Camp Allen Elementary School

501 C Street

School District

Norfolk City Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Norfolk 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 February 13, 2025

I am very impressed with the education and all the enthusiasm my son has shown for Camp Allen Elementary School. We recently moved from Florida to Virginia, and due to our address, Camp Allen was assigned to us as an option. However, since my son was tested and is a gifted child, I had my doubts about whether the school offered enough to meet his intellectual needs. To my surprise, the experience has been positive, and my son loves the school, the infrastructure, and his new friends. In short, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to come here and leave a good review.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2025

My baby has an IEP ( autism and speech delay) we love his two speech teachers who are helping him improve so much! I’m so bummed we have to move due to military orders. His IEP team have been great as well very understanding and helpful! His current prek4 teacher is the sweetest, I love her! She doesn’t treat my son differently instead tries to include him. There’s lots of events for parents and students at the school.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2023

Absolutely worst school I've ever seen may look appealing but it's awful , somthing has to be going on there, funds are not being used properly!! The kids haven't had a picture day in 2 years as far as I know , they are last minute on letting parents know anything being done activity wise, and so much bullying and nothing being done. Also don't be a parent with a special needs child there they will laugh in your face and tell u nobody gets an iep here! I'd advice trying a different school for your child if I was you!!
Submitted by parent on May 26, 2021

Teachers are very nice and we have lots of fun.The principle makes sure you're doing good in school, we also have an counsel teacher.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2017

Overall poor. Poor communication between ourselves and the principal and teachers when our child was bullied by a much older male student we were not even contacted, our daughter had to tell us herself. If private sector schools weren't so expensive here in the area we would not be at this school.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2016

This is our first and sadly only year at Camp Allen. My prek student has grown so much and was absolutely nourished at this school! And it is all thanks to her WONDERFULLY teacher Ms. Karen Lee!!! She is absolutely brilliant and she loves the kids so much!!! My daughter explained to me what molting was the other day... How many four year olds know that! I can't say much for the administration of the older grade teachers, but Ms. Lee rocks and my daughters experience at Camp Allen has been awesome!! We will definitely be sad to leave next year!!
Submitted by teacher on November 21, 2015

Each day my child is greeted at the front door of the building and welcomed in. She comes home excited each day about what she is learning at school and the new friends she is making. She is every excited about being in the "orange house" and comes home each week telling me which house is in the lead. There are some great things going on at Camp Allen!
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2015

I had 3 children in this school from special needs to honor roll. Everyday they would come home and cry asking me to let them be homeschooled because of how awful their experience was.
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2015

I agree...the first years were ok, but this year was unbearable. Often the school closes before the children get home (looking for the late bus, I will call the school to find they have gone home). There is no school nurse, I have found the office staff attempting to assist ill children. There has been a volunteer who constantly yelled at the children. The BIG DEAL came when my son was supposed to stay after school for SOL remediation, and although I confirmed this with several people, they still sent my son home alone and completely unsupervised. They did not advise me that my son was home until he was already there! I will be sending my children to another district next year.
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2015

First couple years the school was great, past couple years though it has changed. The office staff and principal do not greet people and look annoyed as if you are bothering them when you come into their office for any matter. They have been very rude at times, and brush people off. They are late sending paper work home for any upcoming announcements. For example, we did not receive information about the school adding minutes after school for making up the snow days. We got the paper the second day this went into effect. Some of the teachers have been helpful, but others have no time to even bother communicating with you about your child's education. They communicate when it is too late and your child is behind. I have seen a teacher belittling a child, telling the student to let her hold his hand like a three year old. This child was at least in the first or second grade. That is not a way to talk to the students. Some of their subjects have not even met accreditation. They do minimal work around here, other public schools nearby are more advanced. Hopefully they structure their staff, and become a better learning environment. The students deserve better!
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2014

My child attended this school in the 1st and 2nd grade and after two years I had reached my limit with this school. The PTA is extremely cliquey and childish. Also, if your child has any sort of learning disability, even with the proper paperwork and taking the necessary steps, it is near impossible to get anything done at this school. As a result we decided to homeschool our child.
Submitted by parent on October 10, 2013

My experience at Camp Allen has been wonderful. The staff has always been very friendly and nice. I have been at the school on different occasions and have never seen any staff member being mean to any students. The principal has been nothing but great to my family and other families that I have spoken with. The PTA has encouraged all parents to be involved they are there for the children. They have all been very friendly and welcoming. The teachers and staff are very friendly and helpful. I encourage new parents to Camp Allen to make their decision about the school based on their experience and not on an angry post.
Submitted by teacher on October 09, 2013

As a dedicated teacher at Camp Allen for over 10 years, it breaks my heart to see some of the reviews posted here. I know how dedicated the staff, including the administration are to student achievement. We go in early, stay late and work from home trying to find the best ways to reach every student. Student achievement, student growth, and student happiness are our top priority. All decision made are in the best interest of the children. Not everyone sees what goes on behind the curtain as we work as groups for hours trying to come up with ways to reach all students, but trust that it is happening. Our administration is working hard to improve teaching and learning to make it the best school. I would encourage you to come join us, volunteer, have lunch with your child and reach out if there is a concern. We want to be a team, both staff and parents to help our children. Please join us at school, PTA functions, and other school functions. We would love to have you! I love my job and Camp Allen. We are committed to having each child reach their full potential! Thanks you for considering joining our effort to make out children the best they can be!
Submitted by parent on October 08, 2013

My children attend Camp Allen Elementary & at first, it wasn't bad, but now with this new principal (Mrs. Copeland) it has gotten awful. The teachers aren't bad, but the principal, office secretary, and PTA need a makeover! I've never met so many rude staff members in the same school. This school is 99% military and might as well be 99% bullying. There is so much bullying that constantly goes on and it's never dealt with properly. It's sad. I've also witnessed teachers, principal, and the secretary being very mean to children. Gym teacher is a jerk too...He scares the heck out of kids just to make them do stuff. They will all smile in your face and act sweet, but the stories my children come home with and what I've witnessed, it's terrifying! Homework is a joke...it always has typo's and never makes any sense...have fun figuring it out yourself. We are moving just so our children don't have to attend this school anymore.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2013

It is a shame that the majority of the time Camp Allen receives comments is when parents are unhappy about something. Camp Allen has been an incredible journey for our family. My wife attended this school as a young child. She was happy then and WE have been nothing but happy over the past 5 years. Each teacher has been kind and professional. The majority of students do not come from military families but nonetheless, we feel a sense of community. I encourage more people who are happy with Camp Allen to post positive comments. And ... we need more parental support ... stop complaining and become involved.
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2013

We had a bad experience with this school. The majority if not all of the students are from a military family. (only plus) The staff was ok, some were rude. I had the pleasure of meeting my sons IEP teacher *ahem RUDE and too young to be experienced enough to handle my child. She acted as if my son wasnt in the room. They do NOT provide transportation for our location. Since he isnt wheel chair bound he wasnt allowed to take a bus. I could go on, but I wont. We went the homeschool route, because we were told we couldnt send him to two other schools, both of which were under 2 miles away. I refuse to take him back there.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2012

I have had nothing but an amazing experience at this school. My daughter had a bullying issue, and the school dealt with it swiftly and it has stopped. They did an amazing job! My daughter has a speech problem and tubes in her ears and the students and the teachers have been amazing in helping us get the speech therapy that she needs. I am ALWAYS greeted with a huge hello, and everyone I have met in this school has been nice and welcoming. Its sad reading all these bad reviews, this is a great school!
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2011

I have made two reviews to the site about this school. But I come back on and they are gone. Who is it that decides what reviews get to stay or get deleted? I wonder how long this review will stay on here? Camp Allen Administration has gone from bad to worse. They still have the "fetus doll" crazy lady there and NO principal has been hired yet. ALL the other schools of Norfolk have a principal, why is it that Camp Allen always gets the worst of the lot? Is it a Norfolk dumping ground? Talk to the AP for 5 minutes, you'll see what I'm talking about.
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2011

Wow, my experience has been nothing but amazing at this school. My children are happy with their teachers and I always feel welcome. The staff is knowledgeable and I really feel like we are a team in making sure my children learn.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2011

This is the worst school ever, my son has had his life threatened, bullied and NOTHING was ever done, my son got in trouble because they claim everyone should suffer not just the bullier. My children do not want to go to school everday, teachers yelling at them, picking on them due to their learning and if your child has ADHD, the school will discriminate against them. They are very disorganized, rude, and they do not care about you or your child... if you can avoid going to this school I would HIGHLY recommend it!!!