Challenge to Excellence Charter School

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"Going downhill as they strive to make a name for themselves in "technology". Technology now teaches more than the teachers. It has been incorporated in a very disjointed manner just for the sake of adding technology. There is not a coordinated system for the students and it adds needless time and hoops. In fact, the technology is more for the teachers than the students! Examples: using videos of the teacher READING the math book (no - not teaching, reading) to students that they must watch on their own time before they can do their math homework. Then they must submit their homework by entering their answers on a non-math based program (no math symbols or way to get many concepts across easily) that simply adds extra time after the work is done. Other classes use other formats for submitting work (one system actually is quick and easy). Google forms requires kids to cut and paste each individual answer off a google document - imagine doing that 18 or 20 times when they have already spent all that time doing the work in a document that can be shared! Then, they can learn their social studies and science from multiple 2 minute video clips and text books that are read to them (so they sit in class with headphones). The problem is that the lessons are not really grade appropriate because they are used by multiple grades. Expectations for the answers may be different by grade, but who is helping them process information over their heads and bring it down to their level? Parents, maybe. A few teachers are terribly unclear in their expectations and kids are all over the place trying to keep up with all the different websites and calendars and LMS and such. You know what you have to do to stay on top of to pay your bills, watch your accounts, etc, etc? Imagine putting that on an 11 year old!!! But lots of technology. Not personalized education at all, however. They teach one way for all the students. They don't even let them go at their own pace...unless you count that one kid can get through a video in 15 minutes and the other takes 20 (much like watching Sesame Street on the DVR). But once they finish the lesson, it's not like they can move ahead to the next. They do next to nothing to attempt to cater to individual needs. So here is hoping you have an auditory learner! And don't expect them to teach your kid how to take notes. They are way out of sync with the local high schools in terms of technology and learning approaches. Sadly disappointed with the school as a whole. Lots of parents (certainly not all) and kids are very frustrated, but the school doesn't want to hear it. The Spanish program leaves much to be desired....after 9 years of taking it once a week, you will be lucky if you are at the same level as a first quarter high school student. Also, as an elective, half the students have no choice but to take "A" (first semester high school level 1/one year middle school) in 6th grade and "B" (second semester high school level 1) in 7th grade - with nothing available in 8th grade...so moving into Spanish 2 in high school becomes a big challenge after taking a year off...not a good set up at all and for sure the other schools don't set kids up this way. Also, in general, the middle school electives are slim pickings. There are a bunch of other things to comment on, but this is already long."

"Going downhill as they strive to make a name for themselves in "technology". Technology now teaches more than the teachers. It has been incorporated in a very disjointed manner just for the sake of adding technology. There is not a coordinated system for the students and it adds needless time and hoops. In fact, the technology is more for the teachers than the students! Examples: using videos of the teacher READING the math book (no - not teaching, reading) to students that they must watch on their own time before they can do their math homework. Then they must submit their homework by entering their answers on a non-math based program (no math symbols or way to get many concepts across easily) that simply adds extra time after the work is done. Other classes use other formats for submitting work (one system actually is quick and easy). Google forms requires kids to cut and paste each individual answer off a google document - imagine doing that 18 or 20 times when they have already spent all that time doing the work in a document that can be shared! Then, they can learn their social studies and science from multiple 2 minute video clips and text books that are read to them (so they sit in class with headphones). The problem is that the lessons are not really grade appropriate because they are used by multiple grades. Expectations for the answers may be different by grade, but who is helping them process information over their heads and bring it down to their level? Parents, maybe. A few teachers are terribly unclear in their expectations and kids are all over the place trying to keep up with all the different websites and calendars and LMS and such. You know what you have to do to stay on top of to pay your bills, watch your accounts, etc, etc? Imagine putting that on an 11 year old!!! But lots of technology. Not personalized education at all, however. They teach one way for all the students. They don't even let them go at their own pace...unless you count that one kid can get through a video in 15 minutes and the other takes 20 (much like watching Sesame Street on the DVR). But once they finish the lesson, it's not like they can move ahead to the next. They do next to nothing to attempt to cater to individual needs. So here is hoping you have an auditory learner! And don't expect them to teach your kid how to take notes. They are way out of sync with the local high schools in terms of technology and learning approaches. Sadly disappointed with the school as a whole. Lots of parents (certainly not all) and kids are very frustrated, but the school doesn't want to hear it. The Spanish program leaves much to be desired....after 9 years of taking it once a week, you will be lucky if you are at the same level as a first quarter high school student. Also, as an elective, half the students have no choice but to take "A" (first semester high school level 1/one year middle school) in 6th grade and "B" (second semester high school level 1) in 7th grade - with nothing available in 8th grade...so moving into Spanish 2 in high school becomes a big challenge after taking a year off...not a good set up at all and for sure the other schools don't set kids up this way. Also, in general, the middle school electives are slim pickings. There are a bunch of other things to comment on, but this is already long."

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