James H. Harrison Elementary School

13200 Larchdale Road

Laurel, MD 20708

School District

Prince George's County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Prince George's 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 March 02, 2017

Not sure about the other comments, maybe past administration, but Dr. Williams is a great principal and I feel her number one priority is the safety and education of the children. All schools have flaws, but parents should volunteer or get involved so they can truly see the ins and outs of the school system. The teachers here are all great and I have never had a problem when contacting James H Harrison for any reason.
Submitted by other on July 13, 2015

Terrible.Why so harsh, you are teachers, I understand a job teaching brings stress but they are children. The teachers i meet in here,terrible rude and unacceptable. I visited once and overheard one of the teachers threaten a student and told the study they were going to hit them,Terrible.
Submitted by parent on December 17, 2014

the principal needs to get some training, she lacks the people skills required to lead the school. I am so happy to be moving near a better school for my children next year.
Submitted by parent on December 02, 2014

My daughter is currently a kindergarten student at James Harrison and so far, we love the school and her teacher! She was already reading small words when she first began attending here, but now she is doing VERY WELL with her reading and her handwriting has improved greatly. My youngest child is 4 and will also attend here for Kindergarten next year. Now, I can say so far the administration seems to want to do a good job, but I haven't had a great experience with their response times to specific issues I've run into in using the online School MAX program. Luckily my child's teacher is great with communicating outside of this tool, so I don't think I've missed much. As time passes, I'll gladly update on our experience moving forward.
Submitted by other on November 01, 2014

I think what people fail to realize is that James H. Harrison has a very high special education population. Given this fact, one must also realize that those special education students take the same assessments as the general education students....which in turn brings down the overall testing scores. This in turn makes it seem as though the school has very low test scores, when in reality, if the scores were separated, it would show that the general education students test scores are actually very good. I find the teachers very committed and the administration is great......parental involvement could be better.
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2014

The school is horrible! My daughter was transferred here from a much better school due to a glitch and she was miserable. The teachers were lazy and didn't have much interest in the children. I think this school needs to be shut down.
Submitted by parent on June 23, 2014

James H Harrison would have some potential, provided the leadership steps down and out. The principal is cold and has no bedside manner when dealing with parents, staff, or students. Anyone can see it! Teachers are requesting transfers left and right due to the poor leadership. Parents are not involved... for what reasons no one knows- there are plenty of them present dropping their children off and picking them up midday. What gives? Some of the teachers are exceptionally talented and committed to change, while others could care less. Some are simply fed up.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2014

James H. Harrison is run down, poorly managed, poorly funded, and generally bad. I have trouble finding anything genuenly positive things to say. Neither the administration nor the parents appear to care enough to put any effort into improving the school. A few of the staff members are very dedicated, but are so out numbered and under supported that they can make little impact. The principle seems disdainful of the parents and teachers alike, and has been spotted out at lunch durring the school day. The poor quality of the school is actually impacting the communities home values by making houses and townhouses harder to sell to families. The students at Harrison have the same potential as any other student body, and deserve the same high standards and caring schools afforded other counties students.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2010

Any good reviews must come staff trying to keep their jobs. This one of the worst schools among equally poor schools in PG. That is the reason private schools proliferate. The teachers and staff seem to have disdain for the children. They are openly hostile to the youngest. I've witnessed this. Even the crossing guard is harsh. The TAG program is reserved for the teachers', admin and their close friends children. I've attempted to volunteer in my son's class last year and I was told that the teacher didn't need any help. They bog down the children with homework. They are not on the forefront of the research. The math taught is below grade level and the library is dismal. Parents are treated with indifference and hostility if they ask for too much. I took my son out last year because I was fed up after two months.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2007

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