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Thales Academy
MissMelly February 6, 2011
I find it odd that there are hardly any reviews of Thales Academy online. The few that are available are at least a year old. It doesn't even have a profile on this website. Does anyone here have a child going there? How do you feel about the direct instruction method. I went for a tour and found it a little disconcerting - the teacher used a dog clicker to elicit responses from the children. They didn't seem very warm. I would like a parents opinion.
VictoriaLH February 14, 2011
Since Thales is a private school that may explain why there is not a profile. I believe it is up to the school to provide that to greatschools.org, but not sure. After reading your post about the dog clicker, that would be a red flag in my opinion. I would not send my child to a school that does that.
We are moving to the Raleigh area this year and I have done extensive research online regarding the Raleigh area schools. Apex stands out as a front runner with the greatschools ratings. Three of their middle schools got a 10 rating and Apex H.S. got a 9 rating. I'm sure you have your reasons for looking into private schools (religion, maybe), but since you are considering a private school in Apex, you may want to research the public schools. Apex's elementary schools are rated excellent as well.
Good luck, hope you find a school that suits your needs.66285
MissMelly February 16, 2011
Thanks, VictoriaLH. I hope your move is a successful one. Unfortunately, I don't live in Apex or I wouldn't have this problem! I live in Raleigh and my son is in his second half of kindergarten at the neighborhood school. So far, I have been underwhelmed by public school so I was looking into an alternative nearby. Thales is opening another location very near my house in Raleigh so I was hoping to get in before the enrollment explosion. Unfortunately, we did not. I guess Thales only wants the 'perfect' kids so they can have an untarnished reputation. My child has had a few issues with behavior this year, nothing serious - just had trouble adjusting to kindergarten and the 29 kids in his class, therefore we didn't make it. It probably sounds a little like a case of sour grapes, but I was genuinely surprised we didn't get in. I guess they would rather have the Dr./lawyer offspring in their school and keep it exclusive. Oh well, there are charter school alternatives. Maybe after applying for the lottery a zillion times, we'll get into one of those. 66373
bearfamily July 23, 2012
I imagine you've found a school and more information by this point, but I couldn't read this exchange without posting a response. We're in our second year at Thales and have been trilled with the school. The teachers are extremely warm and loving, and we couldn't be happier with the education. The "clicker" is used only as part of math and reading direct instruction in the younger grades; I'd describe it more as a counter and don't know what it would be used for in the dog world. Direct instruction is a different approach, but our daughter's test scores put her above 98% of students in her grade across the country, so I'll trust that it's working for her (and just as important, she loves school!) I hope you've found a school that works for your family.79569
