Mason Crest Elementary School

Mason Crest Elementary School started in September of 2012. The school is among the 40 Title I elementary schools in Fairfax county. About half of the students enrolled are eligible for free or reduced lunch and about one in five is eligible for special education. Forty percent of the children in the school are English language learners. After all, it is attended by children from over forty countries. The student population is 43% Hispanic, 22% White, 22% Asian, and 8% Black.

The school is young yet in the past three years, the school has served the community of Annandale so well. Test scores are well above average compared to other schools in Fairfax county, a school district that is already regarded as one of the best in the state of Virgina and in the United States. The following test results clearly demonstrate how well Mason Crest compares with other schools.

Subject
Accreditation Benchmark
Percent Passing the 2012-2013 Test Administration
Percent Passing the 2013-2014
Test Administration
Percent Passing the  2014-2015
Test Administration
MCES
FCPS
VA
MCES
FCPS
VA
MCES
FCPS
VA
English
75
85
82
75
84
81
74
92
85
79
Math
70
92
79
71
93
81
74
95
83
79
History
70
97
89
85
96
90
84
97
90
86
Science
70
89
83
81
79
84
80
87
84
82
MCES=Mason CrestFCPS=Fairfax County Public Schools, VA=All Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia Elementary through High School. The above data are copied from AllThingsPLC


Generally, Title I schools perform worse than other schools because of poverty effects. Fairfax county Title I schools, however, are still performing as well, if not better, than the state average. But Mason Crest, compared to other Title I schools in the county, still shines out as an exception.

Subject
Percent Passing the 2012-2013 Test Administration
Percent Passing the 2013-2014
Test Administration
Percent Passing the  2014-2015
Test Administration
Mason Crest
Fairfax County
Title I Schools Average Pass Rates
Mason Crest
Fairfax County
Title I Schools Average Pass Rates
Mason Crest
Fairfax County
Title I Schools Average Pass Rates
English
85
82
84
78
92
81
Mathematics
92
80
93
86
95
84
History
97
85
96
80
97
84
Science
89
72
79
73
87
70
The above data are copied from AllThingsPLC





Mason Crest Elementary School functions as a Professional Learning Community at Work. Teachers work together as a team. No teacher is isolated. Collaborative team meetings occur on a regular basis at each grade level. No student is therefore seen by only one teacher. All teams work with one goal in mind, to engage every student and improve learning for all students.

I do have two children enrolled in the school so I have the perspective of a parent. The engagement of parents in this school is very high. The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is quite active and this year, the PTO is providing school supplies for all students.

Above copied from Mason Crest PTO

A lot of parents also volunteer time and effort in various extracurricular as well as classroom activities. Parents are as engaged as their children. Last year, due to the unusual cold winter weather, there were quite a number of indoor recess periods. One classroom of students was resorting to tablets and IPads but one parent came and encouraged the use of board games instead of electronics. This instance and so many other examples make it quite clear that parents are likewise participating members in this small learning community in Annandale. 

During the first three years, Mason Crest has been visited more than one hundred and fifty times by educators from other states and countries. A day or even a week long visit may not be enough however to appreciate what happens all year round in this school.




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