Columbia Academy Elementary

It is simply by luck that my son is only 5 years old and I began to realize how horrible this Columbia Academy school is! My son has been in the Columbia Academy preschool for more than 2 year. The teachers are OK, but the management is plain horrible! They are arrogant, have no idea how to run a school, and just blame on others to cover their own incompetence. Especially for the 2012 new management, they messed up their billing system and said that I should pay my son's tuition by week and lunch by week! seperately! We never had this type of problem before! we never know this change and they want us to pay the so called late fee no matter how hard we tried to explain to them it is not our fault! I mean, I understand that maybe one or two teachers might not be good enough, but if the management is this incompetent and arrogant, this school has simply lost my trust and respect becase you cannot trust they will make any good adjustment! I have transfered my son out of this school immediately and my family and friends will stay away from Columbia Academy as far as possible1
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter is in JK here and loves it. She cant wait to go to school everyday. She is learning to read and math skills that are going to give her a huge leg up next year.
--Submitted by a parent

I went to this school up until 5th grade. I left because they didnt give a good education and because of the neglected resources. Public school is a way better option. Everything was falling apart by the time I left.

i was an 8th grade student and this is what i have to say: The School was challenging in many ways...........it was a good wake up to the bad funding and neglected resorces. If you want a good school without paying all the money... just send your child to public school...Thats all i have to say

Columbia Academy is a welcoming, family-friendly environment. The Junior-Kindergarten program pushed my child and I could not be happier. My child is reading, writing words, and knows all of the letter sounds. Their math teaches them the beginnings of time, money, patterns, etc. This is a great program if your child has a birthday between September and December! They are constantly learning and are challenged based on their skill level. I would highly recommend this program to anyone I know!

Both of my children went to preschool here. My son was at a different (no closed) location where he was neglected rather than instructed and allowed to do his own thing rather than be steered into class activities. He regressed a tremedous amount for the time he was there. We met with the head of this location adn what would be his teacher and had a great deal of confidence that it would be better. It was in so many ways and he transitioned to first grade in a public school without incident. Due to Howard County schools policy, my daughter had to go an additional year to "pre kindergarten" which is nothing more than preschool. She reads, spells, writes and comprehends far beyond what they are able to challenge her with. The costs are ridiculous and the summer camps even more so. Every time I turn around there are fees and charges due for things over and above tuition. In my opinion, this place just isn't worth it. I am counting down the days for this school year to be over and being able to recoup that cost. I don't see where the money goes. They did finally improve the playground area, but there are rooms that desperately need paint and maintenence.
--Submitted by a parent

It is a business and that's it. They don't car about your kids. Below public school standards and when you switch your kids will be behind that of a public school!
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter spent first through sixth grade at Columbia Academy, then transferred to the local public school. Her transition was very rocky; despite having earned high As in reading, I found, to my shock, that she was two full years behind Howard County public school standards. Her low scores required that she be placed in a special reading program, which both puzzled and humiliated her. My advice is that you should not waste your money at Columbia Academy unless you need extended day care.
--Submitted by a parent

I do agree with the last reviewer. This so is basically a good public school with uniforms. Instead of trying to soar above the public school system, they seem to want to conform to it. If you are in the position to send your child to a good public school, do so and save your money.
--Submitted by a parent

Columbia Academy is little more than a public school with uniforms. You do not get what you pay for. The teachers do not instill much confidence and the admin staff appears over it's head. The hours a very nice for working parents but that's where the value ends.
--Submitted by a parent