Camelot Academy

Education is highly valued in our family and we are willing to spare no expense to ensure that our children have the best education they can possibly get. We tried Duke School, but were very disappointed in the lack of individualized curriculum - our child had almost no academic progress for the year that he went. We tried our public school, but it was barely satisfactory. We were thrilled when we found this hidden gem in the Triangle. Every day our children come home from school happy and enthusiastic. Camelot is amazingly organized. The first (partial) week of school is spent on orientation, followed by a week or so of assessment. The teachers create an individual plan for each subject for each child. I assumed the curriculum would be somewhat templated and a loose fit. However, we discovered at the 2-month conference that teachers knew exactly where each of my children were at in each topic (and subtopic) and were making sure that they were growing and being challenged in each one. Our kindergartner was started started simultaneously on multiplication, 3rd grade reading, and remedial work in telling analog time and drawing. I cannot imagine a better school.
--Submitted by a parent

We had a GREAT experience at Camelot. Not only did my daughter get an outstanding education that taught her how to think critically and to write well but she was also mentored by the wonderful staff and given invaluable guidance as a person. The lessons that she learned at Camelot are serving her well at a very competitive college and will serve her well in life. We couldn t be happier with our experience at Camelot Academy.
--Submitted by a parent

This was a bad experience for our family. The owner/director tends to develop an opinion about each student within the first few weeks, at which point, the child is labeled. If the label is unfavorable, their academic experience will be unhappy, leading to a poor education and a sad child. Director confirmed that we were free to withdraw - but of course, remain responsible for paying a full year tuition. (Honestly, I came to suspect this might have been intended from the start.) Before enrolling our daughter at Camelot Academy, 2 parents (different families) specifically warned that Camelot is a business first and second; being a school trails far behind in last place. We often thought about this throughout the year, regretting our failure to heed warnings - it turned out to be very true. I gradually came to realize that the director's primary focus is to make money. Although she is charming and will insist that she cares about the kids - this simply didn't seem to be the case. Our experience occurred a few years ago. Perhaps the school has improved, but. that the director/owner remains. I'll leave it at that.
--Submitted by a parent

Our experience was bad. Camelot seems to have a high percentage of quirky children, and although some teachers may be good, it would be difficult to be effective in such a challenging climate. The curriculum taught to our child has not met their academic needs, and the small social cliques have only served to alienate them. After moving to a public school, our child has spent an entire year catching up on skills that were not taught at Camelot. We can not stress how dissatisfied we were with Camelot and their inability to teach grade level skills, including basic reading, writing and math. Lots of days were spent having fun, field trips, etc. but little was spent on academics. Since leaving, our child has made incredible progress academically and now has normal friends.
--Submitted by a parent

Camelot is a great school. they have a caring faculty combined with small classes and more individual attention for students as well as mastery based learning
--Submitted by a student

We have not had a good experience with this school overall. Things they do well: letting kids be kids- recess for all grades- some interesting field trips- they try to involve all students in some areas of extra-curricular and teachers are very caring. That said, if you have a normal, well adjusted child this is not the school for you. They motivate by threats and have a 'one policy fits all students' philosophy- which of course works well for the unruly undisciplined child but has only served to lower the self- esteem of our child. Also this school touts a low tuition but really makes up for it in semester fees, field trip fees, extra costs here and there and before you know it it is quite an expensive education and it's hard to say exactly where your money is going.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter has attended Camelot for a number of years. As a result, she is more focused, desciplined, eager to learn and has become a first class student. Thanks Camelot!
--Submitted by a parent

I just wish we had found Camelot sooner! My daughter is in the middle grades, and you couldn't ask for two more patience teachers than Ms. Michelle and Mr. Dan. In spite of her learning disabilities that can make teaching her a challenge, they have both done an incredible job getting her to understand. We cannot believe the progress she has made in just one year. They have restored a love of learning in her that the public school she was attending had nearly driven out. She loves going to school now which is something we never thought we would see. She feels safer and is much more relaxed in the smaller setting this school provides. She has found role models in the upper school children and in turn loves mentoring the younger grades. Don t let the exterior fool you, this is an amazing school!
--Submitted by a parent

My child has been attending Camelot Academy for 2 1/2 years from Kindergarten. I have been pleased with his advancement in reading and mathematics to a level considered higher than his grade level. He has been receiving an excellent and broad exposure to music and has been given opportunities to work with the computer. Older students frequently work with younger students to help them acheive their goals. In the 25 years of its existance, 100% of Camelot graduates have entered college. On the downside, there seems to be a high rate of teacher turn-over for a small faculty of only 16, at least 5 have left in the two years, and the excellent music teacher is moving on to further his career. There is a small amount of extracurricular activity, and that is for the upper school students.
--Submitted by a parent

A fantastic environment for learning in the true sense of the word. As a student there I am treated to class environments where analytical thinking is not only present, but strived for and awarded on a daily basis. The only drawback to this school is that it at times feels fairly intrusive, if a student falls behind there is a sense of paranoia that one needs to be aware of his every move. While the headmaster Thelma and her main cronie Lori (science teacher) mean well they can alienate or infuriate students at times with the methods used to get a student back on schedule.
--Submitted by a student