Community School

My husband and I were really excited about the school prior to moving to the area having attended an informational session. The concept of the school is wonderful!!! Unfortunately, the school lacks diversity. We had been led (from another student's family) to believe that we would feel like family at Community School. I felt anything but like family. There were some very, very pleasant people but far more that made the school less and less appealing during our two years there. For example, I've had many not speak and the front office clerk was rude to me on more than one occasion. The front clerk was also rude to my mother one the one occasion that she visited us here in Virginia. Our second year at Community School was a difficult one. Overall, I'll just say my son had many issues some in which I feel was made worse by his attendance at the school. We met with the "principal" several times and felt our concerns weren't taken seriously nor addressed. In the end, we decided to leave Community School. It was a hard decision. There are things we miss about the school. But it just wasn't right for our child. When asked about it, I'm honest about my experience. I hope the school grows in diversity and in doing so recognizes and respects cultural differences. Again, I still love the concept of the school. I'll cherish the positive experiences we had while enrolled there.

We have two children at Community School and I cannot say enough great things about our experiences, especially coming from a public school (for our older child). They have both grown so much in confidence, personal responsiblity and as leaders, and the nuggets of information they come out with just blow our minds. It's hard to pick my favorite things about CS but here are a few highlights: 1. Students take a lead role in their own education. Parent/Teacher conferences are always held with the student in attendance and in fact led BY the student so that they take charge of their own experiences. Our children lay out their academic, social and personal goals for the year and then we discuss how we, as parents and teachers, can help them achieve those goals. The KIDS determine their goals so they have ownership, and they see their parents and teachers working together to support them. 2. The interaction between the ages is fantastic; children who are practicing reading do so by reading to the pre-K students. Those preschoolers in turn feel so honored by having their older 'buddies' spend time with them. Middle schoolers help the elementary students with science projects and they are all able to practice those leadership skills. 3. The curriculum is united around a common theme each year and topics in one class resonate along other areas. For example, when the middle school is studying colonization of America in social studies, they spend art class making watercolor maps of Yorktown and in math they are calculating fractions based on cargo loads on ships to the new world. The teachers work together to make learning come alive and be reinforced in all classes. Over and over we read articles about the best way for children to learn and grow, and CS epitomizes those recommendations. Whenever possible the students are outside learning and experiencing lessons firsthand, and the classes are small enough that the teachers can really identify how each student learns best and what they need to be successful. We are so blessed to have found this place.