Hanson Place Elementary School

Our child had an awful experience here, finding none of the teachers very engaging, almost no fun projects and after school activities were fine but not nearly the variety and fun of other schools. The primary teacher was quite bad - his performance rapidly dropped over a few months and anytime we tried to ask the teacher about it, she displayed a total lack of interest or any familiarity with what he was actually doing. Worksheets and quizzes that made it home often were confusing, filled with typos, and in some cases directly contradictory to what was being taught. Tests had questions incorrectly graded, work was often (mis)graded by other students and never checked by the teacher. In all, our child significantly backslid over a few months, we felt completely ignored and blown off about any of our concerns, and our child's love of school and learning evaporated. We brought our concerns to the administration and they addressed some of them, but when we finally made the decision to leave mid-year, they had no interest in hearing or discussing our concerns. In addition to our concerns, we heard from many other parents that had similar issues with he quality of the instruction. Additionally, parents invovled on committees through the PTA frequently resigned their position, as they were blocked by the school from affecting any change (fundraising, field trips, etc. )

This has been a very challenging school year and 38 completely exceeded my expectations. My son in Kindergarten (the non-gifted classroom) left reading above grade level, loved his teacher and friends, and thrived during a really difficult and confusing time. He's been doing even better since we have gone to 5 days per week. Im very appreciative of my experience at 38 for the past 2 years.

We started at a different charter in Brooklyn and switched to Compass mid-year. I am SO HAPPY to be part of this community. The balance of learning, academics, play, community and social issues is just incredible. My children are THRIVING! My son was previously in special reading groups as he needed more help and after a few weeks at Compass everything just "clicked" for him and he is back on track! They are learning about important social (anti-bias) issues and also getting music and sustainability education. It truly feels like a community.