Great Hearts Academies - Chandler Prep

My son just graduated, and although there were challenges along the way, I feel so proud of the transformation that I saw in him during his time at CPA. The books he read, the teachers he had, and other students made such a difference to the young man he has become. I am proud of him and so grateful to CPA.
--Submitted by a parent

I do not know what to make of the school any longer. I have to agree that it is a good school but if you have an accelerated child, they will be bored. I have to agree with the parent that used words like indolent etc. I wonder if some teachers are reducing the work to help the slower students. I do not know. Some parents get their gifted children additional tutoring but was it always like this? Tempe Prep is consistent. Maybe CPA is going through growing pains. Lets be patient and do our part to build the school
--Submitted by a parent

Time Management. This is what your child will learn at this school. The most important lesson learned in 6th grade was by us, the parents - Let your child fail. What? This means, let your child go ahead and stay up and watch TV, and fail at the test the next morning. What better teacher than learning consequences for actions? And better to learn this lesson now, when it doesn't count. After the difficult lesson learned, our daughter had the best study skills! She knew that only she could create the habits to succeed. CPA has alot of homework. But, our daughter has figured out to use that extra 5 minutes in class to start outlining a chapter from the history book. To use the extra 10 minutes to study Latin vocabulary. While waiting for the car...to finish the science study guide. The car ride to skating practice is a great time to finish the 10 problems assigned for Algebra homework. Lunchtime is a great time to discuss science concepts learned, with girlfriends. CPA doesn't really have plays/musicals for middle schoolers. So, we go elsewhere. Sad about the lack of Physical Education? No problem. We went to a place where she learn dance/skating every day.
--Submitted by a parent

Consider this school carefully. Most teachers are excellent., but grading inconsistent. Homework is intense! - 3 hours or more of homework/night. Communication is poor from school to families. Lack of balance for fun & family life; could be problematic. Number of students to make it through the program is low ; burn out rate high. Students can be exhausted & tend to get little sleep to do well. Not enough emphasis on positive reinforcement when doing well. The reading is often dark which is not always good for teens. Overall it is too much pressure & I am disappointed even though my child has been accepted to every college applied to, I am not sure the gain is worth the stress, exhaustion, or failure to bolster the student's self image. Parent involvement seems to be limited to few ; but open for more parents if you are willing to take it on. Meetings are not encouraged to have outsider parents attend. School does not answer phone during busy times can be frustrating. Parent involvement is highly encouraged to know what is going on at school. Rules for students appear to be inconsistent or not consistently enforced. Dress code is good.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been in this school for almost 2 years. She came from an average public school, so it was a challenge for her here, especially with math and Latin, but the teachers have been very supportive and have given so much of their time with before and after school tutoring. The homework has been manageable, and the school constantly seeks parent/student feedback to make sure teachers are not assigning too much or too little homework. Even with her academic struggles, my daughter really likes the school. The other students are much kinder than those in her old school. I think this is partly because of the kinds of parents who choose this school for their children, but it is also partly the culture that the headmaster and teachers have created. If your child is in coming from an average public school, I think you will find this school is a huge improvement.
--Submitted by a parent

My child is in the 6th grade, some of the pros and cons of this school that we have experienced so far: CONS - all the students are expected to be on the same level academically. If your child is struggling, there is help with free tutoring after school, BUT if your child is accelerated she may be bored, especially in math. If your child is gifted, or accelerated this school will not challenge her. So far, classes have been a breeze for my child. PROS: The extra-curricular activities, sports, etc have been really great, class size is small, the student population seems to be well-behaved, nice kids, the teachers and staff seem to be very nice and caring. Most importantly, my child really likes this school ( I suspect the light homework load helps). Overall, the pros outweigh the cons so we will be staying here for middle school, although I wish we didn't have to pay for outside tutoring to stimulate him academically.
--Submitted by a parent

My son just came to this school at the beginning of the school year-in 6th grade, transferring from a Catholic school. He loves it, we love it. Just like any school, I am sure it has its strong points and weak points. Overall, however, it has exceeded our expectations. The teachers are so energetic! Reading the review below, my impression is that with use of words like "abysmal," "indolent," and "ineptitude," that your agenda is to get your son away from all of the "common" and "banal" people who you must think WANT a lame education for their children because they attend "the core public school." I don't think the school "understimulating" him is his problem so much as you are.
--Submitted by a parent

My son is a ninth grader. When we started him in this school it was awesome. We had great teachers like Ms. Brady, Mr. Robert Wagner and other outstanding teachers. However, over the past two years, the focus has been COMPLETELY shifted from the education part to other administrative nonsense. My son is unstimulated and the teaching from what I hear and see, is just banal. If we wanted him to have a banal and common education, we would have left him in the core public school system. I guess the complaints from lazy parents and their indolent brood have caused the school to fearfully reduce the amount of work the students are provided as homework. The work my child is provided is minimal and abysmal. I think the standard of this once great school is falling and will continue to fall, until their inability to compete nationally exposes their ineptitude.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has been attending CPA for three years, and he was an average student in the public schools he had attended before coming to CPA. He was not a student who had ever pushed himself. After his first year at CPA, I can't describe how happy I was to hear him say 'It's hard, but I realize now that I was capable of a lot more than I had thought before.' He spends between two and three hours a night on homework, which I think seems like too much to some families, but he had never really pushed himself before, and he has really improved as a student. On a given day, he might complain or not complain about the workload, but I know that he is always proud of what he is accomplishing there, and that feels great.
--Submitted by a parent

As an ex-Chandler Prep student I can say with first hand experience that this school asks far too much of its students. This school requires that you have an excellent work ethic, and when I say excellent I mean like you don't have a problem spending 6 hours on homework. As I common problem that I have noticed and am a part of, many naturally smart people have never needed much of a work ethic since it just always, with exceptions of course, came to them. If you're average and have a good work ethic you might do fine, but if you don't you'll most likely miserably fail. Also, for parents reading this, if you don't like your child around alcohol and things of that nature Chandler Prep is within 100 yards of DJ's Smoke Shop. Like the comment posted September 21, please explore every option before sending your child here.
--Submitted by a student