Henry S. West Laboratory School

Posted May 2, 2006

WestLab is a school of choice, but it's still a DCPS with several problems. The small campus and its location in the Gables are both desirable, but its involvement with UM is minimal at best. WestLab teachers are excellent and they help the parents with various on campus extracurricular activities. The Gifted Program is not what it should be and is only offered for one hour daily. Gifted kids may be better off in another school or magnet program. PLUS SIDE: small campus, good teachers, nice parents and kids, good location and its an 'A' rated school with some association with UM. MINUS SIDE: Outdated, dull buildings, hard to organize PTA since families are from all over town, Cafeteria is lousy and the food comes from Ponce Middle School (terrible), no separate Auditorium, it's a Cafetorium - bad combo. Nope, WestLab is not perfect, but it is still good.
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Posted March 22, 2006

My daughter is currently attending this great school. She was chosen through the lottery and despite our daily drive, it's worth every minute of it. The staff is helpful, the teachers are dedicated, outstanding academics. I find the best to be the size of the classes. This makes it easy for teacher/parent rapport and for teachers to recognize students. I wish they had a better Spanish program (now they only have a Spanish class, just like art, music). Also, because the school is small, you can always find parking and has easy access, contrary to other schools were you have to fight for space, especially in the morning rush. The principal is new, she started the 2005/06 school year so I do not have much to say about her yet. There's a very easygoing environment, kids are expected to behave and to be polite, it's just the ambiance of the school.
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Posted February 7, 2006

My daughter is in K at West Lab and the quality of the teachers is outstanding. Most have been there a long time. It's also a small school, only about 300 kids,with two classes per grade, so administrators are on a first name basis with the kids. My daughter is learning to read and they're very strong on preparing them to read, by encouraging them to write and keep a reading log. They don't give as much homework as other schools but it seems to be enough without being overwhelming. They are very strict about discipline and doing their work. Sometimes kids who don't finish work aren't allowed to participate in recess, which seems harsh but it seems to motivate them. The extracurricular activities are impressive with an art club, a chess club, violen program, science club and many other things. Parent involvement is also very high, which is great.
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Posted August 19, 2005

West Lab is great school with lots of potential. Teachers are very dedicated and seem happy to be there. This year we have a new principal. We'll see how that goes. The campus needs LOTS of fixing. And we are hoping for an approval for 7th and 8th grade.
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