Community Academy of Philadelphia Charter School

It is disheartening that Greatschools posts nameless rants full of misinformation and unfair accusations about a group of wonderful young people who attend Community Academy. They are not racist toward their teachers; they are open-minded, respectful and good people. Of course they are teenagers, and they act at times like teenagers. But CAP provides conflict resolution, clinical counselors, and strong discipline to help them make their way through those difficult years. CAP is not the school you want to go to if you want to be rowdy! CAP is calm and dedicated to learning and has a wide range of students from AP classes to special ed. for the severely autistic and honors students to returned drop-outs. That's why our PSSA scores are often below average; CAP accepts every challenge. However, no one who knows CAP believes it rowdy or violent. In fact, it has been called one the safest public schools in America. There is a danger in websites like this, because anyone, without having to backup what they say, can just rant away. CAP's strict rules are not for everyone. It is a school of choice.
--Submitted by a teacher

Community Academy of Philadelphia(CAP) is an amazing school, full of caring adults and much needed structure for todays young people. It saddens me to see the negative comments about a school that does so much more than educate our children. My daughter attended the school for three years and graduated in 2011. She left the school with fond memories and a strong foundation of education. She is currently attending a four year university, lives on campus and will one day be a Pediatric Nurse. CAP prepared her for higher education and continues to support her whenever she needs it. She visits CAP frequently and most recently spoke with current CAP students about her first semester experience in college. I wholeheartedly agree with todays post from a CAP teacher and wish CAP continued success!
--Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of two children there, and it is a great school, I love the structure and the staff, my son will be graduating next year and I have a second grader there, the staff are very friendly and the Administration is caring, I am proud to have both my children there, They also have great books sale every year on report card night which is outstanding, keep up the good work. CAP is the best.
--Submitted by a parent

i was in this school since kindergarten and there has been a lot of improvement. But they are worried more about the appearance of the students and what the school looks like on the outside. also they have a bootcamp like mentality for discipline which doesn't even work because the students were even more misbehaved because the most teachers,principles,and security guards were so meticulous about everything for example if you were missing a flag pin or a year pin you got a detention for not having a complete uniform. also if we didn't have clear book bags we had to carry our books every where our run back and forth in 3 min. in the extremely overcrowded hallways just to get to our lockers. and another thing they made us pay 10 dollars for a lock to put on your lockers plus if you didn't get a locker you got a detention. they were so busy with the useless security that was easily outsmarted by the students that the academic standards were horrible. the majority of teachers just taught you the material and gave you the work and expected you to do it and if you were failing some told you to go to tutoring.It is more the administrators fault than the teachers.

Hello everyone, First I'll start with - I have no reasons behind my rating. I have never been to this school, but they required me to choose a rating in order to post, so hopefully you guys will read this. My name is Danelle and I am a Temple University student doing a project about the 24th police district. I am focussing on the opportunities the schools have for children and students (or don't, depending on what information I get) Would any of you who have made comments about this school be interested in talking to me about your experiences at this school? It will have to be videotaped because it is a video project, but if preferred, I can keep names anonymous and I can blur faces so you are unrecognizable. Let me know what you guys think, any help would be greatly appreciated.

This School is horrible because they hardly have sports..The Lunch is distgusting and the teachers dont listen to you or help you....not mentioning any names

The reviews of this school show a microcosm of the problems of our educational system. Some Parents don't like the dress code and the discipline, while others love it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and bet the kids and parents that follow the rules have much better grades than the kids and parents that do not. Structure is important! Without structure there is no learning.

All I have to say is why? Why such low scores on state testings? This school is more worried about student appearance and discipline then ever! Yes student discipline is good, and the security is fantastic! But the teachers should be inforcing knowledge and preparing these students for the real worls, not the meaningless stuff they are teaching that is getting most of the students at "cap" NO WHERE. Public schools seem to be more determined to setting their students to a bright future even though there discipline is very poor, but just look at CAPS scores!! Does that say anything to you?
--Submitted by a parent

student appearance and security is very vital, is the beginning in providing students with self awareness in a save enviroment. education is paramount, the school provide educational value a high school level based on a college model and career wise. This school prepare our student to be responsible and prepare them for the challenges that they need to face in Colle and in the work force.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is horrible if I could change my children I would their more worried about their appereance and security than the education of students.....
--Submitted by a parent