My family and I were very disappointed with our experience when trying to schedule a school tour…read more As Deaf parents, we simply asked The First Academy to provide an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter so we could fully understand the information being shared during the tour. Despite multiple emails and opportunities to reconsider, the school declined to provide an interpreter. Instead, we were told to rely on written communication, tablets, and "extra time," which are not effective or equitable substitutes for real-time ASL access. This does not provide meaningful communication for Deaf adults, especially during an important process like evaluating a potential school for our children. We were also told we could "bring our own interpreter," which shifts the burden of accessibility onto families rather than meeting basic inclusion standards. We left the interaction feeling that the school was not prepared to support the communication needs of Deaf parents. Accessibility should not be optional, and it should not depend on families paying out-of-pocket to participate. I hope the school takes this feedback seriously and re-evaluates its approach to serving Deaf and hard-of-hearing families in the future.

KUDOS and thanks to First Academy for providing supreme quality customer service! I got to meet…read moreRocky Bleier on November 9, 2023! The veterans celebration was fabulous ! I highly recommend all to come and visit to support this local business! I really enjoyed and appreciated everyone's help and support!

My daughter has been enrolled in Grade 6 at Howard School for the past six months. During this…read moreperiod, we experienced repeated and serious issues related to the school environment and the administration. Despite our efforts, these problems were not resolved. As a result, I have made the decision to withdraw my daughter from Howard School and enroll her in another school. I am extremely dissatisfied with the lack of organization and professionalism demonstrated by the administration. Based on our experience, I would not choose this School again and would not recommend it to other parents. I not consider the Howard School like Magnet level, nothing good in this school

This place is great, especially so for the band and chorus programs, some of the best musicians I…read moreknow came from here.

As a parent, I couldn't be happier with our experience at Renaissance Charter School at Goldenrod…read more My daughter is currently in 6th grade and enrolled in accelerated classes, and she is truly thriving. She is engaged in her learning, challenged academically, and supported in ways that go beyond the classroom. I appreciate that the school focuses not only on academics, but also on students' emotional growth and character development. The structure and expectations have helped my daughter become more confident and responsible. She also loves wearing a uniform--it's one less thing to worry about each morning and helps create a sense of pride and belonging. Overall, Renaissance has been a positive and nurturing environment where my child feels supported, motivated, and excited to learn. I'm grateful to be part of a school community that invests in both the academic and personal development of its students.

Our teachers are focused on increasing student and community engagement. Teaching has become more…read morethan instruction and our staff steps up above and beyond urge rest. Please support our school and our staff as we grow leaders in the moment. GOLD star, world-class school!

We looked at several private schools with middle school programs. After touring we felt very much…read moreat home with staff at Pine Castle. My daughter is in grade 7 and has had a great experience. She loves school again, is finding success academically and socially and goes on and on each evening about the teachers. Remember when your child came home from kindergarten and spoke incessantly about the teacher? It's that kind of joy! I did speak with a friend after the tour who is pretty involved in the private Christian school market and they recommended PCCA to us, too. Feel free to reach out to me. PCCA has become our home and I hope it will become yours too.

Coming from an unbiased student's opinion, please save yourself the hassle of going through this…read moreschool. At my last school, which I had gone to for three years, I had only one problem the whole time I was there. At PCCA, which I have been going to for not even a year, I've had over five personal ones, and counting. Both general and personal problems include poor teaching curriculums, poor classroom and time organization, little to no arts, nor sports, very few clubs if any, messed up schedules, horrible staff communication, greediness, problems with non-Christian students, and trust me, this list goes on. This whole school honestly feels fake, both spiritually and academically. I am a student that has been in advanced classes for multiple years, passing all of them, and suddenly I feel like I'm being pulled back with poor teaching and environment. The money problems are also super clear. Only two toilets out of 8-10 in the whole North building flush correctly, easy fix to just call someone in. No, let's spend money on TVs and kiosks for digital passes. The staff are also super unprofessional and organized. My dad sent two emails to the headmaster, never got a response, multiple dates and times for events have been moved/messed up, the principal for secondary looks at people crazy when she has to actually do her job instead of just sitting around gossiping all day, my schedule was messed up for almost a month, and updates are almost never communicated properly or are last minute. It's not even just me who has had problems with this school in my family, I had a cousin whose mom pulled him out because he would come home crying every day from bullying, I have another cousin whose mom is constantly complaining about organization, and have another cousin who left the school due to complaints about the teaching. Doing research about this school, it once actually was decent, which is where all the "top school" reviews come from. The arts program had actual theater, there was a wider range of electives, classes like Spanish actually had a classroom with a teacher, and there was a variety of organized sports to play in. This school has clearly fell off, and it might be time to consider if keeping it open is a good idea.

Best school ever! My kids love it ,they have friends and the teachers are amazing. The curriculum…read moreis amazing and my kids are growing amazingly academically and spiritly. The administration is amazing and make the kids fell welcome. There is many electives to chose from in the upper campus. I highly recommend this school.

As a former student, my time at HCLA wasn't a good one. I was constantly harassed and bullied by…read morethe students just because I was Autistic. The staff did absolutely NOTHING to help me! It has been four years since I moved away and I'm much happier now than I was then. 0 stars.

This school is by far the best in the area. My son attends VPK and the love, care and attention he…read morereceives is unmatched. We had him elsewhere previously and it's night and day. They are accepting of all kids and really foster a loving and academic environment. Thank you Ms Braswell, Ms Norris and Ms Debbie for being such an integral part of our life

They removed my child because she was black she was the only black child in the classroom that's…read morenot cool whatsoever after 3 days they were ready to give up.

We are new to the JCC. My son is in the step-up to preschool program this summer which is going to…read morelead into a part-time preschool (K2) this Fall. We chose the JCC due to their excellent reputation for having great programs and warm, loving, highly certified teachers who have been there for years. They welcome families from all faiths, cultures and backgrounds and do not ask you for this personal information on sign-up. Sign-up process: Very smooth. We signed up for Fall preschool some time around Valentines day this year (yep- 6 months in advance). Be sure to call in January and get the exact sign-up date for the year. They take a certain number of students and then start a waitlist. They keep their class sizes relatively small and will try to hire teachers to maintain the proper ratio. They have both full time and part time classes. Beware that they open registration to previous students and siblings of previous students first. Step-up: This is a class conducted in the Shayna's Village wing of the facility. It's a stepwise process introducing your child to being in a classroom environment. Starts off with caregivers fully engaged along with children, then a few weeks later all caregivers on the sidelines, then a few weeks later, caregivers drop off children and can view progress through the one-way window if desired. Very good for kids used to being at home alone with caregiver who parents want to gently transition to classroom environment. They have a set schedule with repetition which is very helpful because young kids are more comfortable being left alone once they have the routine down. My son enjoys a variety of activities including music, Judaica, outside and indoor free play, snack and story time and circle time. Amenities: Family JCC membership comes with enrollment for the school year! They have a great fitness center with classes like cardio/dance bootcamp, activities like Israeli dancing and potluck shabbat, and childcare opportunities like drop off for date nights. During the summer we have been enjoying the pool parties which happen once per month and include lunch. They have tennis courts and recently started a pickle ball league. Facility: On the older side but very well kept. Classrooms very clean. Lots of additions to the original building make for a maze-like feel but once you are there a couple of times, you can find your way. The entrance has double doors and you are required to show ID prior to entering (unless you have your membership/key card). There are security guards on campus. Promotes a feeling of safety without it looking scary. There is a new Barnies coffee stand in the front with yummy drinks, some snacks and treats. New families should be sure not to miss new parent orientation so you can get an overview of all of the services and events.

Called to schedule a tour my husband and I were interested in a membership I read on the website…read morethey offered day care while you work out but when I called aug 9 2022 they said they removed it while Covid pandemic started 2 years ago yet on the website haven't been updated.

I will start off by saying that many parents and their children have had positive experiences with…read morethis school. I am not negating, disparaging, or invalidating their experiences. I am going to share the facts of my child's experience with this school, and you Reader may make what decision you will. My child attended HOA for kindergarten in the 21-22 school year. Before enrolling, I took a tour of the facilities, and was ensured by Mrs. Khan that every child receives a top quality education, that all therapies needed would be offered by on-site therapists, and that each teacher was qualified specifically to work with special needs children. It sounded too good to be true. It was. As of the 22-23 school year, the teachers were NOT certified educators- they did not have licenses as teachers in public schools are required to, and had no evidence of "special" training to work with special needs children. Mrs. Khan was asked to produce such evidence, and declined to do so. In my last experience with this school, her primary educator who worked with grades 5-12 only had previous employment experience as a waiter in a restaurant. Her other educators either have no licenses or expired ones. There were no therapists "on staff" with the school- only the ones parents pay for themselves out of pocket. You have probably noticed a high employee turnover. There is a reason for this. Mrs. Khan has repeatedly created a hostile work environment for her teachers, going through as many as 3-4 employees A YEAR. She has also had to pay to settle a case of illegal labor practices on behalf of House of Academia- she has threatened to or has in actuality withheld wages and/or W2's in retaliation against teachers who resign. Former parents had to threaten legal action to ensure a safe playground free of sharp metal, broken equipment, broken safety gates, and clean bathrooms stocked with the bare minimum of soap and toilet paper. One of the school's exterior doors and the parking lot gate were left unlocked throughout the day while being across the street from a bus depot. During the 21-22 school year, a high school student (who was allowed access to the elementary students during recess) threatened to kill the children with a gun on three different occasions because they were "being too loud". Parents again had to threaten legal action to compel Mrs. Khan to move the older girl to a different recess. Parents were the ones who had to report this to the police after the fact, even though Mrs. Khan as an educator and an adult is a mandated reporter. During this time, a Maitland HOA location was being built- and the electricity and water were nearly shut off at the Elboc road location due to her financial negligence and mismanagement. In retaliation for notifying parents of the severe issues in the school and "creating problems", Mrs. Khan fired the only kindergarten teacher at the school 2 weeks before the end of school, threatened to expel the students of parents who complained, barred the RBTs of children whose parents had complained (preventing them from receiving any of the therapy their parents had paid out of pocket for) and refused to have a kindergarten ceremony for the children whose parents had contacted police. This could ALL be overlooked- except that Mrs. Khan is charging the parents of special needs students over $1200 per month for these facilities that are poor quality and educators who are not certified or trained. It is obvious from her multiple luxury cars, expensive brand-name clothing, and 4,000+ sq. ft. home in a gated community in Dr. Phillips/Lake Buena Vista that Mrs. Khan's priority for her schools is the money they bring her- not the educational improvement of special needs children, who deserve a quality education just like all their neurotypical peers. Here is the link to the court case corroborating her unethical labor practices (you will also see she has 7 traffic tickets as well- not the beacon of safety I would want for my child): https://tinyurl.com/yjhtm9xx

My child needs redirection to stay on task. While he did have an action plan with OCPS and had…read moreprofessional assistance from various departments, I still found him to be lagging with his assignments (completed at school) and knowledge base. We participated in their 1st session summer program and were very pleased with the outcome. He was excited to go to class and looked forward to attending every day...in the summer! The stride made during the 3 week session was astounding. While summer tuition was expensive, from our experience, it was worth it. That positive experience lead us to enrolling him full time this school year in the hopes that our child's advancement will continue.