Dayspring Christian Academy

My children graduated from Dayspring and now my grandchildren attend. We have been very pleased with both the academics and the environment. The faculty and staff are loving and caring. Dayspring is an excellent school and I recommend it highly!
--Submitted by a parent

Dayspring is a school of excellence with great policies and administration. I was happy to enroll my preschool child as soon as he was of age. My eldest child is in second grade now and is reading fantastic; his creative abillities have been stretched. He really enjoys all the classes incliding specials such as technology, art, music and chapel. He loves the spiritual atmosphere. He and I read together and signed the anti-bullying contract that the school offers; what a safe environment for my children compared to what is going on in other schools! The teachers are loving and wise; they are experienced and discipline in love. Overall, This is the type of environment any parent would want for their children.
--Submitted by a parent

A 4th grade boy whom I care very much about has just left Dayspring. He has been subject to bullying by another boy for 2 years now. The boy doing the bullying had bullied other children and the school was aware of it. It got to the point that he was not at all happy about going to school. It was causing his academics to suffer. He is a quiet, considerate, loving and very Christian child. The bullying had made him even more quiet and also moody. Dayspring did almost nothing to protect this boy. The principal wasn't helpful at all. I don't think he took it seriously. He seemed to just want to gloss over it by saying the bully had other problems which caused him to behave that way. He seemed not to really care how badly this was affecting this very nice child. Dayspring acted less than Cristian by falling this boy. I never thought I would say I was sorry he attended Dayspring. I would never recommend this school to anyone.

Has changed dramatically in 3 years where 2nd grade class sizes last year >25 with 1 teacher and a part-time aide. No auxilliary support or specialists (cut from budget). Good teachers was long tenures have voluntarily left recently. Difficult challenges getting involvement of Principal where his follow-thru needed constant reminders. Academics stressed but love and nurturing of child lost in process.
--Submitted by a parent

Dayspring is the perfect environment for my son, the classroom size faciliates a good learning environment and the teachers are very caring and work hard to teach the children core values.
--Submitted by a parent

I was happy with the school and feel that my children received and excellent foundation. I did not send my children back this year. They have lost about 25% of the student body. I am sure that there are differing reasons for this but mine were the cost and the amount of pressure put on the students and parents to 'fit in'. The school is losing students for more reasons than the economy and they really need to look at that and consider their approach to retaining the students they do have.
--Submitted by a parent

I have 2 boys that have attended Dayspring since 1st graqde and am very happy with the academics. Both of them have excelled and have had teachers that were a perfect fit for them and motivatged them do do well. Having tried public school for 1 month, we returned because of the pace of the academics here was needed to keep them challenged. The adminstrator is doing a great job to make the changes needed to keep the school moving forward, and while no school is perfect, he tries to make the necessary adjustments. This school has allowed my kids to develop a love of learniong that will carry them klong after they have graduated.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been at DCA since 2003. While there has been a significant increase in the number of students at DCA since she started, she still has had no more than 16 students in her class in a year. The teachers have been wonderful and caring. While the level of eductaion used to decrease for the middle school ages, the curriculum has been re-worked over the past few years and has greatly improved. I researched other middle schools in the MA/RI vacininty and found none that were above the DCA level. Perhaps the curriculum may seem easier to the students once they reach middle school, but that is only because they had been so well prepared in the lower grades. Niether of us have ever experienced any issues with fitting in or 'clicks' as parent or student . DCA is a wonderful school that I would highly recomend to all!
--Submitted by a parent

Dayspring has become more about numbers, it is true. Also, achievement scores show that the students perform well above the national average (average of 2.2 years), and yet they promise even higher scores through curriculum changes. You can not make such promises--it is naive. Leadership of the principal is lacking. The principal is only concerned about numbers--and this shows up in the bathrooms and classrooms. Both are overcrowded. Spiritual climate is not even distinguishable as 'christian'--especailly amongst the teachers. Dayspring is not the place for your kids.
--Submitted by a parent

Dayspring is sacrificing quality for numbers. There is more of a concern for 'more enrollment' and 'more students,' that they forget about several things: the size of the building does not accomodate the number of kids in the building--especially in regards to bathrooms. The physical size of the classroom is small, and students continually are 'squeezed' into a tiny room. There is an atmosphere of 'cliquiness' at Dayspring--for both teachers and students. If you do not fit in, or are the member of a clique, it is a very difficult place to be. This, I am afraid, is just not in providing an atmosphere of God's unconditional love and acceptance.
--Submitted by a parent