Challenger School - Shawnee

Mar 7th, 2023

thanksAs a retired elementary school teacher (25 + years,) I am thorough in my evaluation of schools my grandkids attend. Challenge is definitely NOT one I would recommend!The teachers (mostly young women with minimal experience in a classroom) are closely controlled by the administration(which has little to no classroom experience.) Creativity is discouraged, since it's expression would cut into the school's "cookie cutter" approach to education.Another note to consider: Challenger isa "(or profit" school; although I notice it is now using the word "Foundation" in its title.   Consider the multiple options of schools in this valley before making a choice; there are many in our valley!
Jan 18th, 2022

We moved our daughter from hardwood challenger to Shawnee for 4th grade. Something with the teacher on 4th grade, she hated going here. She went from happy, playful and confident kid to sad, quite and low confidence kid in couple months. We moved her to a different private school now, she is already showing great improvements and getting back to previous form. But it's a very painful process for us and unnecessary. We really hated the decision to move to this school.
Nov 28th, 2021

I am posting this review based on my personal experience on how effective this school has been for my child. Curriculum is fine but that is not the only criteria which will benefit the student. Let me explain why.  If you are someone new looking to enroll your child from say 2nd 3rd or 4th grade, don't do it! They are for sure going to treat that child as if he or she is inferior to other students who's already there from preschool or kindergarten. To begin with, the teachers are claimed to be qualified with MASTERS degree and above but they certainly are not CREDENTIALED under state board of California which means they do not go for any training other than being briefed by their management on how to handle things. Some of the teachers at this campus do not possess a good understanding on subjects like history and science and they grade the test paper simply based on their answer guide.Their teacher often based the lecture solely on their notes which i guess anyone could do it. I am not saying all the teachers are incompetent  but i'm sure they are not sound in all the subjects being taught. Adding on, the management often shuffle teachers from one grade to another due to the high turnover rate. Furthermore this school does not have a dedicated science lab. For subjects like literature, no matter how well your child has answered their test, the teacher would give them a mediocre score for some reason and i'm seeing this after 1 year of observing their pattern. Other child (mostly their favorites) would score more even when their response only meets minimum criteria for scoring. (confirmed this from my child through their best work board) . Next, the teachers do not CHECK the homework and your child may come home with an incorrect work. The amount of homework is fine even though it is considered a little too much for an elementary grade but the problem is, they have tests every week which i think it's a little unreasonable. Student council board is another joke here. The rule to stay as a class rep is not to get a grade below 75 or 80 in any subjects, so the teacher would always make them stay within or well above the range. you rarely have an opportunity to stay in touch directly with your child's teacher. It is always through the management. I mean, what in the world are they afraid of? The most interesting part of their test system is, it is basically a repeated test questions from the point of Challenger inception. So, let's say if the student has an older sibling here, the younger one will somehow know what's coming ahead for the test. I am sure this is how not Barbara Baker, the founder would have envisioned how the school should be running. Unfortunately, today, that is the case.
Feb 12th, 2023

The worst school ever. My daughter went to preschool for a year here and she went from a chirpy talkative character to a closed introvert within a year. Its been 2.5 years since we left but still she says those teachers were the worst ever and she hasnt come out of the trauma yet !
Sep 12th, 2021