Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory

Average school at best. Was there 1 year (senior transfer). Wish I never left NYC. The old adage: Those who cant do, teach. Those you cant teach become administrators and principles. Poor marks for all.

My daughter has been there for three years, loves the school and from a parents standpoint she excels so we have only praise for there work
—Submitted by a parent

Faculty and Principal strictly Sub-Par performance. I attended for 2 years and most (if not all) teachers and faculty have "favorites". I believe it is the spanish culture inbred within the structure here. Too many cliques (groups). They would be best to get new principal and upper faculty. Clean house would be in best interest. Go Elsewhere for a truly good education.

Teachers who refuse to provide students with a clear understanding of learning goals- who say they will provide clear student guides for comprehensive midterns and finals and mislead students to make them look badly- teachers who say they will provide prompts that will be included in finals ahead of time for student planning but fail to do so. If you believe that college prep means making it hard in an unfair manner then this is the school for you. In today's competitive college admissions environment, you would do well to go to public school or to another school that will help you maximize your potential instead of trying to hurt your chances.
—Submitted by a parent

C-M has a great academic environment, with great teachers who really care about each and every student. After attending public schools my whole life, I cannot emphasize how refreshing it is to feel like more than just a "number". I love belonging to the C-M family. My one complaint is the unfairness regarding girls sports. Other than that, I have had a wonderful experience overall.

This school has good academics, a wonderful social environment, outstanding faculty mentors, and dismal, dismal sexism for girls' sports. If your girl is an athlete, she will be swept under the rug unless she can play boys' sports. There is VAST discrepancy between boys' and girls' sports, no money for girls, everything for football and baseball. This is SO disappointing. My daughter has been extremely frustrated, in tears on occasion. There are many good things about Chaminade, but girls' sports is not one of them.
—Submitted by a parent

I was a student for four years and found CM to be a wonderful place. I was in honors/AP classes for most of my coursework but placed into 'regular' math. I found all of the teachers to be creative and fun and genuinely interested in their students. The school offers a lot for students to become involved in, no matter what you enjoy. I never felt excluded from any students or alienated in any way. I never saw bullying of any kind occur. People were very welcoming and kind. I did not feel like it was a 'typical' high school environment with cliques, hierarchies, etc. Can't say much about the administration, however. They seemed only to care about how much $$ they could bring in. You can tell the staff is divided between who the admn likes and who they don't. Usually, the teachers admn doesn't like are the students' favorites.
—Submitted by a parent

I went to this school for four years. You will get a mixed experience depending on what classes you get. Even if you are shuffled into regular classes, ask to get transferred into honors or AP classes or ask what needs to be done for you to "qualify" to get into those classes. My schedule was messed up one year, and I was put into regular English, which was just so piss poor and crowded that I rearranged my schedule to get into honors English at least. The administration of this school is not helpful at all and plays favorites to known families and athletes. As well, the administration does not inform you of ways to save money. I was angry to learn some time after I graduated that I could have attended the school for free. I was never informed of this by the tuition/financial department.

This high school has teachers that bend over backwards for their students. Most of the teacher truly care about the students and want to help them. This is a great school. My child graduates this year.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school to send your children to. Chaminade Madonna truly supports the mind, body and soul of all of it's students. The small community allows students to create relationships with their teachers as well as making countless friendships along the four year journey.
—Submitted by a student

small, faith based. encourages a balance of academics, sports and community service. the teachers are encouraging and available.
—Submitted by a parent

It was horrible. I did not enjoy it. I got out as soon as I could to go back to public school.
—Submitted by a student

The only problem I have experienced at Chaminade-Madonna was the inconsistency of decipline.
—Submitted by a former student

The school has a pretty good reputation, but there is little socioeconomic variety.
—Submitted by a parent

I transferred here from public school. It was okay. There was some unfair treatment of certain students. Punishments were not given out fairly. Some teachers played favorites very noticibly. Eh, should have stayed where I was.
—Submitted by a former student

I attended Chaminade-Madonna from 2001-2005 and graduated in May '05. I had a wonderful experience. The school expects a lot from its students and really does prepare a person for the college experience. My sister now attends CM and has found the same is true for her experience. The only problems ever encountered by myself or my family was slow response and assistance from upper level administration. The leadership of the school is run much like a corporate office so you might be hard pressed to get a response from them. If you're looking for a good school with an excellent track record in discipline, academics, and now sports, CMS is the school for you or your child.
—Submitted by a former student

Chaminade's learning envirnoment, teachers, staff, as well as the entire experience was great!
—Submitted by Kendall, a former student

We took our son out of public school last year and into CM hoping for much better attention and academic results. However, thus far, the results have improved only slightly. Most teachers are willing to help out but a significant amount seems overloaded. There are some who do not even stay extra hours (or minutes) after school to help out (they dash out to their cars faster than the kids when the final bell rings). There are others who try very hard. This creates a significant inconsistency in quality. The principal (Gloria Ramos) seems to become defensive when challenged and gives the impression that she does not hold teachers accountable. Thus, it is hard to get in touch with some of them who take advantage of this unaccountability. All in all, there are many good teachers but if your child needs follow-up and special attention, this school is not for you.
—Submitted by a parent

The academic programs in the school are stellar the only problems Ihave encounered are that the teachers are on their second career Ex. they went back to get cretified after being a stockbroker for 10 years. The sports programs are not so great but they are implimenting a scolarship program to recruit better players parent involvement is very high.
—Submitted by a former student

My son will be entering his Junior year and both he and I have had great experiences at the school. The faculty and staff are professional and down right kind.It is a smaller school in comparison to other high schools thus allowing everyone to know a little bit about you and your child.It is a beautiful campus in a beautiful neighborhood. I believe academically, it is up to the highest standards. I would love to see more parent involvement and attendance at home school meetings. My son is part of the baseball team which fulfills most of the year so I am not one to comment on the arts and music dept.
—Submitted by a parent