Russell Byers CS

I am very happy with RBCS. It is a great school. I often wonder why complaining people remain at places when they are unhappy. Stop whining and take your child to your local public school.
—Submitted by a parent

Russell Byers Charter School is a safe and clean environment for all children to learn! The Expeditionary Learning school model is great for our kids!
—Submitted by a parent

I love Russell Byers because the children have a genuine thrist for knowledge!!
—Submitted by a parent

It is horrible to read the bad and negative things that parents, teachers and other people have to say about RBCS. But the sad part is that it is all true. We are going to give the school 1 more year. Since our son is in 2nd grade I feel I still have time to pull him if I have to. They just got a new principal Mr. Drew Smith and lets see how many teacher are going to be ask to leave and lets see how many teachers will stay. Only time will tell. 1 more year to show me this is the school for my son.
—Submitted by a parent

My husband and I can't wait to get our children out of this school. The curriculum stinks, they spend 3 months working on the same expedition but when it comes to math, they'll spend less than an entire week and expect the children to be ready to test on that material and do well. My children took an admission exam at another school and we were shocked at the material they had to complete. The topics were things my children hadn't even learned or heard of at Russell Byers Charter School. No Social Studies or Science. Like one parent said, the children can sing, dance and draw but they can't do math that suitable for their grade level. Teacher & Principal turnover rate is HIGH! Can't wait for this to be over.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent that currently has her son at this school and is not sure if I should keep him at RBCS or take him out. The teacher that said ' our school is not perfect but we are constantly evolving and getting better ' I have a questions for her or him. How can you get better when every year you have a new principal and when every year new teachers come to the school not knowing the ELOB rules? How?? Please tell me. Why can you keep principals or teachers?. That is my question. It does not look good for the school at all. I like the fact that my son is safe and loves art but when he goes to 4th, 5th or 6th is he going to have the same principal or the same teachers? RBCS needs to get it together and fast.
—Submitted by a parent

All I want to say is that I am glad my son is out and will not go back to that school. He is much better at his new school. The kids at that school can dance, do art and sing very well. But dont ask a 6th grader to multiply or do division. Glad my son is out.
—Submitted by a parent

I had my daughter at RBCS and she was lost when she got into her 7th grade class at her new school. She had to get use to something call HOMEWORK and GRADES A-B-C-D and F. The real world uses GRADES to for tests and projects. In college they use them. It was a nightmare. She was not ready. I feel like all the parents that told me to take her out were 100% right. She needed a tutor for math. I can understand why the teacher that just wrote that review feels that way. But when you see a different principal every year and teachers coming and going . Sorry that is just not right.
—Submitted by a parent

Our school is a much needed break from the average philly public school! From the second you walk in our doors you can feel the difference. We have a beautiful facility, dedicated staff, and above all an all-around safe school where kids are happily learning. Being a relatively new charter school, each year we improve our curriculum and search for better ways to educated our children. Of course our school is not perfect but we are constantly evolving and getting better! Our students are happy and we have an excellent community that is really all about educating the whole child.
—Submitted by a teacher

Dont be fooled!!! the school looks great on the outside and the art teacher has the walls with nice decorations from the kids. But the kids are not learning. The school can not keep a principal longer than a year or 2. And teachers come and go every year. Iam not happy with the school and this year is my son's last year at the school we can't take the lack of learning and the 'expeditions' projects replacing an actual class. No books, no homework, no principal again!! i cant take it.
—Submitted by a parent

Don't be fooled!!! the school looks great and the art teacher decorates the walls with nice works of art but the students are not learning. I will be taking my son out this year since they have no principal again. Rbcs is great at not having principals or keep good teachers. The kids are happy and safe but they are not learning-- no homework, no projects, no books, no social studies, no science class. Horrible school!!! dont be fooled by the looks. Never judge a book by its cover. I just had to learn that.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a current parent at RBCS and I am extremely pleased with the school. The curriculum is rigorous and it promotes the development of the entire child -- educationally, socially and emotionally. I am not aware of any other public school in the city that offers a Mandarin language program or dance classes taught by Rock School instructors. If you are a parent who chooses to be an active participant in your child's education, you will find that the teachers and administration are extremely competent and caring. They set the bar high, but if you are one of 900+ on the wait list fortunate enough to attend this school, shouldn't you and your child be up to the challenge?
—Submitted by a parent

I have supported this school for the past two years as a community stakeholder and have witnessed remarkable growth in its leadership and quality of instruction. The 30 percent plus teacher turnover rate is unfortunate, although understandable as a charter school; there is not enough money to attract the creme of the crop. I believe the school's decision to replace instructors (the reason for over 50% of the teacher turnover rate) demonstrates their dedication to quality instruction. I wish the administration had more resources with which to attract the highest quality teachers. Afterall, this school has the happiest kids I have ever seen! At an elementary school level, should we rate a school on its students' excitement for learning or high test scores? How will we define a balance?

As a former teacher, I have seen firsthand the unprofessional behavior of some of the administrators. Parents, please be wary ab out the reasons given to explain why teachers left. The school has an incredibly high teacher turnover rate. This is not promising for any school. RBCS had had a serious issue with retaining teachers. The curriculum is confusing. Students are not taught full Social Studies or Science curriculums. Instead, the school uses the Expeditionary Learning curriculum. Your child will learn about one Science topic for 3 months and one Social Studies topic for 3 months. Children that transfer from public school have so much more knowledge of Social Studies and Science content that children that have only been at RBCS. It's unfortunate because it should be an excellent school. Parents, don't be fooled.

My family has been apart of the RBCS family since year 2 and this is the first year since the beginning that I am truly enthused about the growth of the school as a whole. Mr. El, the new principal, began the school year introducing himself to the families as we entered the building and really made us feel like we were apart of the puzzle. The parents seem happier and more willing to volunteer this year as well as the staff seems more at ease. Mr. El is always positive and reassuring to the students, staff, and families of RBCS and I look forward to many more years of him 'running' the school. With Mr. El's positive persona, I hope that the school's testing scores will raise.
—Submitted by a parent

My children have been attending Russell Byers for 3 years and we are on our third principal. I was considering changing my children's school because I was unhappy with the direction in which the school was heading but I must say that I am quite pleased with the school this year under Mr. El's direction. Our new principal is taking an active interest in our children which is much more than I can say about our two previous principals. I am hoping that we maintain our principal and teachers for the coming years because it is my belief that it will help us to become a stronger school. Parental Involvement at Russell Byers is amazing!! Our parents show they care not only about the education and safety of their own children but of all the students.
—Submitted by a parent

As a family of R.B.C.S. I think the school's goal is great! I think Mrs.Byers did a great job bringing forth her husbands dream and keeping it alive. But I hope the children will always be apart of that dream. With the major changes that the school is going through, again another principle (where's that strong leadership) my kid has been through 5 already,i think we can't keep track, there needs to be more leadership by the adults in school and then maybe the parents and kids will follow. Because the school in becoming a joke.
—Submitted by a parent

As of 6/2006, the school is going through a lot of changes- another new principal is on the way + about 30-50% of teachers are leaving for unknown reasons. While intentions are great, there is a huge question mark here as to whether the school is going to be able to provide the quality education it promises. Many parents are unhappy about a lack of communication from the administration about these issues and some are in the process of sending their kids to other schools.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is currently looking for a new principal, this will be the 3rd principal in the 4 years that my children have attended this school. The teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, and nurse are top notch when it comes to interacting with the children...making them feel right at home. More needs to be done academically to help build the poor test scores. A problem that is happening at most schools is children being passed a long although they are not meeting grade level expectations in reading and math, 2 of the areas that are evaluated in the testing. If the children are below grade level reading and do not have an IEP, they should not be passed and they should be required to attend summer school to help bring them up to speed. They need to also think about having an extended day program to assist these kids. Thanks.
—Submitted by a parent

Our child has attended RBCS for two years and we have been more than pleased with the school and its performance, as well as our daughter's academic progress. Each RBCS family is required to volunteer time during the school year (30 hrs), which ensures heavy parental involvement on all fronts. We have not had any problems with discipline or bad behavior, and through RBCS's 'Talk it Out' peace policy every effort is made for smooth strictly-verbal conflict resolution. We have maintained a solid, open rapport with teachers, administrators and staff. The student body is predominantly African-American (I'd hazard a guess at around 85%) and draws from all over Philadelphia, so you get a real cross-section of the city and its neighborhoods. Our daughter loves school so much says she never wants to leave RBCS. Very high praise indeed!
—Submitted by a parent