Rosemary Hills Elementary School

2111 Porter Road

Silver Spring, MD 20910

14 Reviews

School District

Montgomery County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-2
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
Type

public

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Reviews

Submitted by other on September 06, 2023

Bad management coupled with very weak staff.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2023

I had to visit the school to enroll my children there is a language issue the lady at the front desk was extremely helpful. She helped me to navigate my phone and she called one of the workers to help with the language issue. I had concerns about a few other things and she put my mind at ease.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2023

I have been in and out of this school for several years with my kids. The teaching staff is lovely. Warm, caring and will go to great lengths to meet children's needs. Administration has changed recently and I don't have a strong opinion there yet, it seems fine. The rest of my review is specifically about the front office experience beginning in the 2022-23 school year. I have lost track of the number of times I have heard the secretary ignore parents (particularly those who may not speak English as their first language) and say awful things about them under her breath. Parents are consistently given incorrect information (again, from the secretary, NOT teachers) or no information at all. This is a school that serves a diverse community of families and children age 3-8 and the first person families meet upon arrival clearly does not like working with either of these groups. It is very upsetting to see the way many families are treated and many of us hope that she will find a position better suited to her skill set because this is not it.
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2022

The Secretary at the front desk did not make us feel welcome when we arrived for a parent-teacher conference. This is an issue for all parents but especially for immigrant parents and this is a school that serves an immigrant population. First the Secretary was not available at 8 am when we arrived so our entry was delayed; additionally we were not allowed to proceed to the conference because we did not have scannable driver's licenses with us when we arrived. First we were not aware we needed a driver's license to enter the school. Additionally, even one or our driver's licenses was not acceptable because it was not scannable (the code was worn out on the back). It this is the school procedure--parents should be aware of it before they arrive at the school.This is not commentary about the teachers but about the environment in the front office when we arrived. I would not recommend the school if you want to feel welcome when you arrive.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2021

This is a lovely community school which we chose for both the high quality of teachers and programs, as well as the racial diversity. The very active PTA brings a lot of extra programming to this school and the children are happy and well prepared for 3rd grade when they leave. Both of our children loved this school.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2017

We have a daughter that just completed her time at RMH and we were frustrated with our experience. RMH is a "busing" school that prioritizes racial diversity over both quality of education and the neighborhood school concept. RMH is quite far for many students and the commute can be difficult, especially during heavy commuting hours. RMH is also too large for a K-2 (25-30 per class) and its practice to changeover the class roster from year to year can be disruptive until your child finally attends her neighborhood school in 3rd grade. Given that middle school begins in grade 6, your child will be in three different schools over a five year period. Our experience was that the teachers had a difficult time handling the large class sizes and our child's education suffered. We cannot recommend RMH due to its size, the disruptive changes year to year, and its anti-neighborhood school concept.
Submitted by parent on August 01, 2017

I have had a very good experience here with my chid. I volunteered a good bit weekly and got to see first hand the involvement. Yes, there a lot of kids, however they are managed very well in my opinion. I strongly disagree with the below two reviews from 2017. We have had a very positive experience at RH.
Submitted by parent on April 06, 2017

Teachers seem great. Mrs. Zimmerman and Mrs. Ryan don't seem to care about the health and safety of their students. They only care about how they look and making sure they are free of blame. There seems to be no protocol for how Rosemary Hills handles kids with allergies in the lunch room and this is due to their leadership or lack thereof. A binder with kids names and their list of allergens? Is that really going to help someone? I truly hope things change. It's only a matter of time before something goes terribly wrong.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2017

Yes, this is deemed to be a better school in a better area and with better teachers, but it's all relative. A mixture of class sizes, curriculum in place, staff mentality leaves little room for excitement. Can't wait to be done with RHPS and move on to NCC.
Submitted by parent on July 16, 2014

Best school, best teachers, best community. Teachers are so involved with their students I'm so happy my little girl had such a great teachers that take good care of her so dedicated to teach since I'm mostly working at night time I only spent a couple days working with her but when I told this to her teacher she told me not to worry about she was going to help her as much as she can and she did. I'm so surprise on how much my little princess know. Thank you so much ms. Callaway. First grade teacher. Thank you so much ms. Alley. Kindergarten teacher.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2014

The new Principal is destroying what was once a good school. She is cold and condescending to parents and (from what I have witnessed, the teachers). She does not respond to suggestions or criticism well and it is her way or no way. She is especially ill-suited to a PRIMARY school of small children K-2 and belongs in a corporate environment. She is joyless, eliminating any activity she can that is considered remotely recreational. School trips, last day of school parties, class pizza parties, snack time for kindergartners, brief birthday celebrations, parents taking pictures of their own children in class have all been canceled or completely eliminated in the past 2 years since she took over. She is taking the wonder out of their primary years and does not value emotional growth/bonding experiences. The children only have one small recess or break as is it. Research shows children learn more effectively with small breaks and emotional support . The teachers are great, but held back by the principal. The PTA officers are concerned with staying on the good side of the Principal/Administration and playing politics than representing the parents.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2013

My son attended RHPS from K-2. His K and 2nd grade teachers were excellent. His 1st teacher was verbally abusive. Many parents complained and she ultimately left the school. I'm glad he is done with RHPS. I feel Ms. Ryan the new principal is not doing a good job. I do not think she is willing to hear any criticisms about the school and can be very condesending.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2013

My daughter goes here and is in second grade. The last two years have been great- great teachers and the old principal was nice. However, as a parent, I am deeply concerned about where the school is heading. The new principal seems to have her hand in everything in a controlling way and talks down to us parents. I can imagine she must treat the staff this way as well. With this sort of leadership, I am glad that this is my last year at the school. Again, the teachers are great.
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2012

My son is in Kindergarten at RHPS. The teacher is great. I was worried that my son would languish or lose interest because his reading ability is far beyond any of the other children. However, they know exactly how to handle the situation, separating him out for reading at a higher level and tackling the areas where he is weakest (spelling). He enjoys school immensely. The large number of kindergarten classes (9) was worrisome as well at first, but, in fact, provides a lot of synergy among the teachers and enables them to do simple things like switch classes for recess when it's raining in order to make it interesting. The PTA is wonderful as well. And the after school opportunities from Chinese language, to handwriting and science, and all manner of sports are convenient and stimulating.