Calhoun School

As a Calhoun parent I am saddened but not surprised by some of the recent comments here. Calhoun is an exceptional school in every way that stands apart from any school in NYC in many important ways. It is a diverse student body with many different types of students and this is part of what makes it special - it is not the high stress approach that one finds throughout the so-called "elite" schools in NYC. The level of happiness, satisfaction, curiosity and character that is in evidence from students and staff when you walk in the building is something that you won't find to this degree anywhere else. Yes, it is a different method than the pressure, drill and test routine, but in the end the rate of graduates getting into their first choice college is just the same or higher than any of the more "traditional" schools in town but with a difference. The Calhoun kids are creative, considerate, well adjusted and most of all, happy; ready to become serious contributors to society without many of the traumas that the pressure cooker schools seem to have to deal with regularly. Is it perfect? No. But the comments here are much more about the parents writing in than this wonderful school.
--Submitted by a parent

Calhoun is a wonderful "learning experiment." Our child is now in a "real" school, where other parents whose kids were able to "escape" Calhoun chuckle knowingly. "We made it! We got out!" Interestingly, while Calhoun considers and represents itself a peer to other progressive schools like Trevor and Fieldston, no one anywhere in academia seriously regards Calhoun. No standards, no performance metrics... Sure there's no pressure! Because so little is expected of the kids, little is demanded of the teachers, who are wildly inconsistent: some great, some really poor. If only leadership were as focused on learning as on fund-raising and "defending the faith."
--Submitted by a parent

Calhoun is great for two kinds of students and one kind of parent: students who are either "different" in some way (needing a more support), and those who are highly self-motivated (and would do well anywhere). For the 30% of the students between - "normal" kids elsewhere - Calhoun evidences little productive "progressive education" (i.e. kids are taught. barely), preferring instead to "compress their needs to the median." "They all learn eventually!" the excuse for lazy teaching. Many parents pay for outside tutoring. The administration "actively ignores" parent feedback. Teachers are erratic; some great, many not. internally polarized. Many parents evidence odd, cultish devotion, many others trying to get their kids out. ("Testing = 'bad' means kids cannot test-out; the "Calhoun Trap!") Head-of-school handsome, eloquent, charismatic, completely internally-focused and self-rationalizing. Literally ignores everything but praise. Most kids and families lovely. Disorganized, vaguely-competent Administration is delighted with its own "specialness" rather than the real challenges of teaching diverse children, all of them, according to their needs. Great school for "different" kids.
--Submitted by a parent

The previous reviews were spot on... there is a real lack of guidance and curriculum particularly in the early grades that is disguised as 'progressive philosophy' and lazy teaching explained away as 'letting children find their own interests.' For example, if a child wants to play with trains all day, he will be left alone to do so and not - or barely - encouraged to participate in any other activity (verbatim from a conversation I had with an administrator). Even if your child is bright and independent, I feel like the lack of structure and guidance hurts more than it helps. We left before Kindergarten because we didn't see any learning at all this past year (neither soft skills - art, music, etc. nor hard skills - letters, numbers). The Head of School, I think, comes across as somewhat pretentious and seems more interested in bringing big names ($ donors, fundraisers, famous people) to the school than 'average' families which syncs with their very low diversity and financial aid record. He is very well spoken though and will definitely win you over to the progressive philosophy given a chance; unfortunately, the philosophy doesn't carry over into practice often.
--Submitted by a parent

We had our child in this school for several years and I cannot stress how disappointed we were with the education he received. The quest to be different and progressive has become cult like and there is little to no emphasis on providing a child with the foundation necessary to be a successful learner. Thankfully, we were fortunate enough to be able to get our child out of this school. I would strongly discourage any parent from enrolling their child in this school unless they are a highly independent learner.
--Submitted by a parent

Calhoun has received criticism for many substantiated reasons. While their "progressive" approach to education is appealing to some others, like me, found it to be a waste of money. Yes, children should be "free thinkers", creative, etc. but they NEED structure and excellent academics too which Calhoun can't provide. Calhoun seems to focus on amenities-creative a country-club atmosphere that is not conducive to learning, establishing boundaries or preparing for college. Calhoun boasts that they don't put emphasis on testing-they should -then they will see that their kids aren't learning. We left & will not return-we rather spend our money on a REAL education not a country club for children.
--Submitted by a parent

Calhoun is a phenomenal school. My 3 1/2 yrs old daughter attends, and she loves it. The teachers are amazing, the school delivers on all fronts. They embrace diversity and the children learn while having fun...lots of events for the kids and great parent involvement too...the only negative is the cost...
--Submitted by a parent

Very disappointing, there is almost no learning going happening until the 6th grade. The kids are very far behind. They are unruly and have many disciplinary issues. Close to 40 students left middle school this year, the school likes to think it is about economics. They take in about 70 students for a pre-k class and by the time the class is in 5th grade they have lost more than half the students. Parents are very frustrated, kids are bored, the atmosphere is so noisy and chaotic.
--Submitted by a student

Calhoun provides a unique environment in which children are the emphasis in the learning process. There are no walls or doors, it is all done in roundtable discussion format. The idea is to love learning not to work towards getting correct answers on tests
--Submitted by a parent

It a great school indeed, but this school has some issues with race. many kids are made fun of because of there race, but the school is trying to teach the kids and staff how to treat other kids, also the schoool is making an effort to become integrated.
--Submitted by a parent