C M Rice Middle School

Excellent experience at this Elementary School in our neighborhood.

There's one kid I want punished some teachers to....

I had two kids in the elementary program from the beginning of the school year until late October. We really wanted this school to work out. We believe in the Montessori method and were willing to do whatever we could to support a good educational environment. Unfortunately, we began having issues right away that never ended up being resolved. The main issue was that the dynamics in the classroom were really stressful for my kids. Other children would make fun of them, yell at them for no reason, and make life there miserable. Both of my kids tried and were able to make some friends, but every day was still hard on them. My son in particular suffered. The longer he was at the school the more he problems he had, and eventually it became untenable. The school expressed no interest in supporting him or committing to even trying to make it a good environment. He was essentially pushed out. He's a curious and thoughtful kid. He loves learning. He never once got in trouble at the school. Our family is engaged and involved in their education. There was no reason for things to fall apart the way they did. Even the school can't justify it. We gave our daughter the choice to stay if she wanted to since she had friends that she really cared about, but she wanted to leave right away because she had similar issues with other kids that weren't being addressed. I truly believe the teacher and staff at the school care about the kids. I don't know why this didn't translate into a good educational environment, but it didn't. Now my family has to figure out in mid-semester how to manage with two kids at home every day unexpectedly. We're also trying to very hastily figure out what's next for their education. This whole experience has been stressful, but mostly it's just been sad. I wish we never enrolled here.

We are in our 8th year year at CDA, and we have nothing but good things to say. The curriculum is rigorous and effective, and the teachers are top notch. It is an efficient use of time because parents are utilized on home days to review, help with papers and projects, and supervise additional work. Parents should not have to teach but just facilitate as the student moves through the assignments. Class sizes are small, and all teachers are helpful when additional instruction is needed.