Dear Prospective Langley Parents

Aravind's son, Nathan, waits with classmates before seeing a Step Afrika performance in Langley Elementary's auditorium. 

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     I wanted to share some thoughts on our family's experience at Langley Elementary School.  I am the parent of a student in Pre-K-3 at Langley, so this was our first experience with DCPS.  Everyone at Langley has been incredibly open and welcoming, which confirmed that our decision to send our son to Langley was the right one for us.  That welcoming attitude starts from the top down; Principal Drumm is just in her second year at Langley, but it is clear that she has worked hard to create a real sense of community.  Principal Drumm and Assistant Principal Jennings are out in front of the school each day to greet students as they enter, whether by fist-bump, high-five, or hug.  But it seems like all the staff are excited to see our child every day, and he'll run up to give them hugs as well.  And since Langley is our neighborhood school, we see the other parents at pick-up and drop off, but also at the farmer's market, local restaurants, and just walking around Bloomingdale and Eckington.  Our son's teachers have been great - willing to give feedback before or after school and even scheduling a one-on-one appointment within two days after we asked for a meeting.   Langley has made such good progress in creating a positive culture that DCPS is using Langley as a showcase for its  social-emotional learning program, bringing in outside teachers and administrators to observe and take the lessons learned back to their own schools.

 Langley has lots of other advantages, as well.  It offers both before and aftercare, which makes juggling work schedules that much easier.  Langley was originally built as a middle school, so it has facilities other elementary schools simply can't match.  There are two gymnasiums, a separate pre-K playground, and Langley is next door to Harry Thomas Park, all of which allow students to have numerous opportunities to burn off energy at PE and recess, regardless of the weather.  There is a gorgeous art-deco auditorium and stage.  And Langley still has room to grow.  There is also a STEM Garden out front which allows students to learn about science and food through first-hand experience. Plus, with DCPS's commitment to early action, knowing that we were guaranteed a spot for the PK3 school year helped ease a major area of stress.
         Please come check out Langley Elementary at the next Open House on February 13th, and see all the wonderful opportunities it has to offer!

Sincerely, 
 Aravind Muthukrishnan