Jessup Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland

“Jessup is a wonderful school, with awesome teachers and amazing students, but the principal does not support either the teachers or the children. Her continual need to prove herself to her higher-ups is driving this school away from what it needs to succeed.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Jessup could be a great school with more positive and consistent support from administration and the BOE. Teachers would love to use what they know to create differentiated instruction which is educationally sound. More often than not, the policy of the BOE (Open Court, pacing guides and inflexible interpretations from the principal) make it difficult for teachers to do what they want to do, and know they should be doing. We are trained, willing and able to create the best learning environment possible. Duties, meetings, added non- teaching responsibilities and a lack of positive support for teachers from administration keep Jessup 'average'. The children deserve more than mandated teaching to a test within a narrow scope of what is to be taught and how it is to be taught.”
This review was posted by a teacher.

“I have two children at Jessup currently. One in Kindergarten and the other is in third grade. I have been extremely pleased with the quality of teachers that my children deal with daily. I am at the school a great deal as a volunteer. I have seen how much the teachers care about the students, not just my own. The third grader has been on the principals honor roll since first grade. The kindergartener has made great strides not only academically, but socially and emotionally. He is reading and writing on a first grade level and is well-prepared to be promoted to first grade. My greatest area of concern is with the administration. We have had three principals in the last three years. With each change of principal, came a large turnover with the teachers. And, it looks as again this year we are going to loose several of the weel-establishedt”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I have a son in kindergarten at Jessup. He has learned so much. I am very impressed with the curriculum and satisfied with the support I get when I call to speak with his teacher or with general questions. I feel like they truly appreciate parental support within the school.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“We left this school after 3 yrs for better. There is a new principal now so maybe things are better; the teachers overall were good, but lacked support from their administration.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“We love the school. Looks can be deceiving. The school has 7 floors. The teachers are nice and friendly. The school has a very diverse population of students.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I had two children that use to go to Jessup. Luckily we moved to Alexandria, VA and boy am I glad we did. The teachers at Jessup don't care about the students at all. My one child has special education needs and Jessup did nothing to help her, all they could say to me was to put her on Ritalin. When we moved she was a 3rd grader reading on a pre-primer level. After 8 months in Alexandria she moved up to a 2nd grade level. I have never came across a principal that was so disinterested in the students of a school. All I can say is Thank God I got my children away from this school.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I believe this school does not do an decent job of teaching the students. I believe their at too many children in each class. My child has been at the school for 3 years now and this year is the worst. The teacher does not take the time to work with the students nor does the teacher answer the notes I send in to discuss my childs problems. The administrative staff also needs improvement. They do not handle any of my questions, they refer me to the teacher who I also get no response from. I will be pulling my child out of this school so that he can get the education he needs and deserves.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I have 2 children attending Jessup. I dislike this school to no end. The principal is unfair in her judgements. This year has been the worst of all 5 years my children have gone to Jessup. All the teachers that my children have had this year and in the past have been great. The teaching staff makes this school what it is not the administrating staff. Also no matter what they say this school is only 5 students under capacity. So over crowding is a problem and going to keep growing as a bigger problem.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“This is my child's second year at Jessup. I've been very pleased with the teachers and the extracurricular activities at the school. I do not particular care for the Open Court language arts curriculum as it doesn't seem to give above-average readers the challenge they need. I also feel it hinders below average readers who are unable to keep up with the fast pace teaching of the skills. It is important for parents to understand that this curriculum is being taught in all the A.A. county schools and is not the fault of Jessup. Overall, I have beeen very satisfied.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“This is my daughter's second year at Jessup, coming from Odenton Christian School. Both years she has had a change in teachers mid year. Both times because of health related issues with the teacher, not because of the school. I have been very pleased with the quality of the teachers, the Principle and the leadership staff. I especially like the vice principle this year. She has been an extremely positive addition to the school The school encourages students to take a proactive role and providing avenues such as electing a student government which is new to the school this year and peer mediation. I have issues with the new curriculum introduced this year by the new School Superintendent county wide. I feel many students will be left behind because of the fast pace method of teaching. Teachers are not allowed teach subject matter until it is thoroughly understood by the majority of the class, they must keep pace with the Pace Guide and the rest of the county. This is an issue with the county not the school. Also, the gifted and talented program does not have much flexibility for students who have working parents. Overall I have been very pleased with the school and its administration. I volunteer as much as possible and have gotten to know many of the major players at the school and can honestly say they are doing a great job with the resources they have. If more parents would volunteer, the school could really excel.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I am very disappointed with this school and their relaxed attitude towards dedicating the time and effort to my child's education. I had to argue with the vice principal to test my child, as I felt he needed help with reading. She strongly discouraged this and indicated to me that all children would be tested in the spring (pending funding). My insistence paid off, he is at the lowest reading level a 1st grader can be at. He is only NOW (1/2003) being offered the much needed help that was obvious he needed since the beginning of the year. I will be working on removing him from this school. The administration if very disorganized and we did not even have the opportunity for a tuition waiver for the Maryland School of the Arts because the applications were not sent home until after the application deadline. I would steer clear of this school. Our teacher is great but is resticted to basically reading from a manual (that's how the OPEN COURT Program works). This program was adopted to 'bridge the gaps' between the white students and the minority students. If you child is above or below grade level they will surely not succeed with this program, that is unless you want to fight with the school about keeping your child challenged or getting help for you child.”
This review was posted by a parent.