St. Charles School

Our children have attended (or attend) St. Charles for the last 14 years. We are extremely pleased with the school. There is strong emphasis on the basics; Reading, Writing, Math, along with Science, Literature, History, Music, Spanish. The Art in Action program is outstanding. Christian values are integral to the education. There is a strong family atmosphere. The majority of the graduates are accepted to the local Catholic High Schools and thrive at the next level and beyond. The current principal is exemplary.
--Submitted by a parent

I went here, granted this was 25 years ago. I'm hoping things have changed. I remember my first grade teacher, Mr. Oliver hit me. My classmates made fun of me because I was brown and had a difficult name to pronounce. None of the teachers or anyone from the administration cared that I was picked on. I was not Catholic and was made to feel like I was not good enough to be at the school.
--Submitted by a parent

First I will say that my child loves this school and the teachers. I feel that the principal is the best thing that has happened to this school. She is committed to the education, well being and overall attitude of the students. I will say there is a very strong, positive parent involvement, however the clique factor here is HUGE regardless of how much or how little you are involved.
--Submitted by a parent

St. Charles is an excellent school committed to providing a superior Catholic education. The community of parents is outstanding. The principal has greatly improved the curriculum and morale after a not-so-great previous principal. If you are involved and active in the school community, you will not have any sense of "cliques"...leave yourself out -- and you will feel left out.
--Submitted by a parent

A couple of years ago, I would have given the school a lower rating, however, our 'new' (1 year as VP and 1 year as chief) principal, Ms. Grazioli is fantastic. She has been running the school with pride and as if she is a CEO and the parents are the shareholders. She is direct, takes input and has an open communication style which greatly reduces that amount of chatter and hear-say that can arise in a smaller school. All decisions are justified and she is very involved in the student activites. In the past year, she has turned around the morale of the school parent and faculty. The families of this school are great too. You may get a sense of parent clicks, however, nobody is ever left out. Many of the parent clicks are created by child friendships rather than high-school type gossip groups.
--Submitted by a parent

Great school and teachers. Seems to be an overabundance of homework. High level of parent involvement. I agree with other reviewer that there are parent cliques. Many special programs like art and special math study sessions. 7th and 8th grade programs not as robust as lower grades. Integrated good valuse system with other studies. Expectation and pressure created that all students will go on to private schools which leaves kids who are going to a public high school feeling somewhat inferior.
--Submitted by a parent

Both my children attend St. Charles School. The lower grades are promising but the Junior High grades and teachers need an overhaul. The new principal seems to be on track but I think it will take another year or so to straighten out issues. Overall, the school has some nice programs, Spanish, Music, Art in Action. Parent involvement is high but be wary as there are cliques. The class size is high.
--Submitted by a parent

After spending 16 years at this school I can honestly say that it was worth every penny. Sure it wasn't always the best education -- but the values that my four children received, in addition to the education -- made it worth the ride. Now 16 years later I see those values learned (at St. Charles) in my older children. I know this was the right decision and I'm sad to say it's over. Any one lucky enough to have this experience will treasure it for their lifetimes.
--Submitted by Tommie Bisordi, a parent