Research Our Lady of Victory School private Schools in Manassas, Virginia

“This is a great school! And I am motivated to write this, as I, too, feel the negative comments are off base. We are in our third year at OLV. The principal is accessible, caring, and a great leader--she is always open to hearing from parents about any matter--large or small, and this is not always the case in private (or public!) schools. The academics are very high, and the extracurricular activities are expanding. There are many opportunities for extracurricular and sports beyond OLV in this area, so this is not a huge concern. Parents know each other and are involved in the school. It is a warm, welcoming, and yet highly motivated environment. Most importantly, my children are happy, and we as parents feel they are in a safe and caring environment, where they will be encouraged to achieve.”

“OLV School continues to offer my two children an amazing academic experience. They are thriving here. The faculty is dedicated and hard working. They nurture each child to their fullest potential. New programs have brought new many exciting opportunities for the students, including music, sports, art, and Spanish.”

“OLV is amazing! We looked at many private schools in DC and the neighboring suburbs, but we decided to send our son to OLV because of the small class size and the principal, Mrs. Martinez, who instantly won us over with her sincerity and clear dedication to the children, parish and the wider community. All of the teachers are wonderful - energetic, creative, patient and kind. Honestly, I'm baffled by the reviews from June 06. I have yet to meet a parent who is disappointed with any aspect of OLV.”

“We first visited OLV when our daughter school was closing, having an older daughter who had completed a catholic school education and had graduation and went on and graduated from college to become a professional we thought that we would try that route for our other two children. Our experience with OLV has had mixed reviews. First we thought as parents that we were providing the best educational experience for our children. Yes, it is true that OLV has high academics, however what we found amiss were social skills in which students could interact with others and feel comfortable doing so. We were quite disturb when our experiences were otherwise.”

“Small classrooms with energetic teachers. Upper grades do a lot of group work as well as research and writing. Welcoming community and diverse student body. I like the principal and teachers who are committed to the success of my child.”

“OLV curriculum for the lower school is ok, however the middle school curriculum can stand some upgrades and enhancements. The upper school academics can stand to be improved upon. Not alot of activities for the students to become involved in either. There is really little to join except for the choir and you have to be a member of the parish to join there. There is little for the students to do after school. That is an area that can stand to be improved upon. Our family has decided to go elsewhere for education for our children after this school year is over.”

“Our Lady could have been a great school with location, however, it failed in many areas including preparing students to enhance and grow in the upper levels and also adding more enrichment opportunities after school. These are areas in which they lack skill in. There is a great need for improvement in extracurricular activies and also remedial enrichment for students who needs this. This will be our family last year with OLV we have decided to place our student elsewhere.”

“It seems that most of the reviews written in August and September 2005 were written by the same person. You can tell by the poor grammar and sentence structure. If they went to OLV when they were young they would know how to write correctly! OLV is a wonderful school. The principal is amazing. The new pastor is fantastic. The curriculum is challenging. The teachers are smart, enthusiastic and dedicated. My three children are getting a wonderful education in a morally strong environment. It's the best kept secret in DC!”

“My daughter switched from public school to OLV in Grade 8. My only regret is that we did not make this switch years ago. OLV provides a solid education by qualified and caring teachers who always go beyond their call of duty to be helpful and available. OLV's principal is an amazingly hands-on, involved and caring leader. The personal attention that the children get in the tender years of middle school, and the feeling of safety and security that parents have, makes this school really very special.”

“OLV s pride and draw is its diverse, nurturing yet challenging environment. Teachers cherish their students, and most stay at OLV despite competitive salaries elsewhere because they value the qualities that make OLV a special place. Small class sizes (avg. = 15) with students from DC, Montgomery, PG, and Fairfax counties. Ethnic diversity in the student body mirrors that in the metro area. Students move on to various high schools including many of the top DC area private schools. OLV offers after-school programs such as basketball, karate, foreign languages, and Brownies. Programs are sometimes limited due to commuting logistics of our families around the DC area. The principal is accessible to both students and parent daily at morning assembly and throughout the day. Recent improvements include A/C, new windows and lights, and a new school counselor and teachers aides in grades Nursery-4. A new pastor was installed in October 2005.”

“OLV is a great school! Small class size coupled with strong academics greatly benefits my daughter. The atmosphere of the school is very unique, a good combination of discipline and old-fashioned friendliness. It emphasizes quality and solid subject matter, not fads and multiculturalism--if you prefer those things, enroll your children in public schools. The new principal is improving all programs and the physical plant, while ensuring that the school retains its solid Catholic identity. Extracurricular activities are expanding. The teachers are very dedicated and pay attention to each student. The small size means that teachers get to know a high percentage of the students in the school. I have been a college professor so I know how to judge academic quality as well as the general atmosphere of a school. There are many opportunities for parent involvement; I find some of the other comments on this site inexplicable.”

“i just graduated olv in june and im now off to a great high school. i was at olv since forth grade and i've loved every moment of it. i made great friends and my class was awesome. i really miss the small class sizes; my graduating class had thirteen people and my frosh class has four hundred. if i had my choice olv would go through high school.i think all of the other comments made were totally wrong and the new principal there is great...posibly the best thing to happen to that school in a while. - shannon”

“OLV had great teachers and staff my family's first year. When the former principal left, the school took a turn for worse. There were lack of communication with the present principal and a few families. Studies began to suffer. Academic excellence was not there for every student. As a parent there were no avenues in place for everyone student to be excel beyond measure that opportunity was only offered to a limited number of students. As a parent what I observed were some students were expected to excel while others were expected to merely get by and not expected to excel. Discipline at the school did not exist for every student at the same measure. Some students were able to exemplify misconduct and nothing was done, while others who exemplify misconduct were handle with extreme harsh discipline. The teachers at OLV were only concern with a few students exceling.”

“Olv school is a parish run school true enough. With that said, as a parent one would think that Olv School would show tolerance for every student and try to see that every student continue to excel there. Our family was not able to communicate with the present principal. Our children really were at a lost for what was suppose to be a good school which in terms was truly a not so good school. Olv show the meaning of a school having no tolerance for others. The teachers in the lower grades was not interested in all of the students receiving the same quality of academic excellence. There were inappropriate language usage among the high school students. OLV teachers and staff this past school year was only interested in its parish members students exceling only and no one outside the parish exceling.”

“Olv has been a great disappointment for my family. For one thing the teachers in the lower grades were not attentive to the students needs. There were bullying going on at the school in which the school ignored. There was not an opportunity for every student to advance. Communication lack a great deal between teachers and parents and the current principal and parents. There were very limited opportunities to volunteer. If there were any concerns no one could address the matter. Academic excellence did not exist or was not available for every student. True Olv was great for the parish families who ran the school, no outside student were allowed to participate in the events though.”

“What can be said about OLV, yes it has it small class size and it is a parish run school. However it does not have tolerance for all students. Every student is not treated equal. OLV does not make academic excellence for everyone.”

“As a father of a former student, my first year at OLV was great, the principal, staff and teachers were very supportive and interested in my child learning. However, the second year under new leadership, it saddens me as a father to have seen a school like OLV who have graduated many productive students take a complete turnaround job on education. Yes, true this is a parish run school that is what saddens me a father the most. To know that this is a parish run school and yet have no tolerance for diversity. The learning during my child second year was not very conducive for learning for all students. There were no diversified learning and teaching at OLV. There were no tolerance for all students at OLV. Speaking from a father's perspective my child who once love going to school and education began to develop a disinterest in schooling.”

“As a former student of OLV I would like to express my opinion about the school. My first year was good with the old principal. The second year was not good. To put it plainly I felt like a fish out of water in an environment that was not conducive for me to learn. There were only two teachers who were really interested in me learning at OLV the second year. I would sit in my math class and raise my hand for a long periods of time and never once was I called upon to answer any questions. The faculty and staff was not very kind nor very nice to me as a minority student. There was no motivating factor at OLV for me to excel, my motivating factor was my parents. My second year at OLV show me how a school could be mean and cruel to students.”

“This is the best kept secret in the DC area. The class sizes are small. The instruction is outstanding and culture of nurturing and learning is second to none. The principal and teachers are outstanding -- you can't ask for a better value. Our family could not be happier.”

“My child and our family have had a wonderful experience at OLV. We like the small class size and the friendly environment. The negative posts on this site are way off base.”

“We have three children at OLV and in the fall a fourth will join, which will take us into our seventh year at OLV. We have been impressed year after year by the dedication of the staff, the involvement of a broad group of parents and the warm atmosphere at the school. As expatriates it was a significant factor in extending our stay in the US as we were reluctant to remove our children when they were thriving. It is a small school and so may not have as much extra curricular activities as elsewhere, but certainly enough for a reasonbly rounded experience.”

“Our Lady of Victory School has been a great disappointment to my family. The teachers and staff there are not really interested in the minority students excelling there. As a parent my belief was that every student should be able to excel, however, not at Our Lady of Victory.”