Lowes Island Elementary School

20755 Whitewater Drive

Sterling, VA 20165

School District

Loudoun County Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Loudoun 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 May 30, 2024

School is ineffective at dealing with bullying. Bullying concerns are not taken seriously and seem to be treated as a conflict rather than bullying, which makes matters worse! My kid kept getting threatened retaliation by the bully if he continued reporting incidents. It was a miserable school year.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2023

I am from India and my little one was born here in US. I love this school for my son 100%. From school principal to his class teacher everyone is involved in bringing out the best in him. As a first time mom I feel supported. My son loves this school and is excited to go everyday. Most importantly they are giving him ample time to learn. I proudly recommend this school to one and all!!
Submitted by parent on September 30, 2021

Great school, Great teacher, good families, and neighborhood.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2021

Before moving into the area, we checked out the schools carefully since our three children were currently attending a private school in our old neighborhood in Maryland and the tuition/fees just weren't sustainable for our family. Our decision paid off as the girls had a wonderful elementary school experience right in their neighborhood. As I parent, I stayed involved in the school and had first hand knowledge of what what was happening in the classroom as well as extra curriculars. Overall, the parent involvement at this school is exceptional and that translates into teachers getting the support they need to focus on educating the children. I recommend Lowes Island Elementary and believe it to be an exceptional school.
Submitted by parent on March 25, 2021

The school has been very attentive to my special needs children and with very hard to help them succeed. The principal and assistant principal are kind and enthusiastic and have good relationships with the parents. The teachers have all been wonderful in our experience over the last six years. The volunteer parents are active in the school creating fun activities for the kids.
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2019

Both of my children were often depressed. Either with how other students treated them, or how the teachers treated them. This is not how elementary school should be.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2019

Overall, we had an okay experience. The School has a great homework policy and a parent signature is required in most cases and they send home a packet of your child's school work at the end of every week for the parents to go through and sign which is an excellent accountability strategy for both parents and students. Ms Verna,a second grade Teacher was excellent with my son, he learnt a lot in her class and she was very kind and communicative with us regarding anything my son needed. Most of the Front Office Staff are very friendly and very warm, although in the last few months prior to us leaving, they had this new Staff who was did not have a very warm personality and it changed the atmosphere of the front office, its funny how one person can bring down the moral of a warm office, what a shame. Overall, great school, majority of the teachers here are very hardworking, friendly, helpful and Strong parents support and involvement.l think Recess is a tad short, only 15 minutes apparently. My boys enjoyed the school for the most part and we appreciated the positives the school had to offer.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2018

We have had a great experience for the past 2 years we have attended this school. Homework is not as bad as what other parents seem it is and we haven't had any issues with the school leadership. They encourage parent involvement and create a great sense of community. PTO is awesome and have many opportunities for kids to shine such as The Variety Show to build kid's confidence, Odyssey of the Mind to enhance their creativity, fundraising and various volunteer opportunities. Teachers go out of their way to help students do well and push them to learn. So far the new Principal seems fully engaged and embraces the legacy of Mr. Shaeferman that just retired. The kids have various programs such as PE, art, music, search and other special subjects. kids are busy learning and I wish recess was longer than 15 minutes, which is the same for all of LCPS. It would solve many behavioral issues overall if kids had more time to get their energy out often.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2017

Traumatizing, honestly we had an awful experience. Were treated with no respect and even laughed at by the assistant principal. All the while we treated them properly and although it hurt us we gave them respect they did not deserve
Submitted by parent on July 07, 2017

Great School and teachers. Our kids are doing well
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2017

Our experiences with our son at Lowe's Island were terrible. There is widespread bullying in the school but not from the students. It is the staff who are in charge of bullying. If your kid needs special attention, stay away. The staff only cares about test scores, they do not care about educating the students or providing a safe and harmonious environment. We were singled out from the start for having the temerity to question the principal and assistant principal’s assessment of my child. Soon after my son was suspended in what can only be characterized as retaliation. My wife was distraught when she picked up my son on that occasion and was laughed at by the assistant principal. The second time my son was suspended, the principal was rude to my wife, which prompted me to write a letter to his supervisor. Nothing was done, we were completely ignored. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and is in the autism spectrum, so in effect he was suspended for the crime of having a learning disability. We lost count of how many days he went home crying. They went as far as complaining about him having to use the bathroom! At the end it got so bad that during one incident all the other students in his class stood between my son and the assistant principal, those brave kids were the only ones in the school that stood up for him. If I had not been able to move to Fairfax County, I’m sure I would have no choice but to send him to private school. Six months have gone by and we haven’t had a single incident at the new school in Fairfax. LIES is a horribly run school, last year was a nightmare I advise parents who are moving to this area to send their children to a private school.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2016

My son has been going to Lowes Island since the 3rd grade (now in 5th) and we have always been very satisfied with this school. The teachers are top notch and they really care about the kids and their academic achievement. The principal is very proactive and communicative. The PTO is also very active and does a great job of raising funds to improve the school and our children's environment. We moved to this area because of Lowes Island Elementary School's stellar reputation, and we have not regretted it.
Submitted by other on April 06, 2016

My kids went through this school, from KG through 5th grade. EXCELLENT school, terrific teachers that pay attention to the students. They encourage parents to volunteer. We moved here because of this school and were very pleased.
Submitted by other on February 29, 2016

Excellent school. Lowes Island is a nice, upscale community, and this school fits right in as the centerpiece of the neighborhood. Contrary to those who complain about racial prejudice and bullying, I saw nothing of the sort while I was there, except for a couple of playground bullies in third grade. Every school has its flaws, and every school should strive to be the best. Lowes Island is not content with being another average school, and their efforts to improve the school should be applauded, not lambasted. Improving the school shows that the faculty actually cares about the learning and the students, not just pushing kids through to middle school.I guess what I'm trying to say is what makes Lowes Island different is the enthusiasm. Teachers actually have fun teaching. You don't see any weary, beat-down teachers with bags under their eyes around here, because they actually want to teach kids. For many schools that is not the case, but since it has been accepted as the social norm for schools to be like that Lowes Island is seen as an outlier and is scorned for being such.I strongly recommend this school for anyone looking into it.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2014

My children went there and I was so dissappointed considering it was in an "upscale" neighborhood. There was bullying as well as no help from the principal or the teachers. We moved them to a private school and were very satisfied with the result. Shame on public school these days.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2014

Condescending staff and Lazy teachers. I have had it with the staff in this school, I've only met one person - office staff - who seems to treat parents as competent equals. I have a very bright student, and now 8 weeks into the school year, after being told the second week "a little time" was needed to get situated and have something available for my child at his level, I asked again last week (for something that should have taken an extra minute of work for the teacher, at most), and was given a very condescending "you'll have to wait" again. Also, the teacher hasn't asked for any classroom volunteers yet. If this teacher is so overwhelmed an unable to help a bright student, why aren't parents being asked to help?
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2014

My son has been going to LIES for 4 years, we have only had a great experience. This year is a bit tough, but his teacher is strict and it by now means represent the atmosphere at school. Overall we have been very happy with this school, and we are looking forward for our youngest son to start kindergarten this year!
Submitted by parent on February 22, 2014

We have very successfully been through K-5 and now in SRMS and my youngest is in his 3rd year at LIES. We have only had good experiences here. There was one year that was tough only because the teacher pushed on the weakest subject, which turned out to be his best academic year. Many of the newer teachers, despite their lack of tenure, they make up for in enthusiasm and communication to parents. They are much more apt to using email and technology in the classrooms (every class has a promethean board which kids LOVE!). I was concerned as well in seeing the turnover at LIES, but change can be good. And so far we have been very happy and my kids are thriving. And like many things, your satisfaction as a parent can be derived by what you put into it. I am not at the school very often to help with many of the classroom daily events, but make every effort into helping on field trips and special events. I work full-time outside the home and the children whose Moms and Dads stay at home and help with daily classroom activities, we are forever grateful for your volunteerism. Any issues we've had along the way were dealt with and it has prepared my son well for middle school.
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2013

I agree with previous reviews that some of the teachers are prejudiced, there is lot of teacher turnover as a result of ineffective management and a number of newly hired inexperienced teachers. Also, if you are not activitly volunteering at the school, your child maybe negelected and may not get the priviledges that the kids with stay home Moms who are practically at school almost everyday.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2013

Administration act prematurely and sometimes disrespectful .They only care about their school rank, not students .Very bad experience.