Research Pennington School Public Schools in Manassas, Virginia

“My daughter has attended Pennington for 5 years now and I have nothing but praise for both the teachers and administration. It feels as if my daughter is in private school there. All her teachers have always given very personal attention to her, known her strenghts and weaknesses and worked closely with the other grade level teachers in a team. I feel the kids get so much personal attention from everyone because it is such a small school. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of Pennington.”

“Excellent school! I have lived in PWC county for more than 20 years and I have a 4, 8 and 12 year olds we have had children in four different schools and have had some great teachers and some poor teachers in all four schools. What separates Pennington is the committment of the parents. It is a big committment for the parents, but the the result is a system of excellence that encourages the average teachers to be excellent and the excellent teachers to be great! The parent commitment builds a strong interactive community where excellence is the standard. Pennington is the best 1-8 in PWC.”

“I am a parent of a Pennington student, and my child recently attended for her 7th and 8th grade years. I have to say that I wish there were more schools like Pennington because then I woud have sent my own children to such a school when we were previouslly living out of state. What I love about the school is the old fashioned standards of behaviour which are held up for each student. It is true that some parents actually are a bit more lax with their children's behaviour, and so they might call normal something which is lacking in manners or self control. Next, I know that Pennington recently enjoyed a very low turn over rate, which is evidence of the hard work directed twards teacher retention. I am happy that the administration, staff, and parents know how to identify and solve a provlem. Great school all around!”

“My son will enter 3rd grade this year, and he has been at Pennington since 1st grade. He has had a wonderful experience, and I could not be more pleased with this school. In first grade, he was identified as being slightly below grade level for reading. His teacher assured me that all measures would be taken to ensure that my son's reading would improve. He was placed in the reading lab, given the support that he needed, and by the end of 1st grade he was reading above grade level. In 2nd grade, he was accepted in the the gifted and talented program based on his reading ability. I do not think that we would have had such a success story at another school. Once identified, my son was immediately given what he needed, and he excelled. The teachers and principal are outstanding!”

“My daughter has attended Pennington since the first grade and is now in the 7th. I have had an absolute wonderful experience with the staff and Principal at Pennington and feel really blessed to have my child attending this school. Sure, the curriculum can be challenging at times, but it's well worth it because my daughter is getting a quality education. I am somewhat dismayed to hear the few negative comments about Pennington from a few parents and I have to wonder if the parents and their children made genuine efforts to voice their concerns to the proper individuals. I have yet to come across a teacher and even the Principle who did not take some sort of action to alleviate a parental concern. Pennington may not have all of the answers, but they have enough to ensure a good education if parent and student are committed.”

“Overall Pennington is a wonderful environment and my children have made lifelong friends here. I think mostly because of the small school environment. We have always liked the uniforms although sometimes guidlines are only followed when it is convenient for the staff. Certain children can get away with what others cannot. Many Teachers play favorites at Pennington...but For the most part we are happy with the experience. The Academics are outstanding however, don't expect your child to have much of a childhood outside of school. Hours on Hours of homework and lengthy projects/assignments are common. No Sports for Middle school also a minus.”

“Pennington is an awesome school i am currently in 6th grade there i am new and it is so fun it is the school of excellence!”

“I have a 3rd grader and 1st grader, although they made change from the teacher staff, but all the new changes are excellant ones! Have new art and computer teacher and they are wonderful. I love the uniforms and the consistent class size, especally 3 classes per grade, nothing more. I love the people there and the atmosphere is a happy, fun place to be.”

“We feel very fortunate that our children attend Pennington. Aside from some issues with the principle, all the teachers my children have had have been fantastic. Additionally, since the school can be difficult to get into, the families enrolled here are serious about supporting their children's educational needs and the activities of the school. This fosters a terrific sense of community and partnership with with school. We feel that they (my children) are receiving a private school quality education for free. I would highly recommend Pennington.”

“My son attending Pennington from 1-7 grade and begged me to let him go to his home middle school. I only wish I had done it sooner! The middle school program is far from excellent. The music program needs work. The parents are very involved and uniforms are nice. If you want a school that has absolutely no sports program then this is the perfect school for you. Sure, they have high academic expectations, but they are basically following the same VA curriculum of every other PW county school. This is due to the rather difficult administrators who spend much of their time 'disciplining' and overreacting to normal behavior.”

“My daughter has been a student at Pennington since first grade, and is now a 5th grader. She has developed quality friendships over the years and is receiving an above-average education. I am very pleased with the curriculum, the dedicated teachers and the parental involvement. I'm impressed with the Principal's dedication to the school's principles, the students and Pennington's mission. Although they are somewhat short on extra-curriculum activities, they have improved over the years, and I hope to see more in the future. Overall, Pennington has provided my daughter with an excellent academic foundation, and I feel honored that my child is a student at this school.”

“I have two children at Pennington. One in 5th Grade and one in 1st Grade. Our 5th Grader has attended Pennington since 1st Grade. When our family first joined Pennington we were thrilled to have a great alternative to the private or public school choices. There's a lot Pennington has going for it. I especially like the required parent volunteering, and student community service requirement. However, our family feels that the standards in both academics and discipline have begun a downward slide and we will be sending our 5th Grader to the local middle school next year instead of continuing at Pennington. In addition, the school is crowded into an old facility, the previous poster's comments about the new Assistant Principal are correct, and the Administration overall has become very non supportive of it's families and students. A great school gone lazy.”

“Our son has been at Pennington for 1st grade and is now in the second grade. We love Pennington and so does our Son. The uniform policy is great. The curriculum seems very well organized and the parents are kept well informed about what is going on. We know when tests are scheduled and what our son needs to study to prepare for them.”

“Pennington School is a well structured environment that is very conducive for learning. The uniforms help immensely so the children can concentrate on school work instead of what everyone else is wearing. The teachers are highly qualified and work well in teams. The community service is often hard to find for the younger children, but is worth the effort to teach community responsibility.”

“We have been satisfied with our overall experience at Pennington the past 3 years. The small school environment and uniform policy is great and We like the back to basics curriculum. However, we have noticed a very high teacher turn over. They lost there assistant Principal a year ago and went almost 6 months before replacing her. When they finally did replace her it was with someone who seems as if she is just doing a job and doesn't really care about the entire student body. We have also noticed more bullying and troublemakers. Which both Principal and Asst. Principal don't seem to care about. They would rather spend there time yelling at students who rarely get into trouble about minor things. It's no wonder teachers, students, and leadership in general comes and goes so quickly. We just think the leadership here is going downhill.”

“Pennington has been a blessing for us! My son loves the Pennington experience. Expectations and standards are high, yet attainable. The staff and teachers are among some of the best I have ever seen. I can only hope that many more schools like Pennington will be made available.”

“My son went to pennington from 4th - 8th grade. I found the environment to be the best public school experience one could ask for. The school requires high expectations in discipline and academics. There are two 'traditional' schools in the county, pennington and porter. If you are moving into the area make sure you move into the pennington district! porter claims to be a traditional school, but is more like any other school in the county. Pennington truely stands out in excellence. We were very happy there and would recommend it to anyone looking for a more back to the basics environment. In addition, respect for adults is enforced, something lacking in most schools. Also, proper english must be spoken. Excellent school!”