Charter School of Morgan Hill

This school is better on paper than in real life. k-2 Spanish is okay with too much busy work. 3-6 Spanish has little control of the classroom and a lot of busy work and tons of busy homework that is useless.Agriculture is great but only 40 min, 1 day a week, for half the school year.I personally have seen very little in terms of PBL. It's more like unit studies, than projects.most projects are just a lot of writing.no hands on projects.if there is a hands on project then it is done at home.I have yet to see a hands on project done at school.Math is a mess.there is no clear direction from grade to grade.often teachers just print off sheets from the internet.Math is highly concerning.Kids that excel are very bored and you can see it in behavior in the class room.the school in not immune to bullying and it is hit or miss on how well the school deals with it.the teachers need training on how to talk with parents.they often blame parents and gossip about parents too much in the staff room.I have heard things that I should have never have heard.There is also a religious undertone.separation of church and state is blurred.You have to be very aware to avoid it.
--Submitted by a parent

CSMH is an excellent school! Test socres are consistently the highest in the district. I believe there are many reasons for the high performance including parent involvement, a broad curriculum that includes enrichment classes, and excellent teaching staff and administration. My daughter has had a wonderful experience at this school. One thing that could be improved is the facility, which is older and in poorer condition than others in the district. It is my understanding that this is the district's responsibility and improvements are a low priority for them. Well worth the tradeoff in my opinion.
--Submitted by a parent

Project Based Learning (PBL) is something that Charter School Morgan Hill indeed excels in. However, the dictatorship style of "management" is fascinating. I believe that schools should have a business style of organization, however, the principal's style ( Paige Cisewski ) is a bit extreme.

Project Based Learning (PBL) is something that Charter School Morgan Hill indeed excels in. However, the dictatorship style of "management" is fascinating. I believe that schools should have a business style of organization, however, the principal's style ( Paige Cisewski's ) is a bit extreme.

Don't judge a book by its cover. CSMH may not have the nicest facility, and yes it technically isn't in MH BUT we have had great experience at this school. Based on its 2011 API score of 901 shows how well they're doing. My daughter loves it there. As parents, we are proud to see her progression from a timid kindergartner to a first grader who is reading 6 chapters at a time with fluency. Her teachers are awesome. Parent involvement is key to the student's success. We are glad to be part of the CSMH family.
--Submitted by a parent

My son has gone to Charter since it opened and has had a fantastic experience. He is an active boy who did well with the project based learning. The staff makes you feel very welcome and the school has an overall feel of a large family. He loves his school, the staff and fellow students. I know if I sent him to the regular public school he would not feel this way. I did that with my older child and both had totally different experiences, thanks CSMH !!
--Submitted by a parent

The hands approach they use for all subjects. The fact that you ALWAY see happy students at the school. The agriculture program.
--Submitted by a parent

All 3 of my children went to this school in the upper grades. They hated it. I pulled them out. To this day, they tell me how much they hated Charter school. It has left scars. The teachers didn't supervise fights in the classroom. They allowed conflict to continue and did nothing. We tried to work through it for several months with the bullying that my kids recieved. They got depressed so we had to leave. The staff does not stop the bullying. They ignor it.
--Submitted by a parent

My child was formerly at another public Morgan Hill elementary school and now has relocated to Charter. The changes over the few months have been dramatic compared to the former school, from an excellent and challenging academic environment to enrichment programs including agriculture and Spanish. I also am enthusiastic about the wonderful after school programs the school provides at miminal cost to parents. The teachers are all very caring individuals and I have never seen so much parent involvement which I believe is the element that sets this school apart from others in the district. I feel blessed my child has the option to attend this superb school; only wish the facility was in better shape but I understand improvements are on the horizon. Great school overall!!
--Submitted by a parent

Most of the Charter Stall was quite hateful to my special ed child. The teacher left an emotional scare that my child has yet to shake off. The principal was unsuportive in attemps to make my child successful at the school. If your child is different in any way best not to subject them to Charter.
--Submitted by a parent