Fitzgarald is a very good school I am in 4th grade and i love it i have been there for 3 years I…read morereally recameod this school

My son transferred here for his kindergarten year (2018-2019) and I this is an awesome school. My…read moreson literally asks to go to school on the weekend. He enjoyed his kindergarten teacher this year and she was very attentive to his academic needs and behavior socially. She kept in touch with me when he was struggling in areas. Very secure with him going here. First time parenting is nerve wrecking and they all handle it well, especially the ladies in the front office, principle always called back within 3 hrs or less whenever I called in with a concern. If you're in this area, this is a very good school.

It's a good place strict because of the thing the students chose to do the teacher are kind and…read moreunderstanding those who are strict are only strict because they expect more from those who are supposed to be adults and hold them to a higher standard and any place is as good as you see it

theres a lot of bullying and no hoodies and kids get in tr for no reason and the music teacher…read moregives people refirls for no reason

Well, I attended this school when it first opened in 1990, and I'd say the teachers did right by…read moreme. Pay my taxes, went to a pretty cool university, now work as an engineer. I remember I always kicked butt on Field Day every year. Recess, oh how I miss the good times.

FIRST OFF - Do NOT confuse this high school with Osbourn PARK High School. Similar names, rival…read morehigh schools lol. I graduated from this HS in 2001 (dang I'm old).. it had just gone through a remodel at the time.. the high school was completely torn down and rebuilt (actually a new one was built while students used the old one.. then transitioned to new one and old one was torn down). The teachers are decent and friendly.. but one question. WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE PEDOPHILE TEACHERS AT THIS HIGH SCHOOL? I believe in the past 10 years, there have been THREE different teachers that have been accused/charged with some sort of sexual act with students. C'mon. You're a public education system.

Graduated 2012. OHS is one of, if not the worst high school in the area. Only a handful of teachers…read moreactually seem to care about teaching, and even less care about respecting school rules. I have actually had teachers who said "you can have your cell phones out as long as I'm not teaching and as long as there isn't an administrator looking in the window." This was back when cell phones were banned in the classroom, and I think that rule might've changed by this point. The students definitely don't care about school rules, and the teachers don't really care either. However, there are a few really great teachers there. By the time I graduated, I felt like I had learned nothing that would prepare me for college or the real world. I struggled in college because I had never needed to do much before to guarantee myself an A in class. My senior year and after I left, they were trying to seriously change the school so it would perform better academically. I don't know how they've done, but based on what I've been told by students there, not well. There are a lot of teachers and faculty who have done questionable things outside of school, not just at OHS, but in the whole of Manassas City Public Schools. Most charges are sexual in nature, but there are a few other charges in the mix, like drug related charges. How these people are able to be hired is beyond me. One final note: OSBOURN HIGH SCHOOL AND OSBOURN PARK HIGH SCHOOL ARE TWO DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS IN TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS!

The middle school failed my child this school year. There's a notorious group of students that…read moresystematically bully new kids or someone outside their circle and the worst part, these students are favored among teachers. Multiple complains to the principal resulted in NOTHING! Only a check mark talk with the offenders and the vicious cycle goes on. It's a disgrace that teachers only promote their favorites to win competitions like Science fair. The middle school drastically lacked any fun or engaging events, fundraisers or activities that encouraged team work and inclusion of parents. There was only one field trip throughout the year and no promised end of year concert that even public schools have. The end of year award ceremony was unfairly selective. Throughout the year we got Zero photos from any teacher showing a school day, so it feels like this year just fell out equation with no memories to look back to. There's no graduation ceremony for 5th graders either, which they truly deserve. Since the new owner took over, the school environment (especially in upped grades) is rapidly deteriorating. And it's not surprising, the owner lives outside the country and rarely shows up. My gut feeling was right when I checked the school website before we enrolled and it was generic. And that's how this year felt, generic! A generic website with no teacher names, stock photos of students, there's nothing there that shows actual student life or curriculum or shows any photos of the teachers. This place is about squeezing every dollar they can from paying parents, while failing on delivering the fair support and equal opportunities every student deserves.

This year has been a joke for my daughter. She said she's had the worst year since she started…read moreschool. She complained about daily bullying, degrading or disrespectful comments from some kids in upper grades, because apparently, teachers combined 5th, 6th and 7th grades in the same classroom. School administration is not properly addressing the bullying issue either and I heard the new owner is missing in action, never present and it shows. We as parents were never invited to any classroom event, where we could engage with students, teachers and other parents. There's also no student counselor on site, which upper grades really need. This school needs to step up with its upper grades policies, so every student feels appreciated and having the support the need.

So far so good with the School & our child's teacher. They have a descent & very affordable before…read more& after school program. The only problems we see thus far lies with the School's Principle. I observed a concern & tried to address it to her but instead of finding out a better way to fix it, she went on the Offensive. I will not go into details due to the children safety & security but the principle is aware of it & she chose not to be bothered with it. As a school principle, she should learn how to take constructive criticism better & not go on the offensive everytime a concerned parent brings up an issue. Another problem is lunch, it is only 30 min, by the time the kids wait in line & got their food, they only have about 10 min to eat. My child said she wasn't finished with her food & a staff took away her fork while she was eating. After school program is ok but they need to clean the place better, basquets where kids put their bookbags are filthy. Teachers need to monitor the kids 'coz the kids open door for anyone that walks by. Unsafe! They need a better system.

My children all had wonderful teachers in Mary William Elementary and the front desk were great…read more Thank you Mary Williams Elementary.

The things these kids do to the bathrooms is diabolical, the staff tries so hard to make up for…read moretheir behavior but it doesn't work. Assigned tables at lunch in MIDDLE SCHOOL! kids are super disrespectful (especially if you have a service dog, it was hell). Teachers don't do crap about bullying. TS gets on my nerves! They had these chucky chromebook cases for a year but then removed them because they got moldy. Trust me it gets better but for these two years you just gotta buckle down and suffer.

I love this school and the staff. The teachers work hard to make sure the kids have a great time…read morewhile they are in middle school and are very supportive. Speaking of support, the ladies in the front office are the best! They do everything they can to help you with what you need and always do it with a smile. They are great with the kids and parents if they need any support. Karen always welcomes you with a warm smile and Jan can solve any problem!

I regret enrolling my daughter here. Despite committing early (touring in Feb 2024, paying a…read moredeposit, and submitting all forms), the school's lack of communication, disorganization, and disregard for basic safety and hygiene created a deeply frustrating and emotionally exhausting year. From misplaced incident reports and unaddressed injuries, to administrative errors and tone-deaf leadership, this school consistently failed to provide a safe, transparent, and developmentally supportive environment. My daughter came home with swollen lips, unexplained bruises, missing shoes, and stories of peer mistreatment -- with no formal documentation provided, despite repeated requests. These were not isolated events; I have video/photo documentation, and other parents voiced similar concerns in meetings. The director's conduct was both inappropriate and hypocritical -- once sending me a photo of my 3-year-old with paper in her mouth and demanding I "talk to her about telling the truth" over a harmless joke (gum from dad), while gaslighting parents about emails that were never sent. We were made to feel like the problem, when in reality the school's tech systems, operations, and staffing plans were simply broken. Staffing was unstable -- the lead teacher left for maternity leave with no real succession plan. Parents were informed of changes through hallway gossip before any official notice. Other red flags included: * Poor nap hygiene (child's skin broke out); * No proper underwear/clean clothes sent home; * Unsafe food handling policies; * Lost orthopedic shoes due to mishandling after an accident -- only replaced after escalation; * Inconsistent behavioral reporting, with my child being singled out for normal 3-year-old behavior, while aggressive peer behavior went unaddressed all year. The school showed a lack of respect for working parents, sending critical updates (like school closures) late at night and offering no accessible options for required events (no childcare, no virtual options, last-minute notices). They ran meetings on free Zoom accounts that cut off mid-call, used free Gmail accounts, and misunderstood basic tools like unlisted YouTube links. My concerns were dismissed, incident reports were never filed, and when I reported this to the county, I was told it was "too late." Given how long and hard I tried to resolve these issues internally -- and my documentation of events -- this only added to the heartbreak. In hindsight, I should have trusted my gut and pulled my child out much earlier. If you're a parent considering this school, please ask hard questions about staff turnover, behavior policies, safety reporting, and operational transparency. And if something feels off -- trust yourself.

Will only state the facts that lead to this review…read more.. In preparation for our move to VA this year, my family and I have been searching for a suitable Montessori school within this area. After speaking with Cardinal several times via the phone we felt that this might be a great option. A few weeks ago, my wife had scheduled a school tour and staff meet with Cardinal's senior coordinator (not official title) to allow us to see a routine day at the school and view its operation. We scheduled the tour for a Friday, which we were told was not "normal" but would be allowed given the fact that my family had to drive 5+ hours to get there. The tour was locked on that Monday with a 0930 start time on Friday. We had no other communication from the school throughout the week and on Thursday afternoon, we hit the road after I had gotten off work and arrived in VA just after midnight. We were up the following Friday morning and arrived at Cardinal at 0910 to an empty parking lot, locked building, lights off, and no one on site... We sat, waited, and attempted to call anyone with no luck and no response. It was about 0930 when finally a car pulled up and a women was dropped off. She didn't engage us at all and simply walked into the school. My wife proceeded to knock on the door and was met by said women who appeared to be cleaning. My wife explained our situation to the women who simply laughed, nodded, and said that the school was closed due to a maintenance emergency. A few minutes later, another women arrived who identified herself as a teacher. We calmly explained how we were scheduled to meet with a Ms. Igera for our tour but had not been able to reach her or anyone else. The teacher looked surprised and quickly reiterated that the school had been closed for the last few days. She then pulled out her phone and said she would call the "school owner" who was already on her way to Cardinal. At approx. 0945 the school co-owner arrived and welcomed us inside. We explained, again, who we were and why we were there. She quickly apologized and then explained how the school closed on Wednesday and Thursday due to plumbing issues. They had sent all the students and staff home and were now back (Friday morning) in order to clean for the reopening on Monday. She didn't ask any further about the botched tour appointment, but rather tried to go right into her pitch for the school. At the end of the walk-through, we were on our way out the door when we asked for Ms. Igera to call us about the clear failure in communication. The Co-owner said she would, glorified her staff, and said she hoped we would consider them when we moved... Fast forward 2+ weeks later....we got that call.... And it was to schedule yet another tour at the school. Nothing more. The level of complete disregard, disrespect, and sheer unprofessionalism that went into this waste of time is truly astounding. For better perspective, here is a better overview of all my family and I sacrificed in order to simply VISIT the school and observe its operation. - late night drive 5+ hours after work. - pulled my 4yo daughter out of current school in order to see the Cardinal school and meet the teachers. - my wife is 7 months pregnant at the time of all this. And she had to make all these movements. - I scheduled a full day away from work to make this trip happen. - spent hundreds on gas to make the round trip. Along with paying for a hotel in order to stay overnight... The Cardinal school may do just fine in some things, but I find it hard to imagine what. The coordination, communication, and lack of accountability is frightening. To make a commitment to an outside family who is willing to spend thousands on the betterment of their children's care and education and then not even have the courtesy to communicate a simple appointment change is unacceptable. I would HIGHLY encourage any family seeking a Montessori program to move on and explore other options (military families or otherwise). I have nothing negative to post about the teachers who work here, simply the lack of efficient and effective administrative overview of the school itself. This was not a sophisticated encounter, but rather a simple and what I would image routine engagement with an interested party. If this is how they treat an unaffiliated party, how do they respond under higher stress situations? Who actually maintains the schools appointments? Who is charge of registrations? Etc... Bottom line, keep searching. There are other great options within this region of VA, as my family and I learned. So disappointed to leave a review of this manner on a Montessori related establishment, but title alone does not guarantee quality. I truly hope this review can bring about a greater awareness of the low standard practices at Cardinal.