Cold Spring Elementary School

9201 Falls Chapel Way

Potomac, MD 20854

School District

Montgomery County Public Schools
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Montgomery 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 student on March 20, 2024

This school is bad if you come here be prepared to have awful teachers, bad classmates that will bully you and a horrible lunch menu. I ADHD and dyslexia and they did nothing to help me. So now it’s much harder to deal with it. The safety at this school is horrible because most of the rooms only have 3 walls so if there was an intruder you would have to be way quieter and it would be way more dangerous.
Submitted by other on July 05, 2022

I got very smart from this school
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2021

After my son was transferred from Lakewood ES because of harsh treatment by the staff and vice principal there was a lot of work in getting him to trust teachers and want to go to school again.From the amazing principal to the staff who treated my son with love and respect he grew to love going to school and had his best years at Cold spring.I can’t thank the staff enough for their efforts and allowing my son to grow.
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2021

After moving to the neighborhood specifically for this school, we pulled my daughter out and sent her to private school. She attended from kindergarten to 2nd grade and it was an absolutely terrible experience all around. Huge focus on getting kids prepped/accepted into gifted program and pushing kids in the name of achievement only. Academic achievement/ scores are SOLE focus - no consideration for the actual well being and emotional health of the kids in the classroom AT ALL. Or the damage teachers are causing by pushing achievement only. Weak teachers and staff not managed well by principal. Regular blaming of the kids not “keeping up with achievement expectations” — the expectation being that you value scores over everything else. My daughter was routinely shamed about her reading level and pace in kindergarten (it was not “behind” — she was learning at her own pace, which is how kids learn to read.) Teacher told me, “I hope I don’t need to remind you that we are very academically focused — she needs to be reading a Level 5 book by April timeframe ...”. And that was the tip of the iceberg. My daughter DID learn to read well and DID become a straight A student. But only after spending 3 years in an environment which negatively impacted her feelings about her own worth/value and school/learning in general. I wish we had been able to pull her out sooner. I am a proponent of a public school education, but this was such a terrible experience for our daughter and our family. We have been thrilled with her private education - best decision ever. A school that looks at kids as kids, appreciated the uniqueness of each kid, and focuses on achievement AND supporting kids in learning and growing as people. I really have nothing positive to say about this school — poor leadership/management, singular score focus, weak teachers, open floor plan which means kids hear other classes/teachers throughout the building all day (walls do not go to ceiling). Only positive was that it was close to our house.
Submitted by parent on February 20, 2018

Wonderful school with wonderful teachers! Overall experience is superb. The staff is fabulous. We are beyond happy!
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2017

All three of my children attended Cold Spring, including one who went through the school's Center for the Highly Gifted. It offers a caring environment with high expectations for student academic and personal growth.
Submitted by other on April 08, 2016

this is an awesome school. this was really good compared to that torturous school wayside. i disliked wayside, and now i found a sanctuary in a place where i am actually accepted.
Submitted by parent on March 05, 2016

Cold Spring is a really great school! We have had some amazing teachers in across our three kids in the school. If you just judge based on the homework, you might think the work is bland or not very intellectually demanding ; however, the teachers are doing engaging activities in the classroom and they find a way to make the work challenging for kids at all levels. The kindergarten teacher is fantastic and my child learned so much from her while also learning to adore school. The teachers in the other grades have also been pretty spectacular, with one or two who were good but not awesome. The schools builds upon the solid foundation set in kindergarten. It is very evident why this school is highly rated and scores high-- it's not teaching to a test, it is inspiring a love of learning in all kids. We loved Mr. B and new principal, Ms Reece, has been a delight to get to know and I'd say she is doing right by the kids/parents. It's cool for your kids to go to a small school where every member of the staff knows your kids by name. My child has a 504, and you do have to advocate for your child, both to get a 504 in place and to make sure it is kept up to date. That said, the school is very supportive of kids with all learning needs/challenges. If something bothers me, the teachers, principal, and staff are quick to respond and are just as concerned as you in making things better for your child.The kids are nice, on the whole, and the parents are pretty down to earth. I'd worried about over privileged Potomac kids and parents being unbearable but that is very uncommon. The kids are quick to welcome new kids into the Cold Spring fold. I've been happy to find that "mean girls" haven't been problem bc when it starts, the kids and the teacher nip it in the bud. The PTA has been a delight-- everyone is welcome and there's no school fundraising by selling products door to door. I have volunteered in the class and for the PTA and the school/teachers/PTA make it easy for a working parent to stay involved.Bottom line-- the houses may be a bit expensive but the neighborhood and the school are totally worth it.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2015

We pulled our kids out of the school after buying our house specifically so that they could attend it. The quality of education was lower than expected, the administration did nothing to get rid of very weak teachers, and kids got too little hands-on work and too much paper and pencil work. In an era when creative thinking is becoming more important, it was strange how little it was valued here. Way too much importance was placed on creating cookie-cutter students.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2015

My three children all attended Cold Spring. The teachers, staff and Mr. Barnett took personal care of each child to help them succeed.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2014

Excellent school. My daughter has a 504 plan and every accommodation has been accomplished so far (she has been there from K to 4th so far). The Principal is compassionate and very Professional. Cold Spring staff make a great team, everyone is efficient, professional and friendly. Kids work hard. It is a positive and nourishing environment with high level of academic performance. My daughter is not part of the GT and we love the regular program. Her 4th grade teacher is exceptional as every other teacher that she has had at CSES. Our little daughter has had the same teachers as the oldest and her experience has been extraordinary as well.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2014

We have a middle-schooler who went K-5 at Cold Spring ES, and now have two siblings currently attending. We bought into the area specifically for this school and have no regrets. The Gifted and Talented Program kids do tend to stick to themselves, although the students in regular classes who score high enough in reading or math will share some curricula. Principal is great, of course some of the teachers were much more effective than others, but overall we are very pleased with CSES. Understand that this could be the only ES in the district (I'm frankly not sure) that has only single-family homes in the immediate area that feed into the school. (The exception is the GT folks.) I know parents who go to somewhat extreme measures get their kid to go here. We love the tight-knit community, great parental involvement, active PTA and volunteers, and caring environment.
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2014

We moved into the neighborhood based on the school ratings and were disappointed. My children had bad experiences with a couple of teachers. The culture of the school seems to focus primarily on the "gifted" program. If you have a child with any learning differences or special needs, stay far, far away! The best decision we ever made was to remove our children from this toxic environment because they are now thriving in their new elementary school.
Submitted by other on June 22, 2013

I attended Cold Spring Elementary School for 4th and 5th Grade to take part in the Gifted and Talented Program. I have now graduated from one of the top high schools in the nation and I attribute a lot of my success to the great teachers I had at Cold Spring. They made learning interactive and fun. We dissected pig's eyes, put on a science-based Model United Nations, learned Latin and put on a only slightly abridged (it was in the original language and still almost 2 hours long) Shakespeare play. You cannot go wrong with Cold Spring, whether you take part in the Gifted and Talented program or not.