Classical Charter Schools Reviews

Thank you for providing your feedback. Classical Charter Schools have won the National Blue-Ribbon award 4 times thanks to the high level of structure especially around management and curriculum. We also value providing our scholars with a well-rounded education. One way we encourage this is by providing clubs for our 3-8 scholars. Different clubs are led by teachers that are passionate about specific topics and activities. This is a great way for teachers to share passion projects with their scholars outside the typical classroom. Classical has long hours to accommodate working families who benefit from our later dismissal. We incorporate many staff events including happy hours, lunches, artistic activities, sporting events, and more to spread joy for the hard-working staff. Since the pandemic, teacher turnover has been high across the country and at Classical. We have made significant progress since 2020, however we consistently are looking to grow by collecting feedback from our staff to improve retention. Currently 82% of our staff feel encouraged in their development, and we are looking to grow that number. At Classical Charter Schools, we are trying our best to address concerns by promoting a staff survey with changes and ideas for growth. Directors and leaders also ask for feedback from staff as well as holding office hours to help address any concerns. We are actively trying to retain our staff and any actionable feedback is welcome. Thanks again for leaving a review and for continuing to make an impact on our scholars!

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are refreshed to hear that you enjoy the strong academics and curriculum we offer here at Classical Charter Schools. The world places a huge emphasis on academics, but character is important too. We want to help cultivate well rounded citizens of impeccable character. Therefore, we find is equally as important to teach character education and have a charter education curriculum as well. Regarding your reference to lack of diversity not only do we pride ourselves on our scholar diversity, but our staff diversity as well. In terms of our scholars the minority enrollment is 98%, which is higher than the New York State average of 59%. Additionally, our staff is diverse with a split of 49% people of color and 51% of white staff members. We’re continuously working to develop a diverse cohort of educators that reflect our scholars and can serve as role models. We also encourage lateral moves and have had teachers move into other opportunities including project management and HR.

Thank you for your review! As you noted in your pros list, we do pride ourselves on offering a competitive salary to our staff. We want our salaries to reflect the hard work and determination educators exhibit daily. At Classical we place great importance upon professional development. We are sorry to hear you felt there was a lack of coaching and support. During your time at Classical, if you ever needed more support or coaching, I would advise you to reach out to your instructional coach, grade team leader, or school director. We strive to offer various professional development opportunities to our staff. Each staff member receives a week and a half of professional development at the beginning of each school year. Classical offers professional and differentiated development for all its educators throughout the year. Additionally, every teacher has an instructional coach to provide feedback both in document form as well as 1:1 debriefs. We find that teacher development is essential to serve our scholars.

Thank you for your feedback! As you noted in your review, our scholars are the highlight of our school, and the reason why our staff are committed to the work of Classical. We pride ourselves on offering a competitive salary to our staff. We want our salaries to reflect the hard work and determination our educators exhibit daily. Through the joint determination from our staff and scholars, Classical has the highest state test scores in New York City and the winner of 4 National Blue-Ribbon awards which honor both public and private schools who exhibit academic excellence and/or closing the achievement gaps amongst students. While our rigorous curriculum does have an important role in our school structure, the heart of the school are our scholars. We inform our Classical families of our rigorous fast-paced curriculum during orientation and the services we provide. We also have a team of educators ready to help our scholars who need additional support such as intervention and small group. Classical’s scholar services team also works with families to help develop a plan that works best for our scholars. Even if that means their best interests are with another school. We want all our scholars to succeed, whether it’s with us or elsewhere. Approximately 68% and 78% of Classical’s scholars with disabilities passed the ELA and Math state exams, respectively. Additionally, regarding English Language Learner population, 85% passed the ELA test and 91% passed the Math state test. While it’s unfortunate that your experience wasn’t ideal, we thank you for your collaboration with Classical!

Thank you for your feedback! As you noted we are committed to creating a friendly, dynamic working environment for our staff members. We do this by creating staff events such as happy hours and formal functions to commemorate their hard work and devotion to our scholars. We are sorry to hear you struggled to maintain a good work life balance. Classical offers professional and differentiated development for all its educators. We have some sessions specifically for time and task management to help our staff maintain their professional responsibilities and their personal lives. Our scripted plans also alleviate teachers of having to create their own during after school hours. While it’s unfortunate that your experience with us wasn’t ideal, we want to thank you for your contribution to Classical!