Cranium Academy

Good choice for Kids. Teachers are nice. Thank you.

My daughter first year at Cranium Academy and she is loving it and the teachers and the staff is so kind and does a wonderful job.

This school applies collective punishment. Doesn’t matter if your kid is following the rules, if some of the classmates are not your kid will be punished, specially at lunch time, ask about the red cup system. This completely destroyed the mental model of my kids on how to behave. Instead of seeing peers as potential friends, they became potential problems. No nurturing friendship can be made in this type of environment. Exactly the opposite happens, kids pit against each other and the bullying starts. Student of the month is just a popularity context, no hard work or achievement acknowledgment.

StarChild Academy Winter Garden (SCAWG) is a great option for preschool; however, I strongly caution against enrolling your child in the elementary school. The overall positives of the school are cultural diversity among the staff and student body, a family feel, and friendly, caring faculty and staff, as well as building updates on the preschool side.Preschool Pros: curriculumPreschool Cons: Teacher retention; on average, children go through at least 2 lead teachers a year, and it’s a revolving door for assistants.When our children were attending SCAWG, it was advertised as an advanced curriculum school; it’s not. We withdrew our youngest child first because it’s easiest to succeed in surrounding charter schools’ lotteries when entering kindergarten. Youngest attended from age 2.5 – 5 (VPK). Youngest is testing above grade level in ELA (was even promoted to grade 1 phonics class at new school) on Florida’s statewide standardized assessments (F.A.S.T); however, Math results were below grade level. Elementary School Pros: N/AElementary School Cons: no technology in classrooms, teacher retention, no behavioral specialist, inadequate disciplinary action, unrealistic amount of at-home supplementing, ineffective curriculum, no positive reinforcements for academic achievement, no standardized test prep, combined 4th and 5th grade classOldest attended from age 3–9 (grade 3.5; we withdrew after mid-year). For context, in kindergarten, first, and second grade, the oldest had all A’s with 1 B for the whole school year. Q1 of third grade all A’s, one B, Q2 of third grade all A’s, one B. Oldest tested at grade level in ELA on F.A.S.T and below grade level in Math. At SCAWG, they introduce concepts and move on quickly without allowing the child adequate time to practice or retain what they’ve learned. While every institution has its pros and cons, we’re most disappointed by what we now realize is a horrible curriculum and questionable teaching styles. There are better elementary school options in the area than SCAWG, and I urge you to exhaust them. SCAWG Elementary turned out to be a colossal waste of money for us – it shouldn’t have to be for you, too.

I’ve been waiting to write this review now that my child is almost done with 5th grade and I have the full K-5 experience with this school.The teachers here are hit or miss; there are some amazing teachers who truly love children and teaching (Ms. Alday and Ms. McHenry are both good examples), but there are others who are incredibly lazy, I’ve lost count on the amount of spelling and grammatical errors in the emails and communications I’ve received over the years…these are the people teaching our kids! Also teachers’ kids get preferential treatment at this school; they get first pick of class placement and they get chosen for special tasks like safety patrol. My child came home in tears at the end of fourth grade when they got passed up for safety patrol, the morning show, and the school store and they noticed that the teachers’ kids and their friends all got selected for these special roles. My child is a straight A student, in honor society and does not get in trouble and was passed up for all three opportunities!Communication is also not the best. I know that there is a math club and a chess club, but I never received any communication about either of these opportunities. My child excels in math and wanted to join the math club, I’m upset he didn’t get the opportunity to do so.Last, my child was assaulted on the bus by another child when they clocked him in the head with a Stanley cup. I immediately called the school and they just transferred me to a voicemail box to someone who is Spanish speaking and I couldn’t understand who I was even leaving a message for. I ended up calling back and I did speak to the principal and she was helpful but there was 0 follow up after I reported it. Do better SunRidge!! It’s no wonder parents are pulling their kids out of public school after our experience with this school! Middle school cannot come fast enough!

Absolutely love this school. My son has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and I enrolled him into this school. I was hesitant at first but it became the best decision ever! My son has been thriving in his class and has never cried when it was time to go to school. Keep up the great work UCP West Orange!