New Principal Now for Heather Hills!

I was friends with you son, Brady and I cannot agree more with wanting to leave in my fifth grade year.

I have some news and some bad news. I'm currently a 5th grader at HHES and the good is that Ms. Manuel has been replaced with Ms. Lewis of acting principal of HHES. Ms. Lewis says that she hopes to communicate with parents and with students. So at least what Ms. Lewis hopes to improve the school are actually being true since the school received a new basketball hoop. The bad news is there is still some mean teachers at HHES but luckily, they're nice most of the time. I wish HHES the best of luck!

I couldn’t agree more with the statements in this petition. If given the opportunity, I would be happy to enumerate some of this surprising and disappointing experiences which our two kids have faced so far at HHES. While we, like all of the parents at the school, are grateful for the opportunity for our kids to be surrounded by other very bright students, there is a genuine problem when a tag school program doesn’t seem to realize the value of exploration and just plain fun in the school day. And many teachers seem to agree. Many of those teachers whom we found to be the most engaging and stimulating seem to be leaving now. Well we understand the very real prospects of subtle reprisal for our participation in this effort, our kid’s education is worth the risk.. Please take this petition, and all of the comments, and all of the sponsors seriously. You will not regret it. Thank you for your consideration.

Our children deserve professional academia that truly have a heart for students AND their staff. This school is clearly suffering under the current leadership. Please ACT NOW!!

We absolutely regret moving our child to HHES. Every year we consider removing our child from the school, but our child’s desire to stay with friends has kept us there. Our child was flat out told during hybrid learning not to bother raising their hand in the classroom! And the fact that a TAG school cannot figure out how to let children borrow library books (even pre pandemic, before the library became a storage area) is appalling.

As a past PTO Board member, I, unfortunately, can confirm the details of this petition. HHES students deserve to thrive and be excited about their school. Parents should feel that their children are getting the best educational experience at a school led by an engaged Principal. HHES has been found lacking consistently. I’m happy to see parents unite for change.

I am completely disappointed and disappointed by the leadership at HHES. As an educator 1st and a current school administrator myself, it is disheartening to know how disengaged Ms.Manuel has been this year.I hope for change!

All students deserve the best. Especially during this pandemic.

Our kids deserve better

I 100% agree with the petition. My daughter is a former student of Heather Hills and I have spoken with Ms Manuel and some teachers on several occasions about the lack of communication, unfair grading practices with specific teachers and the lack of true TAG programming. In my case, I presented with Manuel with written evidence of my daughters grade being calculated inaccurately and she refused to address the teacher or change the grade. I also spoke to her about incidents where this same teacher was yelling at the students and being demeaning. Again, she did nothing. I subsequently decided to homeschool my child during the year of the pandemic because I didnt trust her to hold teachers accountable or provide our students with a proper education during this time. Once schools reopened in fall 2021, I decided to pull my child out of the TAG program altogether and pay for private school. Shouldn't have to do this with her having been accepted into what was once one of the top TAG schools in the state.

While my child no longer attends HHES, I do agree with this petition. The school went from one that I could speak highly of in the 2017-2018 school year to one that my daughter couldn't wait to leave in 2021. And it wasn't because she was going to middle school, it was because the school just wasn't fun for her anymore and the attitudes of Ms. Manuel and some of the teachers were not the best. I agree that the students deserve better.

Very disappointed in HHES's management

As previous PTO President, I am saddened by where we are. A community shouldn't have to ask for transparency and engagement. HHES was a top performing TAG program that everyone wanted to get into. This school needs someone who is engaged and is dedicated to the future engineers, doctors, scientists, and educators of our community. As school leaders hold parents accountable for our children outside the classroom, this is a reciprocated request. Support this TAG program with present leaders, clarity, and community engagement. Our common goal is the education of our children.

Ms. Manuel does not care about children. My children were directly targeted by Ms. Manuel because I stood up to her about the unfair treatment of students and staff. I was forced to pull my children out of the school which caused tremendous stress and a high level trauma for my children and my husband and me. My kid's deserved better and even after reaching out to the Superintendent and Instructional Director, I received no support or action to remove Ms. Manuel from her position. She is unfit to lead a school or to be in any position that requires educating children. She is not interested in engaging with parents. After multiple requests to get involved and volunteer at the school, Ms. Manuel became annoyed and ceased communications with me and my family. My children came home on multiple occasions telling me that Ms. Manuel spoke to them in a "mean" tone and yelled at them -- they also mentioned several times that they didn't believe that Ms. Manuel like kids. My kid's deserved better and PGCPS should be ashamed to have appointed such an incompetent person to the principal role.

The school needs to change it's attitude because the kids miss their old school.

Remove Ms. Manuel. The kids deserve better.

It is very disappointing that this woman, who has consistently shown through her actions that she cares very little about enriching the students’ learning experience, but instead prioritizes what is convenient for herself. And whenever parents and teachers try to engage her about it, all she does is withdraw and try to avoid conversations. As that TAG designation indicates, Heather Hills Elementary School is supposed to place where the school system's brightest students receive an enhanced experience, but instead it routinely falls short of the experiences given by other schools that are not even TAG designated. Why have a separate program at all if it doesn’t even live up to the norm? It is disgraceful that PG County Public School’s administration has allowed this to occur for so long. As evident by this petition, the parents of the students that attend Heather Hills Elementary School are fed up with Ms. Nema Manuel’s lack of effort and compassion. If she is not removed before the start of the next school year, this issue will continue to be raised, and efforts will be made to make it as public as possible including through the media and higher up the chain of elected officials.

Unfortunately I must sign this petition because nothing here is false. This is my second child in Heather Hills. The quality of the school has noticeably declined since she became the principal. Our kids deserve more

I concur with the petition statement. Ms. Manuel has been blessed with a small school filled with talented children who are eager to learn; supportive, involved parents; teachers who are ready to serve; and a hard-working PTO - yet, despite these ingredients for success, she has consistently taken her role as principal for granted and seems to be perfectly satisfied with doing the bare minimum. Our students deserve better! Our students deserve an enthusiastic leader who is committed to inspiring teachers and staff, partnering with parents, and providing a quality, intellectually stimulating school environment that challenges the students academically, while nuturing their social and emotional development. Ms. Manuel has routinely failed to tap into the plethora of resources available to Heather Hills as a TAG center school located in a region that is the epicenter for all types of academic programs, research and experiences including museums dedicated to art, science, history, culture, etc, Her lack of creativity, ambition, and engagement are unacceptable..

This principal has no connection with the student, parents or faculty.