1237 Pine Rd
Carlisle, PA 17015

We have not had positive experiences with N Dickinson. The teacher to student ratio is deceiving; listed as 12:1 is simply false. General classes outside of special education is in the range of 22 - 28:1. The teachers have been very good for the most part, except for one terrible year with a checked out teacher who retired as soon as she could at the year's end. Aside from this, the teachers do what they can. The school board is more worried about perception than actual education of students, raising taxes and borrowing 100 million dollars for new buildings, but never where it is really needed, actual teachers on deck to help with the kids that need a little more attention. I can't tell you how many times we have heard "We don't have the resources for XYZ..." If your child needs special attention/education or excels, they may do well, but the average student, or one that does not "qualify" for help, will suffer. More importantly, the safety of children appears to be of little concern. Bullying runs rampant, and no one addresses this. We have experienced this with our own child and have knowledge of many other parents with similar complaints. Send your child here, and be prepared for the effects of bullying. Charter schools are a much better option if you reside in this district, but the school board will fight this tooth and nail. Friends tell us it ony gets worse as the child ages; middle school and high school appear to be far worse. Bottom line, if you can avoid sending your child to this district, you will be much better off in the long run. Bottom line, if you can avoid

Do NOT come to this school. I had my child attend this school but immediately had to take her out when i heard and witnessed how disgusting this school is. There are bugs everywhere! Ants and roaches that i witnessed myself. There are always fights!! The teachers dont even do anything about it because they are horrible teachers that dont know how to do their job. They do not know how to work with teenagers and are very unprofessional. Theres barely any classes to choose from. And the bathrooms smell like smoke because there are kids always smoking in there! And i’ve even seen it myself, the kids just walk out the school! They walk out the school and go to their houses or to a near gas station?! What type of school has such low security, low supervision, low administration that the kids just walk out the school at whatever time they please? Do not even think about involving yourself or any of your family members to this school.

My son has special needs and the school has fought against us at every turn. We have caught them not adhering to his legally binding 504 contract on several occasions, the principal attempted to ignore a timely request for evaluation (which is illegal), they lost my son’s elementary school records, and my child was denied special education services despite having met every single piece of criteria the state requires. This district’s administration is the biggest joke I have ever seen in education. The principal also told us that they refused special education largely in part because of the district’s budget; as if being told that dollar signs were the deciding factor made it okay. Parents beware of this sad excuse for an educational institution.