Cardinal Hickey Academy

Cardinal Hickey Academy is one of the best decisions we have made for our child. CHA is a Blue Ribbon School (grades PreK3 - 8) that offers a Montessori Preschool and rigorous standards based curriculum (for grades K-8) to help students reach their highest potential. The school genuinely cares about the success of their students and it shows in how students treat their peers. Respect is mutual among teachers and students. It is a school that welcomes families from ALL faiths from several surrounding counties. CHA has many extra curricular activities, small class sizes, and welcomes parent involvement. I am happy and proud to be a part of this school which feels like a family. If you expect excellence and the best for your child, check out CHA!

A few years ago I learned that children were being slapped on their bottoms for their birthdays. Apparently, it is on video. We should have left the school then given this was allowed to happen for many years. Flash forward a few years to kids who have been bullied and not protected, Pre-K and K students left unsupervised, kids have reported wanting to harm themselves and parents have not been told, cover ups of assaults and threats of violence. Students told it was Friday afternoon and teacher wasn't going to speak to them, pattern of behavior according to reviews. Decline in academics and kids not up to par when they enter public school. Years of Devout Catholics leaving this unhealthy environment-Just ask around!

Top Catholic school in the area! It has taught my child to strive for excellence academically and built upon their faith. The teachers here are excellent and have many years of experience. They will help each student with what ever they need. Honestly, come visit the school and you too will want to become a part of our CHA family.

Cardinal Hickey has been a great education for my kids. They love it there, especially the teachers and the fact that the classes are small and they received tons of one-on-one attention.

This past year was a horrible year for many families and students. The faculty that is kind was not treated well by the dictator principal. Many incidences occurred that should have been taken care of but instead were not and they grew into bigger and worse. Don’t bother asking a teacher because they have “no idea” what is going on and “just” work there. Really? It is a good thing the principal is gone because she treated people just horrible. She just enjoys talking about herself or name dropping. Love for others is not shown by many staff. The middle school is at a low for building character in students. MANY changes need to occur and on is removing the head of the school because he is way to powerful and misuses it.

We pulled our children out of CHA this year… It is a terrible place to send your kids… there have been numerous cases of sexual assault and bullying that went unaddressed by the administration. They let the bad kids remain in school unpunished and push the victim’s families out when they start to question the administration or complain. The administration tried to cover up these numerous incidents as to not impact their enrollment (tuition) and donors. It became apparent over the last year that there is no adherence to any type of rules or discipline, and therefore the school has become a collection of misfits – not the environment that one typically thinks of in a Catholic school. Likely due to these incidents, they fired the principal this year. However, she should have never been hired as she was fired from her last Catholic school. The school is really run by Father King who is a sad excuse for a priest. He was complicit in allowing such a lawless environment and directed many of the “cover ups”. He can’t be entrusted with your children. I’ll be surprised if the school still exists in a year or two, as many families are fleeing based on the number of outrageous “incidents” that have occurred in the last year… I would not recommend this school to anyone under any circumstance… You run the risk of ruining your child’s life sending them into such a perilous environment…

The horrible experience of recent incidents overshadowed any good that could have come from this school and left us regretting ever sending our children here! Do NOT waste your money! The principal was recently fired, but the school will not change as long as the head administrator remains in place! Parents have tried for YEARS to get him removed, but the ADW will NOT remove him! The corruption runs deep in this school and in the Archdiocese as a whole. The administrators and many teachers at this school do NOT care about the safety and security of the students! Victims of bullying and abuse are shut down and shunned, while bullies and abusers are welcome to stay with NO consequences for their actions!

We thought we were getting a Catholic, Christ centered school, but the way families have been treated at this school is so far from Christ in our opinion. Many families are now leaving the school and enrollment was already low. The school use to require testing to be admitted. Now they are taking students who are expelled from other schools. We use to have a Home School Association, but for many years the culture has been to block any parent communication. Teachers have reported that they were advised to limit their communication with parents. Starting in the preschool Montessori program, we were advised it was an accredited program. Come to find out it isn't an accredited program like other schools in the area. Several parts of the school including the bathrooms are run down and money doesn't seem to go to improvements for the school, but who would know because despite tuition increase parents never receive copies of the budget.

Some of the teachers are very good at educating the students and my children seemed to enjoy their teachers. However, given the recent incidents at the school and learning about how teachers handle significant misconduct issues, I am concerned that the safety of students' is not a priority. Teachers should want to know about the problems in the school to try to fix them and not walk around covering their ears stating they don't want to know what happened during incidents at the school.

The principal was just fired after the school was investigated by the state for numerous reports of negligence. It is unclear why she was even hired for the school given she was terminated from her last position. Apparently the head administrator was aware of this when he hired her. A new principal will be walking into a HORNET'S NEST because the head administrator is still there. Ask around and you will find out that for many years, families have tried to have him removed, but the ADW will not remove him despite significant complaints and him blatantly lying to parents.

There is a systemic issue with bullying in the school. The school has not addressed problems with bullying which has led to many students being physically and emotionally hurt. The negligence is reprehensible and has changed the lives of many students. I would not recommend this school to anyone and immensely regret sending my children there.