Doane Academy

My children have been in this school for several years now, and I am very pleased with the direction and growth of the school and its programs. It is not perfection and nothing and no school is, but the school evolves and removes negative influences each and every year. Doane is a unique school that offers an ever-increasing list of quality academic and social growth opportunities for each student, and pushes each of them to truly care for and take action to help those less fortunate, locally and globally. So happy that I chose Doane!
--Submitted by a parent

As a parent of students in both Upper and Lower School, I have been extraordinarily pleased with the results. I am surprised by some of the reviews below, as I have not seen any indication of grade inflation, nor of any bullying. As with any school, there is some variety between teachers, but all cover the fundamentals, and I have not seen any that are too easy. I'd like to see better SAT scores, but those are as much an indication of innate ability and seem to be improving this year. The English program has improved substantially in the past two years, and the quality of writing that we are seeing is far better than we have seen at other schools in the region. The sciences are a strong point as well, with very good math, chemistry, physics and biology. The Engineering mathematics class is new, but sure seems to be a winner as well. All in all, we have been very happy at Doane, and would highly recommend it to any parent.
--Submitted by a parent

In addition to the recent observations about the school, there is definitively a bullying issue that is happening in this school, children are allowed to do as they please with the administration just blowing it off saying "boys will be boys" or "girls can be nasty, its just the age". The admiistration chooses not to address the issue but rather convince the victims that they are "misunderstanding" what happened. Its unfortunate that this is happening in a school that tries to promote character development.. The administration should be just as concerned about the students in the school now, as they are about the master plans for the future.
--Submitted by a parent

Wow, have to agree with last review. My son told me about the same problems. Too much money and they need more teachers who have experience in teaching and their subject.
--Submitted by a parent

Grade inflation has always been a huge problem and hasn't changed. Thankfully I had created my own study habits and dedication before entering college. I'm doing well, but I know many of my former classmates who have switched majors to an easier one, constantly complained about how hard college is, switched to an easier college, or dropped out completely. Speaking of college, the administration and staff lack the diligence and organization to send applications and transcripts in a timely manner. If not for my parents and I constantly on top of what was going on concerning applying to colleges, I would not have received half of my scholarships or acceptances. Upper School needs many improvements before I would ever consider sending my own future children to this "educational facility". Another fact is how fake the SAT scores are on the website. For a college prep school, the scores are low and those scores I personally know those are inflated. You might also want to ask the administration about the average AP scores in the math and science courses over the last five years. It's a joke. Happy School-Hunting!

Recent graduate here. I wrote this review on another site, but this site seems to get more attention. Lower School is amazing. One-on-one attention is wonderful for the kids. However, Upper School is falling apart. I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. Upper School has already fallen apart and is a complete disaster. They should create statistics of the last four graduate classes on how many have dropped out or switched to easier schools. The academics are never emphasized in class. It's all about sports and extracurriculars. Most of the kids can't write a decent two-page paper by the end of high school. The students in high school constantly whine about the smallest bit of work, and then receive high grades for it. Teachers constantly scale up. Fail a test? No problem. You have three more tries. A student could come into class during the day of an exam, complain that they're stressed about a different exam, and then be granted the option to take it later in the week. This would happen multiple times. To the review below me (3/9/12), your child must either be lying to you or taking all the FEW teachers who give a ridiculous amount of homework in one year.

I strongly disagree with the 5/4/11 and the 3/8/12 reviews. My kids have had very in depth academic courses, too much homework and strong standardized test scores. Parental involvement at any school is required. If the child is not being challenged, then the courses chosen are too low. My kids have always had writing assignments, even in Math courses. The BEST thing about this school is that there are 3 levels of academics - normal college prep, honors and AP/Dual Enrollment. AP and DE course CAN be chosen as early as 9th grade. My kids began with the AP/DE in 9th grade. We have found all but 1 teacher who stayed after-school or before school if the student was struggling - no need for a tutor. My kid's AP scores, ACT and SAT are as strong as those applying to Ivy league schools. My biggest complaint is grade DEFLATION. Little to no extra credit is given as compared to our public district which gives 25-30 points extra in the college prep/AP courses.
--Submitted by a parent

After years of believing that my child was getting a great academic education, I was forced to supplement their education with tutors in core subjects. There is serious grade inflation in Upper School that does not reflect actual coursework. This was proven with the results of SAT scores. Academics have taken a back seat to activities. If you are looking for a great year-long summer camp atmosphere, this is the school for you. If you are looking for a strong overall college prep program, look elsewhere.
--Submitted by a parent

The focus on writing, math and engineering is evident. Challenging academics. The culture encourages and provides opportunities for community service. They have a high student participation in clubs. The students are given the opportunity to make a difference. Smaller school, great choice.
--Submitted by a parent

The past two reviews are upsetting. I have heard the opposite from graduating students who say they are very well prepared. I am proud of my child who has grown academically and personally. I find she is well prepared to deal with academic challenges and social challenges, which I think is important. Also, many parents send their kids to school and then forget about their role in good development, maybe the past two parents are like that.
--Submitted by a parent