Oak Grove Elementary

10401 Penny Road

School District

Wake County
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:10
Type

public

School Map for Wake County School District

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 31, 2022

This school is amazing all my boys have enjoyed being at this school, the principal always has a smile on her face and shows she cares about her students. The teachers are wonderful educators amazing school in every way!
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2020

My kids have had a very positive experience at this school. The art teacher is excellent and it offers a new STEM special.
Submitted by other on June 23, 2019

It has made the world of difference for my daughter. She has autism and we are keeping her as main streamed as possible. Her growth in both academics as well as self confidence has been tremendous
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2017

This school has become a toxic place to educate children. I fully agree with a previous post that the administration needs to be reviewed and changes made. The Principle is ineffective, uninvolved, unresponsive and overall has a poor attitude towards supporting children at this school. Shame on Wake County for keeping her in this position.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2016

Administration is awful. I believe the principal was placed here to wait out her retirement. She has long ago given up and her response to any and all complaints is "oh well, not my fault. The school district decides that." I bought that answer for awhile but dont any more. The school has high testing scores so it gets good ratings. But all of that is on the backs of the students and parents, not the administration. This year we finally got a new asst. principal and he is amazing. He actually attempts communication with parents. Other than him and Mrs. Comstock, the entire administration needs to be overhauled. I would not recommend this school.
Submitted by other on June 15, 2016

We have been at Oak Grove for 6 years. My daughter started in K, and my son in 3rd Grade. We were lucky to have great teachers each year, but some of our favorites were: Ms. Taranto, Ms Rogers, and Ms. Singletary, all of which have since left. They were outstanding. Ms. Ennis is another of my daughters favorites. We have had several bullying concerns and were addressed but found could have been handled better. My biggest issue is with P. E. Grades have gone up a bit, but for the first couple years we were there all the kids were getting 1's and 2's on their report cards. The teacher doesn't regularly demonstrate the movements and puts on videos to demonstrate. They have alot of written tests on things that should be demonstrated. For instance writing definitions of moves, gallop, ect. Overall I am still happy with this school, but I really wish they would make the PE classes more fun for the kids.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2015

Great teachers, poor leadership. Terrible counselor to address bullying issues. Discipline policies needed to not impact learning and teaching.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2015

Overall we have been very happy at Oak Grove the past three years. We switched from another Wake County school and found Oak Grove to have fantastic teachers and welcoming environment. My children have really liked their teachers. Both had Mrs. Hefner for 5th grade and thrived under her instruction. Not to mention they just plain loved her!!!! I have not had much communication with the administration, except with Mrs. Trippancy, however the encounters I did have were positive and professionally handled. Mrs. Trippancy, the Lead Admin, is the most cheerful, competent, helpful, child-caring admin I have ever met. Bravo Oak Grove for choosing an excellent candidate to be the face of your school. As for the PTA, they seem to work quite diligently to do everything in a top-notch manner. This comes from a parent who is a PTA member, and I use the word "member" loosely, and appreciates all the time and energy they put into making OAK Grove a terrific school. I must admit I agree with some of the other comments about the PE teacher. The grading system makes no sense and an example of fitness is non-existent.
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2015

We have been at Oak Grove for 3 years now and we are mostly happy with the school in general. We have had two wonderful teachers and one extra special one. I am involved in the PTA and volunteer at the school and have seen how much of a difference parental involvement makes in a child's education. Our Principal is a very mild mannered and kind person in my opinion and she seems to really care for our children. The front staff is amazing! Ms Trippense is a pleasure and joy to deal with! The only negative in my opinion is the PE program. Not necessarily the teacher but how PE is taught. Way too much emphasis on robotic instructions and not enough actual running and playing and making it fun.
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2014

Have been at this school for 7 yrs. & WAS the most desired school to attend in Wk County-Now Admin is horrific. PTA has made several efforts to bring up the moral in both the students & teachers-to no avail-it's never enough. Admin puts in place "rules and policy" & blames Wake County Policy-which is simply not true. Sp teachers are great-exception being the PE Tch -she is no role model for PE-I have a difficult time understanding how children from the age of 5-11 are getting 1 & 2's-at this age PE should be fun. The school does not put an emphasis or follow required Wake County requirements for Phy Ed. They are given 20 mins of daily recess, with 50 mins dedicated to Specials. If the PE teacher is tracked out, they lose those 50 mins of PE & only have 20 mins of daily activity. School needs a massive overhaul of the main admin-from the Principal down to the Lead Secretary. Parents should feel welcome when they walk in the school, not asked "why are you here?". Scores have decreases dramatically & I contribute a lrge prt due to the lack of physical activity and "fun" of elementary school. Thank goodness we are in our final year at this school or I'd be looking to change!
Submitted by parent on June 28, 2014

We have been @ this school for several years & have seen a steady decline in both student & teacher satisfaction. Evidence of this is the large amount of turnover year to year. The Principal isn't a people person at all. If you are looking for warm & fuzzy - this is not the place for you. The PTA tries very hard to help the school as much as possible but is met with the attitudes of "That would be great, but this would be better". Considering the PTA raises money & tries to help by VOLUNTEERING, it never is enough to make the administration happy. The teachers are great & really do try to help the children. The specials teachers are great, with the exception of the PE teacher. How they can let someone like that be a PE teacher & influence how children maintain a healthy way of life is beyond me. For the evaluation at the end of the semester she shows the children cards & has them describe their actions (jump, hop, skip). Why not let the children actually be ACTIVE!?!?! Overall I have been very dissatisfied with the school & really hope that the next batch of children who attend get a new administrator who actually makes school fun for the children. This is actually possible!
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2014

We love this school. My daughter seems to be adjusting well in Track 2 and love loves her teacher Ms. Eggers, who has been teaching for 17 years in second grade. She goes above and beyond to ensure that her students are well taught and provides enrichment activities, likea class play, as well as field trips to Yates Mill. The students learned square dancing and take Spanish three times per week. My daughter starts kindergarten in July and I hope and pray she has a teacher like Ms Eggers. The staff in the front office are wonderful and very responsive to student needs. The PTA is strong and have activities like the annual Science fair that 2nd graders and up may participate in. There are behavior bucks as an incentive in my daughters class for good behavior. There is zero tolerance for bullying. Overall, the school has a great vibe and I continue to be pleased by Ms Eggers approach to common core. She embraces the common core with elegance, and does not appear flustered by it, like a previous school my daughter attended.
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2014

I want to say that my son has gone to Oak Grove for 4 years and this year I look back and realize how amazing the staff is at meeting my son's needs. In the past years the CCR staff was very negative but with new teachers it is a truly a positive experience. They are all very supportive to parents and have open comminication, and work well together to come up with solutions and interventions. The CCR teacher we have has classroom experience so she understands the regular classroom teachers needs and works so well to get my child on benchmark. I am very pleased with the administrative decisions and parent involvement in this school. This is the first year that I am taking the time to inform parents that if your child is struggling the child is looked at as a person, not a test score.
Submitted by other on August 22, 2013

I'm a kid and I love this school. You kid should come. It is where I met my best friends. I also get a good education and I love the teachers. I also am in A.I.G. So I like almost everything about this school.
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2013

Oak Grove is an excellent school. The Parents are the best on the planet. The teachers are fabulous. The PTA is amazing and we are so lucky to have such a hardworking group of volunteers to make our school a great place to be.
Submitted by parent on August 12, 2013

We absolutely love the school! Teachers are great and the year round experience is wonderful. My only criticism is if you have a child 2nd grade or younger, that is testing well above grade level, they won't even speak to you about bumping your child up a grade. I believe this gets attributed to the EOG's. They would rather have strong test scores from child that is above grade level than lower scores from a child that is challenged by their current grade level. They do seem to make an effort to enrich your child with more challenging materials and put them into AG enrichment opportunities.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2013

We have an awesome PTA and dedicated staff to make this a great place for kids to experience extras and grow!
Submitted by other on August 11, 2013

Great teachers, great students. Proud of what they do and what they stand for. Couldn't ask for anything else.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2013

Great school very safe,to say they have wonderful teachers is an understatement. They are the best in Wake County.
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2013

Oak Grove Elementary is an academically competitive school where the teachers work hard and are the backbone that makes the environment such a great place for a child to learn. If your child needs support or extension, it is hit-and-miss on a good day. The CCR department is not-so-great and the AG teacher does a lot of feel good talking with very little follow through. Administration is a mixed bag, as one is personable and lovely and the other is much less than. The issues with the school would likely be gone if the principal were to be booted out. Overall, it's an environment where children will thrive because the teachers WANT them to and work hard to ensure they do. The PTA is full of dedicated moms, which helps.