American Academy

Thank goodness we're no longer at this depressing school! My oldest child was beat down at American Academy and turned into a mere shadow of herself by the time we left a few years ago- it was so hard to witness and devastating for parents who knew who their child really was prior to this awful experience. My youngest only had to experience kindie there before our escape so wasn't as damaged fortunately. We enrolled because we were promised a far better academic experience for our very high achieving student but each year there only got worse. A child who is already very well-disciplined will have a hard time at this school- there is so much ignored bullying and the good kids feel targeted. All the kids are expected to be little trained robots. Some teachers are very good and so are Erin Kane's intentions, but she has trouble hiring the right kind of people and is too much of an engineer to get what is so sorely missing in her schools- the "heart" that is needed to foster a love of learning and the warmth to build little beings of character. Instead the kids feel beat down and so restricted in the cold, militant environment that they end up hating school then rebel and end up little bullies and tyrants, unless they're the traumatized victims of the perpetrators. Much of the lower level staff should never have been employed in a school environment to start with- just simply the wrong temperament for it and pathetic behavior with families (so I can only imagine what goes on with kids when we're not looking). As a parent who volunteered far more than most, I can tell you how unwelcome you feel in their building, regardless of how much you're doing for them. Hundreds of hours was nothing for our family but you'd think we were strangers off the street- the front office staff in particular are rude and ill-mannered, acting as though they own the place and you owe them some sort of deference- baffling that is who a school would hire and then retain year after year. Middle school is a disaster from start to finish and students are treated as less than people- care, support, respect, and kindness are a rarity. The school has such a negative, oppressive atmosphere and culture of fear and degradation that you feel it from the moment you enter and have no choice but to breathe a sigh of relief as soon as you exit! It's one of the most damaging environments in which to leave a child and as conscientious parents, we could not any longer. It is equally as stunning that after years there, not one person reached out to find out why we'd left- they were losing two very well-behaved, straight A students and parents who worked hard for the school year in and year out, but not one word when they found out we were leaving- crazy puts it mildly, no wonder they have no clue what they're doing wrong. Homework: over the top even for a charter school (and we know what an amazing, much higher rated charter school is) and that much unnecessary busy work daily was total nonsense. It made no difference at all in my child's scores- she now has less homework but does just as well or better on all standardized testing. Our present school uses a warm, kind approach to each student and every parent is welcomed with open arms- my children are happy beyond belief and thriving and excelling, not only academically which will never be an issue for my kids, but also emotionally and mentally, which certainly were BIG problems at Amer.Acad. Yes, there is homework but it's a normal amount for a top quality charter school, no where near as much of the excessive amount at AA. Now homework is meaningful and purposeful so children can master the material as well and as quickly as possible- it's no longer burdensome, but enjoyable. Staff is also happy at our school which the students feel and benefit from, and they were not at American. We were even told by staff at Amer.Academy that they'd find another school for their own children if they didn't already work there- that's how sad the situation really is. One of our kids was damaged and on her way to needing therapy after starting out a perky, joyful, school-loving little thing when we arrived there- our final decision to remove them was the only option in order to save them. Our oldest is back to her happy, easy going, enthusiastic self again and loves school like never before- the transformation occurred within a very short time at the new school. We now see the power a school environment has over a child's mind and spirit, and every parent should be very wary of putting their children's well-being at risk at Amer.Acad. One more thing to be aware of: this school that touts what a top notch STEM school it is scores lower than others that are NOT stem schools- do your own research- AA doesn't produce the highest scores in math & science so please don't make your choice based on that hollow promise, jeopardizing so much more of value in the process.

Love this school and highly recommend it for any family interested in encouraging and teaching their children to be good students and good citizens. We have been very happy over the last 8 years!

I have seen a number of reviews on AA and other Charter schools.
There tend to be 4 grips here.

1) the students have to do a lot of homework. That is a fact. It is also a fact that the kids do a lot of homework at ANY of the top rated schools. This is basically practise for the kids to make sure that they know how to apply the work. Without homework, then it is obvious that they are not learning.

2) In Charter schools, the parents are typically required to put in X hours per kid. At AA, that is 40 hrs/child / year. Keep in mind that the norm was that parents would work with the school, as opposed to just simply picking up their kids. It is work, but is also allows you to meet others.

3) Another is that the parents and kids can be clickish. That is a fact. There is little doubt about it. In fact, I think that the parents appear to be more clickish than are the kids. BUT, that comes from spending time together. It is not much different than what you will see at a work place. You spend time and find that you like some ppl, while others you do not like. Simple as that.

4) This schools admin has a heavy hand. To be honest, it does. The teachers are controlled CLOSELY by the admin/owners. I have never seen a school this tightly controlled. Likewise, the school runs on Windows and has horrible security issues. They are constantly cracked and have loads of virus running around. Rather than allow a group form of information, they insist on email to disseminate information so as to control the flow of what each parent sees (with a group form such as G+, blogging, facebook, etc, then all get to speak about it, which means that you can NOT control what is said/done as easily; basically, democracy vs. totalitarian ). BUT that is more due to the issue of a PE teaching knowing only about windows and pushing a hammer to deal with screws.

More importantly, when other schools were failing all around during this 2007-recent time recession, they have had a decent control of the finances. Basically, they are expanding while other schools are closing.

The real issue should be, are the kids learning academia, social skills, sports, etc? I wish that the school would do a bit more with sports, BUT, when it comes to academia, they are top notch. The teachers that they have are dedicated and LOVE the school/kids. They make sure that the children are moving. With flu running around the nation, they have us volunteer to wipe down tables, chairs, etc. WEEKLY. They push uniforms while allowing some leeway on various days. The kids learn to respect not just teacher, but everyone. Ethics are fairly decent.

If you want a school where you drop off your kids and you count on the teachers to do everything, well, this is NOT your school. In fact, NONE of the charter schools will be right for you. However, if you want to prepare your children for the future and know that academia is very important, then you will be hard pressed to beat this school.

I will say that supposedly this school has a more science/math bent, but I am not really seeing it. Compared to other public schools, it is about the same. However, the school itself was prepared for it. They even have a chemical hood, which is unusual for an elementary school.

Still, I would rate this school a 6 if I could.

Excellent for analytical type learning styles.