachers could care less about their safety, lives, or future. My daughter was withdrawn from that school that very next day. Please, if you love your child DO NOT send them to this school period!
Submitted by teacher on October 27, 2015

Principal does not support the staff when it comes to disrespect and violent behavior by the students. If you check the surveys, the students and teachers rate the school as almost failing. Funny how the parents in each category rate high. This is because the principal and the upper staff do a great PR job to hide the problems. Unfortunately, nothing will change until the principal and her entourage get replaced. There isn't any more room under the rug to hide the truth. Several of the staff have been physically assaulted and threatened with knives and such. Don't send your kids there and don't work there.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2015

The Principal doesn't care what happens at the School. Fighting, students disrespecting teachers. The first 4 months of the year 4 teachers walked out.
Submitted by parent on January 14, 2015

WORST SCHOOL IVE EVER SEEN, MOVING MY KID OUT THIS MONTH! My first grader has had to fight off older kids telling him they were going to stab him in the throat! Nothing at all was done about it, the administration does nothing about the behavior problems of the same students fighting and stealing daily! Teachers are just as frustrated with no support from administration, no parental involvement, no recess, no playground, bad test scores! Dont do it-I warn you, BCPS are the worst in Maryland! Especially this one! They hide it well with the nice new building, but its all screwed up once you get to see it for yourself!
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2014

Sitting here reading some of these comments about Violetville school. The sad thing is that the concerns that parents had in 2007 are still a problem today in 2014. The school itself is beautiful and well maintained. There is a small amount of good staff members. But the laziness and lack of willingness to help solve bullying problems from the upper staff is really what brings the school down. My kid has been at this school for years and has been tormented by bullies and teachers alike. Plus the children just run wild and I feel they are lacking in education. They only teach up to the state test then they don't care about the students after that. The older children are NOT ready for High school. So, if you can PLEASE do not send your child here. My family and I have no choice but are looking to move very soon.
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2014

HORRIBLE SCHOOL. no recess for kids... The kids are out of control. In Art and music they watch movies instead of learning about art and music. No discuplinary action for the kids that are out of control principal does nothing Do yourself a favor keep your kids far away from this school
Submitted by parent on December 18, 2013

Violetville is a horrible school my child has been at this school since she was 4 years old. In the beginning it was wonderful but the moment they got a rebuild of the school it has went down hill. My daughter has been being bullied by the same student for the past two years they are doing nothing and I mean nothing about it. I have filed complaint after complaint my next step is to go to the central office and file complaints then to the police they are doing nothing to solve this problem. Some of the teachers are beautiful understanding and are wonderful teachers. While others can't even seem to control a classroom. These children are acting like animals yelling screaming throwing things in the teacher just sit in the front of the room and does nothing. I truly cannot wait until my family and I can move out of this school district and I can get my child out of here.
Submitted by other on October 24, 2013

violetteville elemenery school. both of my grandchildren go there and the teachers are so good to them
Submitted by other on August 22, 2013

Violetville Elementary is a great school. My granddaughter attends and can hardly wait for the first day. The teachers are caring, patient and understanding. The school can improve with more help from parents.