Oakton Elementary School

3000 Chain Bridge Road

School District

Fairfax County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Fairfax 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 December 06, 2024

If I could give this school 0 starts I would do it, they are discriminating against special education students, my child was in the Autism classroom and was mistreated and discriminated by the teacher, the discrimination and wrong doing towards my child was very painful and if you go with your concerns to a higher level they don’t do anything and they cover each other we took our child out of this school and we are never going back. Stay away of this school and if you have a child in special education run!
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2024

We recently moved to Vienna and upon changing schools realized how an elementary school is supposed to run. At Oakton, there are a few nice teachers and staff but most are difficult and our experience there was very unpleasant. Our children slipped through the cracks there and we as parents did not feel heard.
Submitted by parent on February 29, 2024

Very poor communication between teachers and parents, not really friendly or caring staffing , other parents may have different experience but my experience with the kindergarten's teacher and staffing was very poor, also education system not good at all, the kindergarten teacher was very demanding and discriminating , I took my kid out and put him on private school and never will recommend this school at all!
Submitted by other on March 04, 2022

Oakton Elementary is a fantastic school! The teachers I've had managed the classes
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2021

My experience in OES school was very bad. I have three kids who attended this school, and it was unpleasant at all.The classrooms are small and the ratio is 30 student and one teacher with no help.My little one was in a kindergarten, I have no words except it was ugly and sad year for us. First, it was virtual and the teacher wasn't helping at all to make it easier, she was just asking these little kiddos to do a lot of worksheets, putting timer for them to finish, and put you tube to watch videos. I didn't see her teaching them expect these videos with alphabets and number songs. When they went back to school was even worse. Even though there were only 12 kids ( because of covid) in the classroom and 3 teachers,however, most of my kid's worksheets were scribbled; no teacher's observation. My 5 years old has IEP and needs support, but only he got was judgments and complains from his teachers. They didn't mind at all putting 1's in his report card and don't put a plan to help him. I was begging the teacher to do a reward system for him as encouragement but she refused by saying it's not her style. The teacher literally told me that my son needs to understand that going to school is like going to work and she is the boss. I don't know how 5 years old with speech delay will understand that. Kindergarten should be fun and the classroom should full of entertainment but her class was far away from that. She was so good at putting my son in time out most of the time and sending email or calls complaining about him instead of finding out a good technique to communicate with him. I was very disappointed from OES school and Fairfax county. I moved all away from Florida looking for a better education system. I depended on the school's rate as my guidance but I think i was totally wrong. Real experience should be the guidance. For that I'm sharing my experience. I have a lot of negative stories towards this school but i don't want to make my post longer. Just be aware of this school please.
Submitted by parent on February 29, 2016

The school is average, not great, at least academically. My child has been attending for a couple of years now. Some teachers are great. Some, basically, mail it in. If the test scores are higher, it is because of the parent involvement, not the school academics per say. My kid is quiet and well-behaved, so teachers tend to forget about us. The curriculum seems really lacking and homework assignment are basic and we never get any feedback on them back. I'm not sure how much that depends on the overall curriculum and how much it is up to a teacher to challenge the students with extra, interesting stuff. If we hadn't been working at home on math, reading, writing, etc., my child wouldn't learn much at school. Another area I find frustrating is the lack of communication from our teacher. We hardly ever find out what they are learning and how they are learning it. Even though, the county spending per kid is high, the results are not there.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2016

I feel compelled to comment based on the previous comment. I have two children at Oakton Elementary and we are very satisfied. The class size is not a Oakton Elementary problem, but an overall county problem which has been taken seriously by the Administration office. For a public School, this school will knock your socks off. The teacher are caring and academics are great. The test scores speak for themselves. Its easy to compare this school to all the other schools in Fairfax County or VA as a whole and it is clear to see why this school is one of the BEST!!!!!
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2015

My kid attended KG, 1st and 2nd grade in this school. We heard a lot of good thing about this school and we were very excited to be part of this school. Unfortunately that was not the case.. Like other elementary school in this AREA.. this school is no exception in regards to Higher students to Teacher ratio.. An avg classroom will have 25-27 students/ teacher with no teacher help. if you or your kid is not in teacher favorite list.. then basically you are just sending your kids to a free day care.. Please do not expect he/she will going to bring any homework and since the teacher have so many kids.. no body really care.. Even though district forward each academic curriculum, you still have to be in good luck to get good teacher assigned to your kid. Quarterly grading is either a big formality or a big joke.. hard to pick which one best fit for this school. somewhere around march next year, suddenly the teacher will going to call you, along with School principal to let you know that your kids is below average and sorry we were unable to communicate this information in a timely manner. i think overall school highly overrated and school really need to do some reality check.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2014

The best School in the area! Couldn't ask more from a public school!!! The teachers are caring and qualified. The students are smart and happy and the principal is visible. This is a gem of the Oakton Vienna area!!!
Submitted by other on November 27, 2013

I am a sixth grader in this school. It is the best school you can have unlike the old school I would go to, this school has no bullies and the teachers in AAP are the best. I have only been in this school since fifth grade and I whish I had been here since third grade. I learned from my friends that the third and fourth grade teachers were very nice. If you say the front desk people are unfriendly and they communicate poorly, I don't belive so. I think this school deserves a 10 out of ten instead of a nine out of ten.
Submitted by parent on June 16, 2013

This school is over rated. The front desk people are unfriendly. The classrooms are crowded. My daughter is in the AAP program and I chose to keep her at this school instead of going to the assigned center. The AAP classroom is just as over crowded as the general education classes because the principal has the discretion to place non-AAP students in these classrooms to fill the seats. I will be moving my child to a center next year.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2013

Have always loved Oakton for my oldest child- fabulous teachers, creative lessons, individualized instruction. My second child has had only average teachers and I was becoming concerned with her progress. Met with the principal this morning, and am so impressed with her right now. Not only had she taken the time to review my child's test scores and recent grades prior to our meeting, she was extremely receptive to all of my concerns and eager to work with us to ensure my child reaches her full potential. Can not say enough about the parent involvement at Oakton- so many great programs before and after school, an active PTA calendar and fabulous room parents. From an approachable administration, to a wonderful office staff, to the caring counselors and the amazing teachers, Oakton is a place I am proud to send my children each day.
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2013

I went to Oakton Elementary when I was a child and loved the school even way back then. The school is fantastic and I feel blessed that my Son, who is in 3rd grade, has been going here since Kindergarten. His teacher was just voted the #1 teacher of the year and the school was voted by FCPS as one of the top Elementary schools in the county. My Son has had some speech impediments and some learning disabilities since he was 2. Now, because of this schools facilities & teachers, my Son is thriving and is graduating out of speech and his grades have improved tremendously. The principle and staff are so caring of all the children. The schools after school academic programs are wonderful, my Son is learning Spanish (free of charge), keyboarding, drawing and is in an extra math league (which is free of charge) after school all because this school offers it to their students. I can not say enough about this school, their teachers, the staff, the academics, etc. except to say I love Oakton Elementary and I am thankful for everything they have done.
Submitted by parent on July 12, 2012

I have 2 kids at OES and have been very impressed, for the most part. My older child has had fantastic teachers, while my youngest's teachers have been less strong, but perfectly competeny. Some parents have very valid concerns about the Local Level IV AAP center, which is getting ready to start it's 4th year. For my older child, one class out of 4 is AAP, and maybe 6 kids who did not qualify we're drafted from the general population. For my younger child, 2 of the 5 classes are AAP, and about 20 kids were drafted to fill them out. This makes some parents feel like both AAP and General Ed. are being watered down and there are some bad feeling between kids who are in the center and kids who are not. OES does have a great new addition (no more trailers!) , a very involved administration, and an incredibly involved PTA that fundraises and pays for all sorts of extras. There are a lot of great extras, like Girls on the Run, Odyssey of the Mind, chess club and robotics. OES was also selected to start foreign language next year.
Submitted by parent on May 03, 2012

We have been a bit disappointed with Oakton ES. The class sizes are way to big in classrooms that are not big enough to hold the large number of students. In addition the Gifted and Talented program is out of control. In the 3rd grade three of the five classes are GT. I'm sure that 40% of the grade are not GT. Unfortunately, the school system allows parents to pay to have their students put into these classes by way of outside testing. Lastly, they are teaching to the SOL testing instead of just focusing on teaching/learning!
Submitted by parent on December 23, 2011

Hit or Miss. We have two children attending OES since 2009. One is in GT the other is not. In the GT program the class size is smaller and so far each teacher has far exceeded our expectations. As a result, our child in GT loves going to school and would just as well miss weekends and holiday breaks to keep attending. Our other child is the polar opposite. She used to love school until she started attending OES. Her class is crowded, her teacher overwhelmed and unable to control some students. The new principle has made sincere efforts to address the problem but it will take time. In the meantime we are not happy at all with the VP who comes across as immature and unable to address parent concerns. Instead the VP seems more focused on being 'funny' and each child's best friend instead of keeping the school on the right track. On the positive side, the school has two counselors who are very supportive and communicate openly with parents which I think is a key reason the school does not have bullying issues. The PTA is also amazing and manages to supplement the school with really good programs like Odessy of the Mind, an annual Variety Show and Grace Arts.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2011

I've been extremely disappointed with OES, especially with the principal and administration. They are hostile to parents where they should be supportive. They communicate poorly and rudely; even innocent questions from a parent (e.g., "what time should I expect the bus in the afternoon?") are met with a combative response from OES staff. School protocols are unclear and inconsistently applied. Overall, our experience has been worse than unsatisfactory. I would strongly recommend that parents looking to settle in Fairfax County select an elementary school district other than Oakton.